NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown won for the first time at Bristol Dragway on Sunday, defeating points leader Shawn Langdon in a thrilling final round of the 25th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the ninth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Brown went 3.788-seconds at 331.61 mph in his Matco Tools dragster, holding off Langdon’s 3.801 at 334.07 in a spectacular side-by-side duel. It is Brown’s first victory of the season and the 82nd in his career, defeating Will Smith, Shawn Reed and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta to reach the final round.

It was a rough start to the season for Brown, but the team has rebounded in impressive fashion in recent weeks, advancing to the final round in Chicago. But Sunday marked off a huge item for Brown, who had only advanced to the final round at Bristol on two prior occasions. 

But he led wire-to-wire against Langdon in Thunder Valley, picking up his first Diamond Wally and moving to fifth in points in the process.

“We’ve been struggling at the beginning of the year, but we kept our heads down, kept grinding and kept working. Today, it all came together,” Brown said. “The Kalitta cars are the giants out here right now. To sneak around them and get a win, that says a lot about what our team accomplished today.

“The only way you beat resistance is with persistence. You’ve got to stay the course. We know we’re capable of winning another championship, but we’re not there yet. We still have to keep improving. Getting my first Bristol win after 82 career victories is pretty special. This place has always been tough on me. To get a Diamond Wally during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season, they can never take that away from you. That’s something special. To be standing here with this trophy is unbelievable.”

Langdon reached the final round for the seventh time this season, defeating Jasmine Salinas, No. 1 qualifier Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart. He will continue to enjoy a healthy points lead, which now stands at 114 over Kalitta.

In workmanlike fashion, four-time Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan grinded out the victory at his home track on Sunday, denying Daniel Wilkerson his first career victory thanks to a run of 4.125 at 310.91 in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Funny Car.

It is Hagan’s second win of the season and the 57th in his career. This one wasn’t the most spectacular when it came to performance, but Hagan was on point when he needed to be, defeating Jon Capps and reigning two-time world champion Austin Prock to reach the final round.

He didn’t go quicker than 4.079 on Sunday, but Hagan took advantage of the opportunity for Tony Stewart Racing, reaching his 100th career final round. Wilkerson went up in smoke almost immediately in the championship round, handing Hagan his first victory in Thunder Valley since 2015. After Bristol, Hagan is now second in points and feeling good about the rest of his summer.

“I always call myself an old plow horse. Hook me up to the plow and I’ll just go out there and get the job done,” Hagan said. “For Leah (Pruett) to finish off the New England win here on Friday and for us to come back and win on Sunday, it was a special weekend for TSR.

“Bristol is a special place for me. I’ve got a lot of home tracks, but this one has always felt like home. The last time I won here was Father’s Day weekend, and I was crying like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too. This weekend was challenging. Daniel Wilkerson was driving his butt off. His day is coming.”

Wilkerson defeated J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and points leader Ron Capps en route to his third career final round. Capps remains the points leader, sitting 24 points ahead of Hagan.

In Pro Stock, Matt Hartford wrapped up an incredibly successful weekend, following up Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory with a win on Sunday, defeating defending event winner Greg Anderson in the final round with a run of 6.672 at 205.60 in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro.

It gives Hartford three wins already this season and Sunday marked his first victory in Thunder Valley. He advanced to his second straight final round with victories against Shane Tucker, Cody Anderson and Aaron Stanfield.

He continued to show strong and consistent reaction times on the starting line, which has been a major key for the veteran over the past several weeks. The end result on Sunday was his 11th career victory, as Hartford, who is third in points, remains firmly in the championship conversation.

“I’ve been racing at Bristol since the early 2000s and never managed to win here. To finally get a Bristol trophy is an awesome feeling,” Hartford said. “We had a great race car all weekend. Winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and then winning the race is about as good as it gets.

“Greg’s beaten me a lot more than I’ve beaten him over the years, so I’ll enjoy this one. Winning a round is hard. Winning a race is harder. Winning three races in a season is something really special. This is the best season we’ve ever had at this point in the year.”

Anderson advanced to his fifth final round this season thanks to round wins against Kenny Delco and Matt Latino. Anderson also moved into the points lead, holding an 11-point advantage over reigning world champion Dallas Glenn.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera enjoyed a vintage performance on Sunday in Thunder Valley, becoming the first two-time winner in the category at Bristol by taking down his teammate Richard Gadson with a run of 6.838 at 198.47 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.

It gives Herrera his second victory of the season and the 30th in his career and plenty of redemption after an ultra-rare first-round loss at the most recent Pro Stock Motorcycle race in Maryland.

That is clearly behind him, as Herrera rolled to the No. 1 qualifier and then ousted Joey Gladstone and Steve Johnson to reach the final round. Gadson left first with a stellar .018 reaction time, but Herrera chased him down to get things back on track for the two-time world champion.

“After Maryland, me and Andrew (Hines, crew chief) and I were beating our heads against the wall trying to figure out what happened. It felt like we had some bad luck hanging over us, but it feels good to come here and get the win,” Herrera said.

“I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m back,’ but it definitely feels good to get the win and build some confidence heading into Norwalk. As we get closer and closer to the Countdown, I feel like my bike is back where it needs to be. Winning with Richard in the final was pretty cool. It reminded me of last year when he got his first win. We’ve got a lot of fun with it, but I’m glad to be the one taking home the trophy this time.”

Gadson went to his second straight final round at Bristol and the 13th in his career following wins over Wesley Wells, Chase Van Sant and Chris Bostick. He stays in the points lead, holding a 68-point advantage over Angie Smith, with Herrera in third.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action June 25-28 with the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.