NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The engines are warm, the grandstands are alive and the race-day battle has been unleashed at Brainerd International Raceway.

After two days of qualifying, preparation and anticipation, Sunday has arrived at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals. Now, every pairing matters. Every reaction time carries consequences. Every run can reshape a championship season that is rapidly building toward its crescendo.

The weather is nearly perfect, the track is ready and the unmistakable energy of Brainerd has spilled out of “The Zoo” and into the staging lanes. Warm-ups echoed through the pits shortly after dawn as crews made their final adjustments and drivers prepared themselves for the intensity of eliminations.

Now, it is time to race.

Follow along throughout the day as NHRA.com brings you the latest news, notes, round-by-round developments and behind-the-scenes stories from Sunday at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.

Top Fuel Round 1

Top Fuel eliminations opened with a mix of side-by-side racing, tire smoke and a major starting-line upset at Brainerd International Raceway.

Tony Stewart began the round with a strong 3.726-second pass at 334.32 mph to defeat Josh Hart’s respectable 3.789 at 330.47. Stewart also left first with a .047 reaction time and never surrendered the advantage.

Leah Pruett delivered the quickest and fastest run of the opening round, powering to a 3.702 at 341.08 mph to defeat Will Smith’s 3.726 at 330.47. Pruett was also first off the starting line, advancing by nearly five hundredths of a second. Pruett joins the exclusive 340-mph club and shows the power that team has harnessed.

The round’s biggest surprise came when No. 4 qualifier Billy Torrence left before the Tree activated, posting a red-light reaction time of minus-.168. That handed the victory to No. 13 qualifier Clay Millican, who advanced with a 3.796 at 311.05 mph.

No. 2 qualifier Maddi Gordon continued her impressive weekend with a 3.752 at 336.32 to defeat Scott Palmer, whose car slowed to a 4.363. No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta followed with a clean 3.713 at 336.23, easily advancing past Cameron Ferre’s 4.092.

Shawn Langdon overcame Keith Murt’s strong .026 reaction time with a 3.708 at 335.57. Murt recorded a 3.953, allowing Langdon to drive around him and advance.

Justin Ashley was sharp at the starting line with a .038 light and powered to a 3.750 at 331.36. Shawn Reed lost traction and slowed to a 4.927, giving Ashley the largest margin of victory of the round.

Antron Brown closed Top Fuel’s opening session with a 3.776 at 330.63 to defeat Tony Schumacher, who encountered trouble and slowed to a 4.714.

The results set up a strong second round: Kalitta against Brown, Millican against Ashley, Gordon against Stewart, and Langdon against Pruett.

Funny Car Round 1

Funny Car’s opening round delivered two holeshot victories, an upset and plenty of tire smoke as eight drivers advanced at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.

No. 13 qualifier Bobby Bode opened the round with an upset victory over No. 4 qualifier Daniel Wilkerson. Both cars encountered trouble, but Bode recovered to post a 4.483 at 206.99 mph, while Wilkerson slowed to a 7.925.

J.R. Todd delivered one of the round’s strongest runs, powering to a 3.898 at 333.66 mph after Spencer Hyde lost traction and slowed to a 7.852. Todd’s run was just one-thousandth of a second behind the best pass of the session.

No. 1 qualifier Jordan Vandergriff advanced on a competition bye. Vandergriff launched cleanly before running into trouble and coasting across the finish line in 6.044 seconds at 110.47 mph.

Austin Prock advanced with a 3.947 at 327.27 after Jack Wyatt encountered immediate trouble. Matt Hagan then recorded the quickest pass of the round, combining a sharp .040 reaction time with a 3.897 at 326.00 to defeat Jim Campbell.

The biggest surprise came late in the session. Jack Beckman and Chad Green both ran into trouble, but Beckman's day went worse after pedaling his John Force Racing Peak Funny Car Camaro lead to a centerline violation after clipping two cones and disqualifying his run. 

Ron Capps followed with a holeshot victory against Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon ran the quicker elapsed time with a 3.919 at 319.98, but Capps left first with a .082 reaction time and won with a 3.934 at 325.14. The margin at the finish line was only .0042-second.

Alexis DeJoria closed the round with a strong 3.927 at 328.14 to defeat Dave Richards, who slowed to a 5.358.

The results set up a compelling second round featuring Vandergriff against DeJoria, Bode against Todd, Prock against Capps and Hagan against Green.

Pro Stock Round 1

Pro Stock’s opening round delivered two major upsets, three holeshot victories and a pair of races decided by less than nine-thousandths of a second at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals.

Cody Anderson earned his first head-to-head victory over six-time world champion Erica Enders while also recording the low elapsed time of the round. Enders grabbed a .015-second starting-line advantage, but Anderson drove around her with a 6.540 at 207.11 mph to defeat her 6.564 at 209.30 by just .0092-second.

The round’s biggest upset came when Jeg Coughlin Jr. made his best run of the weekend and put No. 1 qualifier Dallas Glenn on the trailer. Glenn had previously said that qualifying first did not feel like an advantage if it meant racing Coughlin in the opening round—and his concern proved justified.

Coughlin drilled the Tree with a .019 reaction time and used the starting-line advantage to win on a holeshot. His 6.572 at 208.94 defeated Glenn’s quicker 6.555 at 208.39 by only .0085-second.

Eric Latino also made his best run of the weekend and left with an exceptional .008 reaction time, but even that was not enough to defeat Greg Stanfield. Stanfield was just .011 behind at the start and powered to a 6.554 at 208.07 to drive around Latino’s 6.572 at 209.20. The margin was a razor-thin .0077-second.

Chris Vang opened the round with a strong .012 reaction time and a 6.561 at 207.02 to defeat Matt Latino’s 6.572. Troy Coughlin Jr. then scored a holeshot victory over Kenny Delco, using a .025 light and a 6.600 to defeat Delco’s quicker 6.593.

Aaron Stanfield advanced with a 6.558 at 207.56 against Jerry Tucker’s 6.622, while Matt Hartford used a 6.551 at 208.81 to defeat Deric Kramer’s 6.576.

Greg Anderson also advanced convincingly, pairing a .049 reaction time with a 6.546 at 207.72 to defeat Mason McGaha’s 6.596.

The results set up a second round featuring Chris Vang against Jeg Coughlin Jr., Matt Hartford against Cody Anderson, Greg Anderson against Troy Coughlin Jr. and Aaron Stanfield against Greg Stanfield.