Tue, 04 Nov 2025, 18:55 PM Antron Brown Looks Ahead After Early Exit at NHRA Nevada Nationals

Courtesy of Allison McCormick, ABM Communications

NHRA Nevada Nationals
Event 19 of 20
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas
Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2025

LAS VEGAS - Antron Brown will need to wait until the next race to put his new-look Matco Tools Eagle Experience Top Fuel dragster in the winner's circle, as the debut weekend for the striking new scheme ended in the opening round of the NHRA Nevada Nationals. Brown came up just short in a marquee first-round matchup Sunday morning at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading the four-time and defending NHRA Top Fuel world champion to look onward to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season finale in Pomona and beyond.

When Brown rolled to the starting line for the first qualifying session on Friday, he showed off the new look on his AB Motorsports dragster. The special livery commemorates the recent launch of the Matco Tools Eagle Experience, a dynamic mobile showroom tour designed to bring cutting-edge tool storage and diagnostic technology directly to technicians, technical education students, and motorsports fans across the country. Brown lost traction early in the first qualifying session, but he stepped up to a 3.750 E.T. at 333.16 mph in the second session to end the day in the No. 7 spot. He didn't improve in either of Saturday's two sessions, and locked in the No. 7 position for race day.

Sunday eliminations kicked off with a highly anticipated pairing, as Brown lined up against Clay Millican in NHRA's Marquee Matchup to lead off Top Fuel round one after the national anthem. Brown hit the throttle first, but Millican edged past him to reach the finish line first. Brown posted a 3.791-second pass at 333.58 mph to Millican's 3.750 E.T.

"The hard part is we know where we need to be better at and we're just gun-shy because this track was not the typical Vegas track we come to," Brown said. "We've just got to figure out the different inconsistencies of the tracks, and we've got to do a better job at that. It's nobody's fault but our own, but we'll just keep working. We're going to work on some stuff to get ready for next year. We're going to test tomorrow, then we've got one race left. We want to go to Pomona, run some 3.60s, and end the year on a good note."

Beyond Monday testing, Brown will stay in Las Vegas to attend the SEMA Show before closing out the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Series season at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, Nov. 13-16, at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.

Qualified: No. 7 (3.750 E.T. at 333.16 MPH)

Elimination Round Results: E1: 3.791 E.T. at 333.58 MPH defeated by Clay Millican 3.750 E.T. at 333.74 MPH

 
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial): 
1  Doug Kalitta      2607
2  Shawn Langdon     2463
3  Justin Ashley     2444
4  Brittany Force    2415
5  Tony Stewart      2364
6  Clay Millican     2335
7  Steve Torrence    2297
8  Shawn Reed        2290
9  Antron Brown      2275
10 Josh Hart         2185