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Fri, 21 Aug 2026, 13:35 PM

Top Alcohol Dragster Qualifying Notes, Session #1

By Reporter

BRAINERD, Minn. - Notes from round 1 qualifying in Top Alcohol Dragster at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, 44th annual NHRA Brainerd Nationals listing lane, driver name, elapsed time, top speed, and position in order following run:

Left Lane: Mitch Kalitta Runs 5.412/262.44, Now #1
Right Lane: John Haley Runs 5.678/243.55, Now #2

Weather conditions: air temperature 73 degrees, relative humidity 63 percent, barometer 29.99 inches, adjusted altitude 2,865 feet.

This is Mitch Kalitta first race overall in TAD.

John Haley has one National event win, Indy, 2002.
This is his 24th race overall, his 6th race at this event, first was 2002.
Best starting spot of his career is #3 (Pomona-1, 2003), best starting spot at this event is #4 (2003).
His average starting spot at this event is 8.4, average starting spot of his career is 9.3.
Haley's overall record at this event is 7 - 5, best finish at this event, Semi-finals, 2003 & 2006.
This is his first race since Gainesville, 2007.
His last race at this event was 2006.
Starts the event with an overall record of 16 - 19.

Kalitta is straight down the groove with a great debut in the Top alcohol Dragster category.

Haley clicked it off early.

Right Lane: Jim Lamb Runs 5.534/265.06, Now #2

This is Jim Lamb's second race overall. His second race at this event, first was 2025.
He DNQ here in 2025.
His career best is 5.506 seconds - 258.52 mph.

Lamb is straight down the groove with a good pass.

Left Lane: Todd Bruce Runs 5.367/271.35, Now #1
Right Lane: Kirk Wolf Runs 40.724/0.00, Now #5

Todd Bruce has one National event win, Dallas, 2017, last Final was Las Vegas-1, 2023.
This is his 23rd race overall, his 6th race at this event, first was 2018.
His best starting spot at this event is #1 (2018), best starting spot of his career is #1 (2 times).
Average starting spot at this event is 9.2, average starting spot of his career is 8.9.
Bruce's overall record at this event is 1 - 5, best finish at this event is Quarter-finals, 2018.
He starts the event with an overall record of 12 - 19.

Kirk Wolf has one National event win, Norwalk, 2023, last Final round was Dallas, 2023.
This is his 29th race overall, his 2nd race at this event, first was 2025.
He qualified #7 here in 2025.
The best starting spot of his career is #2, average starting spot of his career is 8.0.
His overall record at this event is 1 - 1, best finish at this event is Quarter-finals, 2025.
Starts the event with an overall record of 20 - 24.
This is his fourth race this year.

Bruce kept it hooked up and is straight down the groove.

Wolf was up in smoke right at the hit.

Left Lane: Mike Quayle Runs 5.437/259.56, Now #3
Right Lane: Alan Bradshaw Runs 14.615/76.17, Now #6

This is Mike Quayle 17th race overall.
This is his first race at this event.
Best starting spot of his career is #9 (2 times).
His average starting spot of his career is 11.5.
Quayle starts the event with an overall record of 2 - 11.
His first race in TAD was Seattle, 2018.
This is his first race since Brainerd, 2025.
Best finish at a National event is Quarter-finals, (twice).

Alan Bradshaw has five National event wins.
His last win was Topeka, 2013 and last Final was Norwalk, 2022 (R/U).
This is his 60th race overall, his 10th race at this event, first was 2022.
Best starting spot at this event is #1 (2003), best starting spot of his career is #1 (5 times).
His average starting spot at this event is 7.0, average starting spot of his career is 6.7.
Bradshaw's overall record at this event is 9 - 7, he won this race in 2003 (Beat D. Wells).
He DNQ here in 2005.
He starts the event with an overall record of 66 - 45.
His first race in TAD was Dallas, 1993.

Quayle started to drop cylinders, but stayed with it. He goes to the number three spot.

Bradshaw is up in smoke right at the hit and clicked it off.

Left Lane: Nick Spiegel Runs 5.474/255.34, Now #4
Right Lane: Matthew Cummings Runs 8.890/75.44, Now #7

This is Nick Spiegel eighth race overall, his second race at this event, first was 2024.
He qualified #9 here in 2024, best starting spot of his career is #8 (Las Vegas, 2024).
Spiegel's overall record at this event is 0 - 1 and starts the event with an overall record of 0 - 4.
This is his first race since Pomona-2, 2024.

Matthew Cummings has nine National event wins, last win was Norwalk, 2026.
This is his 78th race overall, his fifth race at this event, first was 2022.
Best starting spot at this event this #1 (2025), best starting spot of his career is #1 (13 times).
His average starting spot at this event is 5.3, average starting spot of his career is 6.5.
Cummings' overall record at this event is 9 - 3, he won this race in 2023 (Beat M. Lewis) and was runner-up here in 2022 (Lost to S. Cowie).
He starts the event with an overall record of 95 - 61.

Spiegel is straight down the groove with a clean pass.

Cummings with tire shake and rattled the chutes out.

Left Lane: Angelle Sampey Runs 5.836/182.55, Now #7
Right Lane: Anthony Troyer No Time, Now #11

Angelle Sampey has one National event win in TAD, Reading, 2024, last Final was Chicago, 2026 (R/U).
She has 46 National event wins in PSM.
This is her 29th race overall in TAD, her third race at this event in TAD, first was 2024.
Her best starting spot at this event is #5, 2024, best starting spot of her career in TAD is #1 (3 times).
Sampey's overall record at this event: 2 - 2, best finish at this event is Semi-finals, 2024.
She starts the event with an overall record of 22 - 23.
She qualified #1 twice in 2026 (Gainesville & Charlotte).

Sampey clicked it off early.

Troyer with severe tire shake and comes to a stop before the finish line.

Left Lane: Melanie Johnson Runs 5.276/265.27, Now #1
Right Lane: Jon Bradford Runs 5.321/278.23, Now #2

This is Melanie Johnson 18th race overall, this is her second race at this event, first was 2025.
She qualified #4 here in 2025.
Best starting spot of her career is #2 (Gainesville, 2025).
Average starting spot of her career is 6.2.
Johnson's overall record at this event is 1 - 1, best finish at this event is Quarter-finals, 2025.
She starts the event with an overall record of 14 - 15.

Jon Bradford has one National event win, Las Vegas-2, 2025, last Final was Pomona, 2026 (R/U).
This is his 17th race overall, his first race at this event.
Best starting spot of his career is #3 (4 time), average starting spot of his career is 5.7.
He starts the event with an overall record of 21 - 14.
He set Top Speed in Chicago & Seattle this year.

Johnson launched hard and then the car started to drop cylinders. She stayed with it to go to the number one spot. Melanie Johnson's incremental times: 60ft-0.953 sec., 330ft-2.419, 660ft-3.514/228.61 mph, 1,000ft-4.448.

Bradford kept it hooked up and hitting on all eight to go to the number two spot. Jon Bradford's incremental times: 60ft-0.906 sec., 330ft-2.369, 660ft-3.526/216.03 mph, 1,000ft-4.499.

Left Lane: Shawn Cowie Runs 5.211/277.60, Now #1
Right Lane: Joey Severance Runs 5.276/273.94, Now #2

Shawn Cowie has 28 National event wins, last win was Seattle, 2026.
This is his 152nd race overall, his ninth race at this event, first was 2009.
Best starting spot at this event is #3 (2009 & 2010), best starting spot of his career is #1 (30 times).
His average starting spot at this event is 7.9, average starting spot of his career is 4.6.
Cowie's overall record at this event is 11 - 6, won this race in 2019 (Beat M. Meyer) & 2022 (Beat M. Cummings).
He has qualified in the top half of the field at 4 of his 8 of his races here.
His lowest starting spot at this event is #16 (2024).
He starts the event with an overall record of 255 - 123, his 255 round wins are fourth most in TAD.

Joey Severance has 30 National event wins including one win this season, Charlotte, 2026.
This is his 170th race overall, his 12th race at this event, first was 2014.
His best starting spot at this event is #1 (2014 & 2015), best starting spot of his career is #1 (18).
Average starting spot at this event is 5.8, average starting spot of his career is 5.9.
Severance's overall record at this event is 16 - 8, he won this race in 2016 (Beat D. Shields) and was runner-up here in 2015 (Lost to M. Taliafero) & 2021 (Lost to R. McPhillips Jr.).
He has qualified in the top half of the field at 7 of his 11 races here, he did not show for Rd. 1 in 2023.
His 16 round wins here are the third most in TAD.
He starts the event with an overall record of 259 - 132.
His 259 round wins are the third most in TAD. He DNQ here in 2025.

Cowie launched hard and kept it hooked up to go to the number one spot. Shawn Cowie's incremental times: 60ft-0.922 sec., 330ft-2.341, 660ft-3.451/223.76 mph, 1,000ft-4.402.

Severance launched hard and kept it hooked up to go to the number two spot. Joey Severance's incremental times: 60ft-0.892 sec., 330ft-2.335, 660ft-3.467/218.09 mph, 1,000ft-4.445.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink