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Antron Brown Finishes Strong with Semifinal Win at Seattle Western Swing
Highlights
- Antron Brown finished semifinal at NHRA Northwest Nationals Seattle
- Won Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, first bonus race victory
- Secured No. 7 starting position for Sunday eliminations
- Recorded quickest run Sunday: 3.714 seconds at 333.08 mph
- Lost semifinal to Doug Kalitta due to cylinder failure
- Upcoming: Night Under Fire event and NHRA Brainerd Nationals
Antron Brown ends Seattle’s Western Swing stop with a semifinal and Saturday’s bonus-race win, leading AB Motorsports at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
The four-time champion also records Sunday’s quickest pass of his event, a 3.714 seconds at 333.08 mph, before a cylinder issue halts his semifinal rematch with Doug Kalitta.
Brown’s track history matters here. He uniquely sweeps the Western Swing in 2009, and he takes his 50th Top Fuel win at Pacific Raceways in 2018.
First bonus-race victory of 2026: Brown wins the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.
Friday qualifying sets the tone, opening with 3.871 seconds at 323.66 mph, then improving under cooler air to 3.798 at 329.67 mph for provisional second, as detailed in the opening-day build-up.
Entry into Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge follows his Sonoma semifinal. Against Kalitta, both encounter tire smoke, and Brown pedals to a 4.088 at 279.27 mph to advance.
Qualifying fluctuations momentarily drop him to tenth, but recovery is swift. In the Challenge final, Brown beats Jasmine Salinas with a .046 light and a 3.730 at 332.59 mph, then locks in seventh for eliminations.
Quickest Sunday run: 3.714 seconds at 333.08 mph in round one.
Eliminations begin decisively. Brown dispatches Tony Schumacher with that 3.714 at 333.08 mph, as Schumacher’s car loses power early in the run.
The quarterfinal against Billy Torrence turns on execution. Brown’s starting-line edge holds, and he posts 3.725 at 329.99 mph over Torrence’s 3.745 at 332.84 mph.
Mechanical setback: a mid-track cylinder failure ends Brown’s semifinal against Kalitta.
The semifinal brings a familiar opponent in Kalitta. Brown leaves first but drops a cylinder near half-track and lifts, coasting to 5.897 at 109.57 mph as Kalitta runs 3.726 at 334.57 mph.
Performance trends remain positive. This marks Brown’s fourth straight semifinal, indicating a car with pace and repeatability. The team targets a small gremlin that narrows the tuning window under race-day conditions.
AB Motorsports now shifts to the Night Under Fire at Summit Motorsports Park on July 31–August 1, before resuming the campaign at the NHRA Brainerd Nationals from August 20–23.
Visual Summary
4× Top Fuel Champ
🏁 #2Fast2Tasty Winner
3.714s
Quickest run
Quickest run
332.59 mph
Challenge win
Challenge win
4th in a Row
Semifinal progress
Semifinal progress
Brown’s Steady Surge:
Semifinal Push | Bonus Win
Semifinal Push | Bonus Win
Antron Brown delivered a weekend of raw acceleration, clutch reaction times, and a Saturday bonus race win at Pacific Raceways.
He powered into the Seattle semifinals for the fourth straight time, showing resilience and veteran craft—despite a late engine issue stopping his final run.
His Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster will race again at Summit Motorsports Park, recharged and aiming for even greater heights in Brainerd.
🔜 Night Under Fire, Aug 1
Brainerd Nationals, Aug 20–23
Nicholas Rivera delivers NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car news, including eliminator-round results and reaction-time stats. He brings track-side interviews, contender profiles, and championship-point breakdowns straight from drag-racing’s biggest national events.
