NHRA Carolina Nationals Results, Updated Standings: Antron Brown Back on Top in Top Fuel

• Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Top Fuel Motorcyle) were winners at the NHRA Carolina Nationals.

• For the three-time champion Brown, he grabbed the points lead in the Top Fuel Class for the first time since 2017.

• All four winners on Sunday lead their respective classes with four races to go in the season.

Like any professional racer, three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Antron Brown has experienced all of the emotions that exist in the sport, but by opening this year’s Countdown to the Championship with two consecutive victories he has acquired something he hasn’t possessed since 2017—the points lead.

With four events remaining in the 2024 season, Brown possesses a 53-point advantage over Justin Ashley in second. Shawn Langdon owns third, nine points in arrears to Ashley. However, Brown’s climb from the 10th qualifying position to the top in Sunday’s NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway wasn’t an easy one.

First, Brown had to dispense with four-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence. Brown posted a 3.829 ET, 325.30 mph run to Torrence’s 3.817 ET, 326.08. Brown’s reaction time was.054 while Torrence’s was.113. Next came Torrence’s father Billy, and Brown said in his post-race interview that the elder Torrence told him “I ain’t playing with you. I’m gonna give you a good, old-fashion ass whuppin’.”

Once again, though, Brown had the better reaction time,.054 to.060. Brown’s ET was 3.869, 321.12 mph to Billy Torrence’s 3.892 ET, 323.97 mph.

Defending Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta was Brown’s next adversary, and this drag race was a close one. Brown’s.054 reaction time with a 3.873 ET, 319.07 mph defeated Kalitta who had a.078 reaction time, 3.876 ET, 300.73 mph.

Brown and Doug Foley both came from the bottom of the bracket to meet in the final round. Foley had qualified 12th, however, his Cinderella story ended when Brown stormed down the dragway with a 3.848 ET, 319.90 mph. Foley’s ET was 3.862, 316.08 mph.

“Our team beat all of that resistance with persistence,” Brown said after acquiring his fifth win this year, his seventh at zMAX Dragway and his 63rd Top Fuel victory. “It was just a tough, tough, hard-fought day.

“When you go on these rounds, there’s all kind of storylines that you think about. What I found out helps me the most is to get up there and say I gotta be the best that I can be. The experiences have taught me not to get nervous. I don’t get gun shy; I keep my head down and I do what I can do. That’s what our crew chiefs do. They do what we’re capable of doing on the race track at that given moment.”

Brown noted that only nine-hundredths of a second separated the No. 1 and No. 16 qualifiers at zMAX.

“We still have four races left. There’s 16 rounds left on the table to win,” Brown said. “We’ve got a third of them. We’ve got to focus on winning every round that’s available to us.”

Brown is in his 17th Top Fuel season and notes it’s “been a heck of a ride.”

“I never thought that I would be here winning the races that we’ve won,” Brown said. “One day when I retire, I’ll sit there in a little rocking chair, and I’ll look at my trophy room, and I’ll count them one-by-one and see if I can remember the memories from each one, because each one of those Walleys have a story to them. It’s like you’re living that dream. You just never knew the dream could be this big.”

Results

NHRA Carolina Nationals

at Concord, N.C.

Final finish order (1-16) at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the 16th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1, Antron Brown; 2. Doug Foley; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Clay Millican; 5. Billy Torrence; 6.Brittany Force; 7. Shawn Langdon; 8. Justin Ashley; 9. Jasmine Salinas; 10. Steve Torrence; 11. Tony Schumacher; 12. Tony Stewart; 13. Dan Mercier; 14. Ida Zetterstrom; 15. Josh Hart; 16. Shawn Reed.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Austin Prock; 2. Matt Hagan; 3. Bob Tasca III; 4. Jack Beckman; 5. Daniel Wilkerson; 6. John Smith; 7. Ron Capps; 8. J.R. Todd; 9. Dave Richards; 10. Cruz Pedregon; 11. Buddy Hull; 12. Alexis DeJoria; 13. Chad Green; 14. Blake Alexander.

PRO STOCK:

1. Dallas Glenn; 2. Aaron Stanfield; 3. Greg Anderson; 4. Erica Enders; 5. Matt Hartford; 6. Cristian Cuadra; 7. Jerry Tucker; 8. Jeg Coughlin; 9. Mason McGaha; 10. Chris McGaha; 11. Derrick Reese; 12. Eric Latino; 13. Kenny Delco; 14. Cory Reed; 15. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 16. Camrie Caruso.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Matt Smith; 2. Richard Gadson; 3. Jianna Evaristo; 4. Gaige Herrera; 5. Angie Smith; 6. Chase Van Sant; 7. John Hall; 8. Hector Arana Jr; 9. Marc Ingwersen; 10. Chris Bostick; 11. Geno Scali; 12. Kelly Clontz; 13. Steve Johnson; 14. Ron Tornow; 15. Marcus Hylton.

Final Rounds

Sunday's final results from the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway. The race is the 16th of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Antron Brown, 3.848 seconds, 319.90 mph def. Doug Foley, 3.862 seconds, 316.08 mph.

Funny Car -- Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.924, 326.48 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.958, 324.98.

Pro Stock -- Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.626, 207.18 def. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.630, 207.75.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 6.846, 199.35 def. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, Foul - Red Light.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Joe Maynard, 5.272, 273.05 def. Julie Nataas, 6.679, 152.97.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.513, 265.22 def. Bob McCosh, Chevy Camero, 5.529, 261.83.

Competition Eliminator -- Larry Pritchett, Pontiac Sunfire, 7.982, 154.92 def. Jared Kimbrough, Dragster, Foul - Red Light.

Super Stock -- Logan Belanger, Pontiac Firebird, 10.284, 117.92 def. Monty Bogan, Chevy Camaro, Foul - Red Light.

Stock Eliminator -- Tim Barrett, Chevy Camaro, 10.925, 119.47 def. Kenny Anderson, Chevy Nova, 11.094, 117.49.

Super Comp -- Ray Miller III, Dragster, 8.934, 173.92 def. Jack Sepanek, Dragster, 8.945, 170.19.

Super Gas -- David Morris, Chevy Camaro, 9.915, 165.64 def. Tim Powell, Chevy Corvette, 9.989, 155.74.

Top Sportsman -- Tyler Caheely, Chevy Cavalier, 6.955, 199.11 def. Sandy Wilkins, Chevy Camaro, 6.441, 204.35.

Top Dragster -- Chad Taylor, Dragster, 7.157, 182.45 def. Chuck Krepela, Dragster, 6.968, 187.99.

Pro Modified -- Travis Harvey, Chevy Camaro, 5.786, 247.61 def. Dmitry Samorukov, Camaro, 5.949, 245.18.

Top Fuel Motorcycle -- Larry McBride, Suzuki, 4.875, 238.38 def. Mitch Brown, Suzuki, Broke.

Round By Round

Final round-by-round results from the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, the 16th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Clay Millican, 3.814, 326.87 def. Jasmine Salinas, 3.798, 329.42; Doug Foley, 3.780, 325.92 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.834, 320.28; Billy Torrence, 3.884, 302.01 def. Shawn Reed, 6.993, 105.27; Doug Kalitta, 3.894, 306.67 def. Tony Stewart, 4.299, 220.48; Brittany Force, 4.789, 203.58 def. Ida Zetterstrom, 4.896, 147.13; Justin Ashley, 4.498, 306.74 def. Dan Mercier, 4.411, 253.52; Shawn Langdon, 3.775, 327.98 def. Josh Hart, 4.923, 165.97; Antron Brown, 3.829, 325.30 def. Steve Torrence, 3.817, 326.08;

QUARTERFINALS -- Brown, 3.869, 321.12 def. B. Torrence, 3.892, 323.97; Foley, 4.709, 227.15 def. Ashley, 5.203, 137.36; Millican, 3.796, 323.04 def. Force, 3.909, 314.53; Kalitta, 3.905, 317.64 def. Langdon, 4.364, 242.19;

SEMIFINALS -- Brown, 3.873, 319.07 def. Kalitta, 3.876, 300.73; Foley, 5.314, 127.56 def. Millican, Broke - No Show;

FINAL -- Brown, 3.848, 319.90 def. Foley, 3.862, 316.08.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- John Smith, Dodge Charger, 5.196, 152.90 def. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 10.110, 76.32; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.976, 320.97 def. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.095, 305.36; Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.965, 319.07 def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 4.994, 197.74; Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.934, 322.81 def. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.597, 191.95; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.988, 316.15 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.361, 209.95; Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.984, 314.46 def. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.945, 321.50; Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.933, 319.37 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 7.770, 122.31;

QUARTERFINALS -- Tasca III, 4.003, 314.97 def. Smith, 4.149, 281.54; Beckman, 3.937, 323.35 def. Wilkerson, 4.004, 317.64; Prock, 4.029, 292.20 def. Capps, 6.772, 107.92; Hagan, 3.978, 318.77 was unopposed;

SEMIFINALS -- Hagan, 4.002, 316.38 def. Tasca III, 4.009, 319.60; Prock, 3.962, 324.36

def. Beckman, 4.016, 320.97;

FINAL -- Prock, 3.924, 326.48 def. Hagan, 3.958, 324.98.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Jerry Tucker, Chevy Camaro, 6.689, 205.76 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 8.540, 130.94; Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.675, 206.07 def. Cory Reed, Camaro, Foul - Red Light; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.617, 207.11 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.686, 206.32; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.676, 206.57 def. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 15.994, 52.60; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.596, 206.29 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.640, 207.53; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.596, 207.69 def. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.692, 206.61; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.599, 206.16 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.661, 207.85; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.602, 208.42 def. Derrick Reese, Mustang, Foul - Red Light;

QUARTERFINALS -- Enders, 6.626, 208.04 def. Tucker, 6.685, 206.10; Stanfield, 6.625, 206.16 def. Coughlin, Foul - Red Light; Glenn, 6.609, 206.42 def. Hartford, 6.644, 206.80; Anderson, 6.603, 207.69 def. Cuadra, 6.664, 206.99;

SEMIFINALS -- Glenn, 6.643, 207.27 def. Enders, 6.924, 207.98; Stanfield, 6.622, 207.53 def. Anderson, 6.629, 207.75;

FINAL -- Glenn, 6.626, 207.18 def. Stanfield, 6.630, 207.75.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Angie Smith, Buell, 6.907, 197.88 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, Foul - Red Light; John Hall, 6.971, 194.86 def. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.969, 192.82; Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.900, 195.68 def. Marc Ingwersen, 6.922, 194.02; Hector Arana Jr, 6.899, 196.90 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.947, 193.60; Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.960, 194.10 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.002, 190.86; Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.846, 197.94 def. Ron Tornow, 7.182, 193.40; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.852, 197.83 def. Marcus Hylton, 7.189, 184.25; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.833, 199.02 was unopposed;

QUARTERFINALS -- Evaristo, 6.996, 194.83 def. Arana Jr, Broke; Herrera, 6.874, 196.73 def. Hall, Foul - Red Light; Gadson, 6.887, 197.39 def. Van Sant, 6.942, 194.91; M. Smith, 6.863, 198.29 def. A. Smith, 6.893, 198.55;

SEMIFINALS -- Gadson, 6.890, 196.36 def. Herrera, 8.746, 100.40; M. Smith, 6.903, 196.85 def. Evaristo, 7.046, 192.58;

FINAL -- M. Smith, 6.846, 199.35 def. Gadson, Foul - Red Light.

Updated Points Standings

CONCORD, N.C. -- Point standings (top 10) following the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, the 16th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Antron Brown, 2,292; 2. Justin Ashley, 2,239; 3. Shawn Langdon, 2,230; 4. Doug Kalitta, 2,225; 5. Clay Millican, 2,174; 6. Steve Torrence, 2,162; 7. Tony Schumacher, 2,119; 8. Tony Stewart, 2,118; 9. Brittany Force, 2,114; 10. Billy Torrence, 2,082.

Funny Car

1. Austin Prock, 2,370; 2. Bob Tasca III, 2,241; 3. John Force/Jack Beckman, 2,234; 4. Matt Hagan, 2,217; 5. Ron Capps, 2,163; 6. J.R. Todd, 2,160; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 2,113; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, 2,108; 9. Blake Alexander, 2,103; 10. Chad Green, 2,100.

Pro Stock

1. Dallas Glenn, 2,317; 2. Aaron Stanfield, 2,309; 3. Erica Enders, 2,264; 4. Greg Anderson, 2,243; 5. Jeg Coughlin, 2,151; 6. Cristian Cuadra, 2,125; 7. Jerry Tucker, 2,118; 8. Troy Coughlin Jr., 2,111; 9. Matt Hartford, 2,088; 10. Eric Latino, 2,074.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Matt Smith, 2,308; 2. Gaige Herrera, 2,283; 3. Richard Gadson, 2,281; 4. Hector Arana Jr, 2,193; 5. Chase Van Sant, 2,154; 6. John Hall, 2,152; 7. Angie Smith, 2,149; 8. Jianna Evaristo, 2,137; 9. Steve Johnson, 2,095; 10. Chris Bostick, 2,064.