The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods season was packed with big moments. Each championship had to be decided at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, which made the event very special.
For the fourth time in his Top Fuel career and for the first time as a team owner, Antron Brown is a world champion in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, clinching an emotional title following his semifinal round win on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip at the 59th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) clinched 2024 NHRA world Mission Foods Drag Racing Series championships on Sunday in Pomona.
Brown qualified just 12th in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools/Toyota dragster, but as he’s done all year, the standout was in prime form during eliminations. He knocked off Justin Ashley, who entered the weekend with the points lead, with a run of 3.696-seconds at 331.53 mph in an incredible matchup to open eliminations and then faced off with another title contender in Shawn Langdon. Both drivers ran into trouble, but Brown recovered and advanced to the semifinals against Force.
In the championship-clinching round, Brown rolled to one of the biggest round wins in his career, going 3.693 at 330.88 to defeat Force and pick up his fourth career championship and first since he started AB Motorsports in 2022. He followed that up with a final-round victory against Doug Kalitta, going 3.681 at 330.55 to pick up his sixth win of his season and the 80th in his incredible career
“This is super special. I’ve been dreaming about this day since I shared my vision with [late team owner] Don Schumacher about being a team owner,” Brown said. “This team has been resilient. We never quit and we never stop. When we lined up this weekend and we saw our matchup, it was like doomsday. To get this win, I tell you what, it’s been incredible. It’s truly a blessing and I can’t believe we did it.”
“We found something special in testing after Las Vegas and then we came in here and shot ourselves in the foot during qualifying. We ended up No. 12 and had to race Justin Ashley in round one. I just thought, ‘This is what I have to do. I have to beat Justin.’ And I found the Antron Brown of old form.”
Brown enjoyed a spectacular season, but one also filled with adversity. He won three times during the regular season (Chicago, Norwalk and Sonoma) and entered the playoffs in second. He won the first…
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