Famed & fan favourite location Bristol Dragway celebrates it’s 25th edition NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals…
4X Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown won for the first time at Bristol Dragway — defeating points leader Shawn Langdon in a thrilling final round of the 25th annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the ninth of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Brown went 3.788-seconds at 331.61 mph in his Matco Tools dragster, holding off Langdon’s 3.801 at 334.07 in a spectacular side-by-side duel. It is Brown’s first victory of the season and the 82nd in his career, defeating Will Smith, Shawn Reed and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta to reach the final round.
Antron Brown won solidly for TF racing at the 25th Edition Thunder Valley Nationals.
It was a rough start to the season for Brown, but the team has rebounded in impressive fashion in recent weeks, advancing to the final round in Chicago. But Sunday marked off a huge item for Brown, who had only advanced to the final round at Bristol on two prior occasions.
But he led wire-to-wire against Langdon in Thunder Valley, picking up his first Diamond Wally and moving to fifth in points in the process.
“We’ve been struggling at the beginning of the year, but we kept our heads down, kept grinding and kept working. Today, it all came together,” Brown said. “The Kalitta cars are the giants out here right now. To sneak around them and get a win, that says a lot about what our team accomplished today.”
Langdon reached the final round for the seventh time this season, defeating Jasmine Salinas, No. 1 qualifier Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart. He will continue to enjoy a healthy points lead, which now stands at 114 over Kalitta.
TF racing did include the Canadian-based Paton Racing dragster – driven by American Keith Murt. Murt ran a rewarding career quick 3.863 secs in round one – but lost out barely to Tony Schumacher who had a quicker RT.
In workmanlike fashion, 4X Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan grinded out the victory at his home track, denying Daniel Wilkerson his first career victory thanks to a run of 4.125 at 310.91 in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge Funny Car.
It is Hagan’s second win of the season and the 57th in his career. This one wasn’t the most spectacular when it came to performance, but Hagan was on point when he needed to be, defeating Jon Capps and reigning two-time world champion Austin Prock to reach the final round.
Matt Hagan won in fuel FC for the 57th time – grinding out a nice win at his “home track”.
He didn’t go quicker than 4.079 on Sunday, but Hagan took advantage of the opportunity for Tony Stewart Racing, reaching his 100th career final round. Wilkerson went up in smoke almost immediately in the championship round, handing Hagan his first victory in Thunder Valley since 2015. After Bristol, Hagan is now second in points and feeling good about the rest of his summer.
“Bristol is a special place for me,” Matt said. “This one has always felt like home. The last time I won here was Father’s Day weekend, and I was crying like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too. This weekend was challenging. Daniel Wilkerson was driving his butt off. His day is coming.”
Dan Wilkerson came up short of his first career FC win – placing R/UP at Bristol.
Wilkerson defeated J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and points leader Ron Capps en route to his third career final round. Capps remains the points leader, sitting 24 points ahead of Hagan.
In Pro Stock, Matt Hartford wrapped up an incredibly successful weekend, following up Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory with a win on Sunday, defeating defending event winner Greg Anderson in the final round with a run of 6.672 at 205.60 in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro.
It gives Hartford three wins already this season and Sunday marked his first victory in Thunder Valley. He advanced to his second straight final round with victories against Shane Tucker, Cody Anderson and Aaron Stanfield.
Matt Hartford had an immense weekend of Pro Stock racing – winning both the overall event and Mission Challenge.
He continued to show strong and consistent reaction times on the starting line, which has been a major key for the veteran over the past several weeks. The end result on Sunday was his 11th career victory, as Hartford, who is third in points, remains firmly in the championship conversation.
“I’ve been racing at Bristol since the early 2000s and never managed to win here. To finally get a Bristol trophy is an awesome feeling,” Hartford said. “We had a great race car all weekend. Winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and then winning the race is about as good as it gets.”
Anderson advanced to his fifth final round this season thanks to round wins against Kenny Delco and Matt Latino. Anderson also moved into the points lead, holding an 11-point advantage over reigning world champion Dallas Glenn.
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera enjoyed a vintage performance on Sunday in Thunder Valley, becoming the first two-time winner in the category at Bristol by taking down his teammate Richard Gadson with a run of 6.838 at 198.47 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki.
It gives Herrera his second victory of the season and the 30th in his career and plenty of redemption after an ultra-rare first-round loss at the most recent Pro Stock Motorcycle race in Maryland.
Gaige Herrera increased his PSM points lead with his 2nd win of 2026
That is clearly behind him, as Herrera rolled to the No. 1 qualifier and then ousted Joey Gladstone and Steve Johnson to reach the final round. Gadson left first with a stellar .018 reaction time, but Herrera chased him down to get things back on track for the two-time world champion.
Gadson went to his second straight final round at Bristol and the 13th in his career following wins over Wesley Wells, Chase Van Sant and Chris Bostick. He stays in the points lead, holding a 68-point advantage over Angie Smith, with Herrera in third.
Saturday’s final rounds from the event’s popular Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge included another win for Doug Kalitta for Top Fuel at 3.922 seconds, 314.90 mph to defeat Leah Pruett, 3.918 seconds, 325.45 mph.
Jack Beckman had a nice weekend — winning both the rain-delayed New England Nationals event title & then the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge race.
The Funny Car Challenge was Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro who defeated his JFR teammate Jordan Vandergriff in the final when Vandergriff had a centre line violation.
The Pro Stock Challenge went to Matt Hartford at 6.671 secs 206.95 mph over Dallas Glenn — Red Light. For the Pro Stock Motorcycle Challenge — Richard Gadson rode his Suzuk to a final round 6.855, 197.65 to top Jianna Evaristo’s Buell at 6.896, 197.10 mph.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action June 25-28 with the 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Regular Season Ender!
NHRA’s JBS Equipment Pro Mod class contingent closed out their regular season at Bristol Dragway with Jason Collins picking up his second win in the popular series.
This weekend’s event was the sixth of season’s 11 races – with the five remaining being playoff rounds.
In the final he defeated opponent Mike Stavrinos — in a very unconventional fashion.
Jason Collins appeared in his 3rd straight JBS Equipment Pro Mod Series final round of the season and came away with his 2nd win.
Stavrinos went red by .005 in the championship round, handing the victory to Collins, who got loose and nearly crossed the centerline. But, in the end, Collins enjoyed his second win in the past three races as he’s advanced to the final round three straight times in the loaded category.
In the second round, Collins got loose during the burnout and struck the center guard wall on the starting line during a wild turn of events. But he recovered, got the car staged and knocked off Travis Harvey with a run of 5.786 at 247.79. A round later, Collins knocked off Stan Shelton with a run of 5.798 at 247.52 to reach the final round.
Stavrinos, who qualified No. 1, reached the finals for second time this season and seventh time in his career with victories Alex Laughlin, reigning world champion J.R. Gray and Rickie Smith.
The Road to the Championship playoffs for the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports begins June 25-28 as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Derek Menholt opens the five-race playoffs in first place, with Stavrinos in second. Justin Bond, Collins and Stan Shelton round out the top five.
Thunder Valley Nationals Sportsman Racing Winner Summary
Quebec’s Gerard Milette won his 2nd career Nationals title in Top Sportsman.
Lauren Freer won for the 9th time in S/G 9.90
Super Comp went to a first time winner – Chris Childress
Attending “Blue Oval” fans were very pleased after two Mustang drivers won — points leader Jonathan Allegrucci (Factory Stock Showdown – top photos) and Michael Brand in (Stock).
Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
Photos by David Ostaszewski
Link to the LMLC Media Event Photo Gallery: HERE (Coming soon!)
