Wet weather severely impacted this year’s NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series opener, the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in north central Florida. Fortunately, it didn’t mean postponement for the points-paying portion of the weekend; only the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout is being continued to this year’s Winternationals in late March.
The balance of the weekend’s activities for the four pro classes: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, were able to go ahead, albeit with stops, both lengthy and quick, for the vaunted Safety Safari to prep the track after rain showers scotched continuing competition. While the first Top Fuel races went off starting at 9:30AM EDT, there was a massive pause to that competition before restarting after noon.
By the time four rounds of eliminations were completed, reigning – and four-time – Top Fuel champion Antron Brown hoisted his Wally winner’s trophy, joined by second-time winner Chad Green in his Ford Mustang, last year’s runner-up Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock and reigning two-time-consecutive champ Gaige Herrera made it three straight wins in Gainesville. Unfortunately, Factory Stock Showdown was unable to complete their event and will have to include Gatornationals laps elsewhere That location hasn’t been announced as of yet.
Earning his eighth consecutive round win late Sunday afternoon, Brown used exemplary reaction times of .032 and .036 in the semifinals and final round to parlay his No. 1 qualifying slot into a second straight victory, as he’d won the season finale last November in Pomona. In earning this 81st national event victory, Brown denied Shawn Langdon a second straight visit to Gainesville’s Winner’s Circle, as Langdon was part of Kalitta Motorsports’ first-ever double-up in 2024 with teammate J.R. Todd winning the Funny Car battle in his Toyota GR Supra. Brown’s 3.673-sec run at 333.99 mph slipped past Langdon’s 3.684/332.67.
That pairing showed that the weather played into crew chief battles to be first to the timing lines at 1,000 feet. The track was fast, but in the first round of play, few drivers were able to use it to their advantage. That changed as more rubber went down, of course, and by the close of competition, the pairings raced as expected – for the most part. Brown realized the track would be tricky to overcome and he had luck on his side in the first two rounds. “I’m proud of this incredible team,” he said with trophy in hand. Racing a Pro Modified car this winter and racing at the PRO Superstar Shootout in February kept him in race mode. “We came right back in race mode and, for me, doing all the racing off-season, I think really, really helped me. It kept me focused and kept me sharp,” he acknowledged.
Brown and Herrera were the only two current champions to earn a win in the season starting race. It was a tough weekend for John Force Racing’s Austin Prock, who faced mechanical issues and couldn’t use the track to his advantage. That opened the door for Chad Green, whose sole NHRA national event win came at the series final in 2023, when he was being tuned by current driver Daniel Wilkerson. With Joe Sarena and Dean Marinas turning the knobs, in the semi- and final rounds Green turned complementary laps of 3.922 and 3.921 (at 329.18 in the final) to gain his second victory. He defeated Paul Lee, Buddy Hull and four-time champ Matt Hagan to reach the finals, showing consistency on a day when that quality was a necessity.
“This race is so special,” Green stated. “I mean, it’s the Gators! There are so many historical things that have happened at this race for so many years, and I was saying in my [top end] interview, that my very first race down this racetrack in an official race car was here at this track. So yeah, it means a lot to me,” to win the first race of the 20-event campaign in Gainesville. “I’ve always said it’s so important to start off the year and do well at the first race, or else you’re behind the eight ball. This just takes the cake right here, to start off No. 1 in points, that’s really awesome.”
In his successful final round, Green fended off three-time champ Ron Capps and his Toyota GR Supra, who is still seeking his first victory since the 2023 season. Capps advanced to his 148th career final round with wins against John Smith, Bobby Bode and Alexis DeJoria. Racing from the third-quickest qualifying run on Friday and having to wait until mid-afternoon on Sunday to start the Funny Car eliminations, Capps recognized he’d blown lane choice in the semis and had to run from the left. He praised Toyota’s Slugger Labbe for the wind tunnel work on the Supra this winter. “To debut this car and take it to the final, you couldn’t really ask for anything better – except to win.”
It was all deja vu for Pro Stock’s Dallas Glenn who, once again had to race his KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson in the final round on Sunday. Big difference? Glenn was on the winning side this time around, leaving six-time and reigning champ Anderson coasting to a stop before the finish line after blowing his tires off at the hit. Glenn’s .022 reaction time helped him to a 6.549 run down the quarter-mile at 211.13 mph. This win marked the 14th trophy for Dallas Glenn and Chevrolet’s 402nd in Pro Stock since 1970!
“This definitely feels good,” Glenn said after taking the win. Greg has always been one of them that’s always just had my number. He keeps getting me and keeps getting me, even if he’s an old uy, he’s still got it,” Glenn joked. Glenn defeated Brandon Miller, Elite Motorsport’s Troy Coughlin Jr. and teammate Cory Reed to make that final round, for his first win in five final-round Anderson match-ups. “I’m thankful, because there were a few rounds where I felt like I didn’t have the beset car. But we picked away at it,” Glenn stated. “In the final I was looking to throw one down, but it shook a little in low gear. I think we had more in it.
“It’s nice to get one back from Greg but I’m more impressed by our KB Titan tam. We had the top four spots in qualifying and al ostensibly put four cars in the semis. Cory Reed was a handful today, and he’s going to be tough all year,” Glenn acknowledged. “It won’t be long before he’s sitting up here dong a winner’s interview. I’ve now made a lot of runs in the car and I know I can beat Greg, but you have to do your ob to perfection. It’s hard to do, but I know I can beat him.”
Herrera’s 22nd NHRA Mission Foods victory came at the site of his first 2023 win with Vance & Hines Motorsports (V&H) and its Suzuki Hayabusa3. To reach these finals, he knocked off 2003 Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Geno Scali and Kelly Clontz, both riding V&H-prepped Suzuki Hayabusa3 motorcycles, along with 2024 first-time winner and 2023 Rookie of the Year Chase Van Sant from WAR/TK Racing, who rides a different spec Suzuki motorcycle. Those wins landed Herrera in yet another battle against six-time champion Matt Smith and his self-tuned Buell. In beating Smith, Herrera matched former teammate turned crew chief (to Richard Gadson) Eddie Krawiec as the sole riders to win three straight Pro Stock Motorcycle contests at Gainesville Raceway.
“This was a good day for me and a great day for Vance & Hines,” Herrera acknowledged. “We got here early this morning and had to sit through hours. I was like, ‘Let’s get on with it,’” after having to sit through the delays for weather-related stoppages. “Otherwise, my bike was deadly consistent. We made three straight runs that were 6.76 and I’m amazed that Andrew [Hines] can do that. In the final, we knew we needed more so we threw everything eat it,” a necessity when racing any rider from Matt Smith Racing. “I thought we’d run better, but i didn’t expect a 6.7. I’m a neutral person and Matt [Smith] and I are cordial, but he does have a bit of rivalry with Vance & Hines. I think it’s good for the class.”
For his part, Smith went 6.723 at 203.19 in the final round, executing three of four rounds over the 200-mph mark. He only faltered, minutely, in the first round as he went past Lance Bonham, teammates John Hall and wife Angie Smith. While Herrera raced three Suzukis to make the finals, Smith raced three Buells to make the finals for the 82nd time in his career.
Now that the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals have been completed – almost on time and, thankfully not a day later than expected – the Mission Foods competitors have a week to gather themselves together before alighting to Phoenix for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motosports Park outside Phoenix, AZ. That race marks the start of three contests on the western side of the United States, at Phoenix, Pomona and Las Vegas, the latter being the first of three four-wide national events.
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