Brittany Force Wins Third at Brainard Raceway

Brittany Force powered her top fuel dragster to glory at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The prodigal daughter raced her Monster Energy dragster to a 4.169 second run at 180.21 miles per hour. Force out-dragged the defending world champion Antron Brown. Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 6.566 second pass at 103.47 miles per hour.

The savvy veteran vibrated and lost his grip early. Furthermore, Brittany Force’s dragster backfired and released the parachutes just a little farther down the quarter mile track than Brown. As a result, Brittany Force glided to the finish line in front of her finals competitor.

Brittany Force captured the third win of her career and also her third in four final rounds this year. She raced to her first career victory earlier this year in Gainesville. Brittany Force then emerged as the first female drag racer ever to win in nitro at the Nationals in Charlotte. The super fast female outlasted Terry Haddock, Doug Kalitta, and two-time 2016 winner Shawn Langdon in the earlier rounds to reach the final.

“It’s awesome to be able to win here,” said Force, who is fourth in the Top Fuel points standings. “I felt good coming in this weekend because we had some success last year, and I’m pretty sure we did well the year before. We are exactly where we want to be as we go into the Countdown [to the Championship] and our biggest race of the season in Indy. It feels so good to bring home another win.”

Antron Brown collected a Wally trophy as a winner at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday. “Get Down” Brown won the make-up of the championship round from the Seattle event that was rained out. He was came into the contest at Brainerd with a 100 point lead in the NHRA Points Countdown. Furthermore, Brown was racing for his fifth win of the year and secured the top qualifying spot heading into Sunday.

The 2011 Brainerd International Raceway victor, sprinted past Chris Karamesines, Clay Millican, and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher to reach his eighth final round of 2016. Brown has reeled in four wins so far this year and has already secured his place in the Countdown to the Championship.

Reigning and defending Funny Car world champ Del Worsham sped his DHL Toyota Camry to a 3.908 second pass at 327.27 miles per hour. That set was good enough to beat Matt Hagan’s 8.095 second run at 71.33 miles per hour. Unfortunately, Hagan smoked his Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R/T tires in the contest.

Del Worsham won the world championship last season without a win in the regular season. At Brainerd, he collected his first triumph of 2016. It was the veterans 31st Funny Car victory of his career. Believe it or not, this was his first finals showdown at Brainerd International Raceway. Worsham blew past Bob ilkerson and Courtney Force before topping Hagan in the final. Wilkerson clinched a spot in the playoffs with his performance on Sunday.

“I’m very excited,” said Del Worsham, who moved to third in the points standings with the win. “I came in here with a lot of confidence, thinking we were going to do well. Friday came around and we couldn’t have made any better runs. Along came Saturday and we smoked the tires. We had to take a little step back today, but they put it together. Brainerd has always been a special place to me. Going back to 1991, my first No. 1 qualifier came here 25 years ago. I always get excited here. It’s a great place, great facility, and the team did a great job. I’m happy to get the win, go to Indy and start the NHRA Mello Yello Series Countdown.”

Drew Skillman brought in his first Pro Stock victory of 2016. It was the second of his career. He raced to a 6.648 second pass at 208.97 miles per hour in his Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevy Camaro. He bested the seven time 2016 contest winner Jason Line’s 6.681 second run at 206.64 miles per hour.

Skillman sped past Bo Butner and the #1 qualifier Vincent Nobile before the showdown with Jason Line. The 2015 rookie of the year, claimed victory in his first event since last year in St. Louis. As a result, Skillman sealed his place in the Countdown after racing through the first round of competition.

“When I heard the rule changes, I thought we were going to be on top or on the bottom,” said Skillman, who is sixth in points. “We were on the latter of that situation. My guys have also been working very hard, and this is for their hard work today. The class is also getting much, much closer. I think by the end of the season we’ll be very tight, and next year I think you will see a very competitive class across the board.”

NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series Point Standings: