GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Reigning Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown started his 2025 with the provisional No. 1 qualifier position at Gainesville Raceway, taking the top spot on Friday at the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the first of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Selections were also made for the opening round of the big-money Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout bonus race, which takes place on Saturday. Top seed Steve Torrence selected Tony Stewart as his opening-round opponent, while Doug Kalitta picked Clay Millican for his first-round matchup. Shawn Langdon and defending world champion Brown will face off, while the final first-round pair features Justin Ashley and Brittany Force.
Brown went 3.685-seconds at 334.24 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster during the second session, starting the year strong after earning his fourth world championship in 2024. If Friday’s run under the lights holds, the 80-time event winner would pick up his 51st career No. 1 qualifier.
“We weren’t trying to go out there and kill it, but we knew the track could hold anywhere in the mid-60 range, and we just wanted to be in the top half the field,” Brown said. “Lo and behold, it ran really strong out the back door. It was smooth all the way down, it just went straight as an arrow and I got to the finish line.”
Tripp Tatum also went 3.685 at a slower 326.58 to take the second spot and Langdon is third after going 3.690 at 335.23.
Funny Car
Funny Car’s Jack Beckman was the quickest in both sessions on Friday, slipping past Bob Tasca III under the lights with a stellar run of 3.832 at 334.65 in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS. Named the full-time driver for John Force during the 2025 campaign, Beckman picked up where he left off last year, following his NHRA Finals victory with a pair of terrific runs on Friday.
“When the season ended last year, I wasn’t sure if I’d be back. I thought I’d get the nod but I wasn’t sure,” Beckman said. “There is a part of me that expected to see someone run 3.81 but I’m happy with a 3.83. We were low of both sessions in completely different conditions.
“I can’t put into words how awesome it is to be strapped into John Force’s Funny Car and have John walk by and give you a thumbs up before they fire up. I am unbelievably lucky.”
Tasca was also strong on Friday, going 3.833 at 333.82 and Capps’ 3.857 at 335.73 puts him third after the first day of qualifying.
Pro Stock
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson made NHRA history in an unbelievable performance on Friday under the lights at Gainesville Raceway, going 6.443 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro to set the Pro Stock world record. It’s the quickest pass in Pro Stock history and made for a surreal moment for the reigning world champion.
He ended the 2024 season with a winner-take-all pass to get the championship in Pomona and then started the first day of qualifying at the Gatornationals with a historic performance, putting Anderson in line for his 133rd No. 1 qualifier. This one will be remembered for a while, as the six-time champ set a new gold standard in the category.
“This is beyond cool and that’s because I didn’t expect it,” Anderson said. “I watched my team cars with Deric Kramer and Eric Latino run 6.46 ahead of me and I started to think maybe we could run 6.45, but I surpassed them both.
“It feels good to be back. I live for runs like this and I love Gainesville. I came here with my dad when I was 10-12 years old, and I’ve loved this place ever since. Coming to Gainesville this the first race of the year and you always wonder how you stack up. So far it’s been successful.”
Deric Kramer took the second spot after a career-best run of 6.463 at 212.23 and Dallas Glenn is right behind after going 6.466 at 212.56.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Gaige Herrera’s domination at Gainesville Raceway continued on Friday, as the back-to-back world champion took over the top spot during the second session on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki with a run of 6.670 at 202.97. Herrera has rolled to Gatornationals wins at the last two events at the legendary facility and appears poised to try and make it three in a row.
Herrera hasn’t let up after two straight championships, continuing to post one standout run after another. If it holds, it would be Herrera’s 24th No. 1 qualifier since the start of the 2023 campaign.
“I have a lot of fun racing in Gainesville. I got my first win here two years ago in my debut with the Vance & Hines team and I’ve got a lot of great memories here,” Herrera said. “Before that run, Andrew [Hines, crew chief] said ‘This is all we’ve got. I hope it sticks.’ It did and we made a nice run.
“I think you’ll see me and Matt [Smith] go back and forth all season and it won’t just be us. You can see that Angie [Smith] was close and Richard [Gadson] was close. We’ve got a lot of good bikes out here and that includes some new guys.”
Matt Smith is currently second with a pass of 6.679 at 203.49 and Angie Smith is third after going 6.709 at 201.01.
Qualifying continues at 12: 15 p.m. ET on Saturday at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
