Defending Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown started the 2025 NHRA season with an impressive victory on Sunday at the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals held at Gainesville Raceway.

Brown, who qualified in the top position, defeated defending event winner Shawn Langdon in the final round with a run of 3.673 seconds at 333.99 mph in his Matco Tools dragster. Langdon posted a respectable 3.684 seconds at 332.67 mph in the runner-up effort.

“It’s tough to go against Shawn Langdon and [crew chief] Brian Husen,” Brown said after his victory. “They always have the performance. Actually, there are a lot of cars out here that did their homework, put the work in, and can run mid-to-low 3.6s.”

The win marks Brown’s 81st career victory and second at Gainesville Raceway. It also extends his streak to eight straight round wins dating back to last season, providing perfect momentum for the four-time world champion as he begins his title defense.

Brown’s path to victory included wins over Krista Baldwin, Clay Millican, and Steve Torrence before the final showdown with Langdon, who had advanced by defeating Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart, and Jasmine Salinas.

In Funny Car competition, Chad Green captured his first career Gatornationals win with a run of 3.921 seconds at 329.18 mph in his Bond-Coat Ford Mustang, defeating Ron Capps in the final round. The victory was especially meaningful for Green, who recalled that his first official race car run was at Gainesville Raceway.

“This race is so special, I mean it’s the Gators,” Green said. “There are so many historical things that have happened at this race for so many years.”

The Pro Stock category saw Dallas Glenn take revenge on KB Titan Racing teammate and reigning world champion Greg Anderson with a winning run of 6.549 seconds at 211.13 mph in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro. This victory avenged Anderson’s championship-clinching win against Glenn in last season’s final race at Pomona.

“It’s nice to get one back from Greg, but I’m more impressed by our KB Titan team,” Glenn said. “We had the top four spots in qualifying and almost put four cars in the semis.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera continued his remarkable dominance at Gainesville by securing his third consecutive Gatornationals victory. Riding his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki, Herrera posted a 6.722-second run at 200.23 mph to edge out rival Matt Smith.

The win marks Herrera’s 22nd victory since the start of the 2023 season, an incredible run of success that began with his first career win at Gainesville two years ago. With this victory, Herrera ties Eddie Krawiec as the only riders to win three consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle races at the historic Florida track.

The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues with the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix on March 21-23.

Photo by Marc Gewertz/NHRA