Kalitta, Hagen and Anderson top NHRA Brainerd Nationals

The engines were roaring and championship points were on the line last weekend as the NHRA Brainerd Nationals brought some of the biggest names in drag racing to Brainerd International Raceway.

The Aug. 20-23 event served as the penultimate race of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season, setting the stage for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Doug Kalitta continued his hot streak in Top Fuel, winning his third consecutive race and his second straight Brainerd Nationals title.

Kalitta, the reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion, defeated Maddi Gordon in the final round with a 3.743-second pass at 333.74 mph. Gordon ran 3.770 seconds at 328.78 mph.

Kalitta’s weekend was nearly perfect. He was the quickest driver in all four qualifying sessions, earned the No. 1 qualifying position and won Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge before taking the Top Fuel title Sunday.

The Brainerd victory was Kalitta’s fourth of the season and 63rd career NHRA win. He also extended his lead in the Top Fuel standings heading into the final regular-season race.

In Funny Car, Matt Hagan used a strong weekend to move into the class points lead.

Driving his Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger, Hagan defeated Jordan Vandergriff in the final with a 3.946-second run at 320.13 mph. Vandergriff finished with a 4.038-second pass at 266.27 mph.

The victory was Hagan’s 58th career NHRA win and his second at Brainerd. He entered the weekend fifth in the Funny Car standings but left with a seven-point lead over Vandergriff.

The Pro Stock title stayed close to home, as Minnesota’s Greg Anderson won at his home-state track for the second consecutive year.

Anderson defeated Chris Vang in the final, running 6.584 seconds at 208.17 mph to Vang’s 6.615 at 207.34 mph.

The victory was Anderson’s fifth at Brainerd, the most Pro Stock wins in the history of the event. It was also his fourth victory of the 2026 season and the 116th of his career.

Anderson entered eliminations behind Dallas Glenn in the Pro Stock standings, but Glenn was eliminated in the first round. Anderson went on to defeat Mason McGaha, Troy Coughlin Jr., Greg Stanfield and Vang on his way to the Wally.

The Brainerd weekend also featured 10 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Sportsman champions.

Anthony Troyer successfully defended his Top Alcohol Dragster title, defeating Melanie Johnson in a close final, 5.220 to 5.250 seconds.

Shane Westerfield won Top Alcohol Funny Car for his third Brainerd victory and 19th NHRA event win. Westerfield’s final-round opponent, Christine Foster, was unable to compete after suffering a fire in the semifinals.

Cody Lane won Competition Eliminator in a close final against Bruce Schmiedl, 7.348 to 7.351 seconds.

Jack Beutler earned his first national event victory in Super Stock, defeating Mike Graham, 10.181 to 10.340.

Jamey Picht won Stock Eliminator after Dirk Olson fouled at the starting line. It was Picht’s second NHRA Wally of the season.

Jeff Cheney won Super Comp, edging former world champion James Glenn by just two-thousandths of a second, 8.947 to 8.961.

Greg Maaninga earned his first national event victory in Super Gas when Dale Evans fouled in the final.

Rich Hill won Super Street after Donnie Durenberger fouled in the final round.

Kendra Larson remained perfect in national event finals, improving to 3-0 after winning Top Dragster at Brainerd for the third time.

Curt Fredrich won Top Sportsman after Chris Roe fouled in the final.

The weekend also included Outlaw Street, Junior Dragster Shootout and Outlaw Snowmobile competition, adding to a full weekend of racing at the Brainerd track.

With the Brainerd Nationals complete, NHRA teams now turn their attention to the 72nd annual U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Sept. 2-7. The event will close the regular season before the field heads into the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Brainerd once again provided plenty of speed and close racing, but the biggest story may be what the weekend did to the championship picture. Kalitta strengthened his hold on Top Fuel, Hagan took over the Funny Car lead and Anderson extended his Pro Stock advantage — leaving plenty to be decided when the regular season wraps up in Indianapolis.

All photos by Tim Rudolph.