Courtesy of the NHRA
Hart, Capps, C. Coughlin and A. Smith all qualify No. 1 at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown won the Right Trailers All-Star Callout in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at Gainesville Raceway, defeating Clay Millican in the final round of the bonus race as part of this weekend’s season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
Josh Hart (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Cody Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Angie Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the first of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Brown became the first two-time winner of the Callout, going 4.290-seconds at 258.76 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster to get past Millican. Both cars ran into trouble, but Brown recovered in time to take the win and the $80,000 bonus.
Brown will now try to repeat last season’s Gatornationals win, taking on Gary Pritchett to open eliminations.
“Clay was right there and I got spoiled today,” Brown said. “The car had a fast shake and I pedaled a little bit, and we were able to get it done. It’s super exciting for us because in the offseason, we regrouped after last year and we want to revamp our program.”
“What’s going to make tomorrow so tricky is, first round is going to be really good to the point it’s going to be like our Friday night setup. So first round, you better watch who you got, and race who you got, and try to think about what kind of lap you can throw out to get the job done.”
Hart officially clinched his first career No. 1 qualifier, doing so in his debut with John Force Racing thanks to Friday’s run of 3.658 at a track-record 340.30 in his 12,000-horsepower Burnyzz/Speedmaster dragster. It was a special moment for Hart to do it at his home track, especially with the 340-mph run under his belt.
Hart will open eliminations against Dan Mercier, looking for his first victory since his debut season in 2021.
“The fans are awesome,” Hart said. “The energy is always good here. My wife always attends this race, so maybe it’s just a level of comfort. It’s the first place that I ever went down a drag strip. If I could figure out how to get that comfortable at all the other race tracks, maybe we could really chase a championship.
“We’ve literally broke every single one of my career bests already this weekend. So I have all the confidence in the world. (Crew chief David Grubnic) is like the Babe Ruth of drag racing. He can almost call a shot. We’ll be ready for race day and I believe him.”
Shawn Langdon qualified second with a run of 3.681 at 338.09 and Leah Pruett took third after going 3.690 at 329.10.
In Funny Car, three-time champion Ron Capps picked up his first No. 1 qualifier in nearly three years after Friday’s standout run of 3.890 at 334.07 his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra easily held up.
It’s the 38th career No. 1 qualifier for Capps, who last held the top spot at both Gainesville and Brainerd in 2023. Already the Gatornationals winningest active Funny Car driver, Capps is after his fifth victory in Gainesville and will take on John Smith to open up eliminations on Sunday.
“I know I’ll never lead that list [of No. 1 qualifiers], but almost every crew chief I’ve had has been more concerned about what they do on Sunday rather than what we do in qualifying,” Capps said. “It was all about winning races and figuring out how to battle on Sunday and I’ve been blessed to be around those kinds of guys, and I’m okay with it.
“First round Sunday is going to be the quickest runs of the weekend. Conditions will be better than they were Friday night. So, if you get past that round, it’s going to turn out like today [hotter], so today we were just seeing what the lanes would hold in those conditions because if we can get far enough tomorrow, it’s anybody’s game in those conditions.”
J.R. Todd qualified second with a 3.912 at 334.15 and Paul Lee is third after going 3.920 at 331.12.
After a solid rookie season, Pro Stock’s Cody Coughlin picked up his second career No. 1 qualifier on Saturday when his run of 6.523 at 210.01 in his Coughlin Construction Chevrolet Camaro couldn’t be topped.
Next up on Coughlin’s to-do list is getting his first career victory and he’ll have that opportunity on Sunday when Coughlin takes on Chris McGaha to open up raceday.
“It can’t get any better than this,” Coughlin said. “I couldn’t be more thrilled. The KB Titan guys and gals are fantastic and just really proud to drive for them. I wouldn’t want to compete in Pro Stock unless I could race with those guys. I’ve looked up to Greg Anderson for a long time.
“It’s really cool to be teammates with him and it’s also cool to race out here with my dad who competes in Super Stock. It’s a cool moment and I’m just excited to try to get a Wally this year – maybe tomorrow.”
Matt Hartford qualified second with a run of 6.533 at 210.41, with Matt Latino right behind thanks to a run of 6.533 at 210.37.
A. Smith clinched her third career No. 1 qualifier on Saturday on the strength of Friday’s 6.740 at 199.58 on her Denso Auto Parts Buell. Smith made a pair of solid runs on Saturday in front of a capacity crowd, giving her added momentum as she seeks her first Gatornationals victory. She’ll open raceday against Kim Morrell.
Reigning world champion Richard Gadson qualified second with a 6.746 at 200.00 and Matt Smith moved into third after going 6.749 at 200.71.
Eliminations for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals begin at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 57th annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the first of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Josh Hart, 3.658 seconds, 340.30 mph vs. 16. Dan Mercier, 3.885, 266.32; 2. Shawn Langdon, 3.681, 338.09 vs. 15. Maddi Gordon, 3.793, 321.35; 3. Leah Pruett, 3.690, 329.10 vs. 14. Jasmine Salinas, 3.791, 329.67; 4. Antron Brown, 3.694, 331.85 vs. 13. Gary Pritchett, 3.790, 304.67; 5. Tony Stewart, 3.703, 339.96 vs. 12. Clay Millican, 3.773, 321.35; 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.703, 334.07 vs. 11. Justin Ashley, 3.762, 334.73; 7. Tony Schumacher, 3.710, 338.60 vs. 10. Shawn Reed, 3.757, 325.61; 8. Tripp Tatum, 3.725, 323.81 vs. 9. Billy Torrence, 3.741, 334.90.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Scott Farley, 4.051, 298.73; 18. Will Smith, 4.248, 228.15; 19. Cameron Ferre, 7.365, 95.47.
Funny Car — 1. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.890, 334.07 vs. 16. John Smith, Dodge Charger, 4.188, 296.37; 2. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.912, 334.15 vs. 15. Dave Richards, Ford Mustang, 4.127, 320.28; 3. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.920, 331.12 vs. 14. Spencer Hyde, Mustang, 4.104, 305.70; 4. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.926, 326.08 vs. 13. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.095, 305.36; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.931, 331.36 vs. 12. Julie Nataas, GR Supra, 4.081, 319.07; 6. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.948, 329.91 vs. 11. Alexis DeJoria, Chevy Camaro, 4.060, 324.83; 7. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.961, 323.19 vs. 10. Hunter Green, Charger, 4.048, 318.77; 8. Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.990, 318.47 vs. 9. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 4.029, 324.83.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Buddy Hull, 4.213, 267.22; 18. Todd Lesenko, 4.433, 278.17; 19. Austin Prock, 4.836, 217.74.
Pro Stock — 1. Cody Coughlin, Chevy Camaro, 6.523, 210.01 vs. 16. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.583, 208.52; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.533, 210.41 vs. 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.575, 208.04; 3. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.533, 210.37 vs. 14. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.566, 207.98; 4. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.535, 209.82 vs. 13. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.556, 208.84; 5. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.538, 208.49 vs. 12. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.556, 209.88; 6. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.540, 209.79 vs. 11. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.549, 208.36; 7. Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 6.541, 208.62 vs. 10. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.548, 209.88; 8. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.545, 209.52 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.547, 209.79.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Shane Tucker, 6.593, 208.49; 18. Mason McGaha, 6.599, 209.26; 19. Brandon Miller, 6.602, 207.62; 20. Rodger Brogdon, 6.624, 207.59; 21. Derrick Reese, 6.669, 206.48.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.740, 199.58 vs. 16. Kimberly Morrell, Suzuki, 7.857, 148.97; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.746, 200.00 vs. 15. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.882, 197.94; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.749, 200.71 vs. 14. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.880, 195.08; 4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.761, 199.91 vs. 13. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.847, 196.70; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.791, 199.08 vs. 12. Brayden Davis, Buell, 6.838, 196.33; 6. Clayton Howey, Suzuki, 6.800, 197.88 vs. 11. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.836, 197.97; 7. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.803, 198.15 vs. 10. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.811, 197.77; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.807, 197.65 vs. 9. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.808, 199.91.
