NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 5th annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will roll into Gateway Motorsports Park Sept. 23-25 and bring with it the best of the best in NHRA Championship Drag Racing.

The second race in NHRA’s six-race Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship will feature drivers pushing themselves and their 10,000-horsepower, 330-mph vehicles to the limit as they vie for precious championship points just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.

Drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle will battle it out in classic side-by-side NHRA Drag Racing fashion as they push to get one step closer to the championship title. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will be televised on FOX Sports 1 for the first time.

Last year in Top Fuel, two-time and defending world champion Brown defeated Dave Connolly for his sixth win of the season and fourth consecutive win at the event. Last year’s victory also was his second of three consecutive wins in the Countdown that propelled him to his second Top Fuel championship.

Brown, in his Matco Tools dragster, won last weekend’s NHRA Carolina Nationals to maintain his points lead, just ahead of rival and event runner-up Doug Kalitta, who is chasing his first Top Fuel world championship. Three-time 2016 winner Brittany Force, Steve Torrence, eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, Shawn Langdon, Richie Crampton, and Clay Millican will all be aiming for Brown’s top spot.

Worsham didn’t win a race last year until he entered the Countdown and picked up victories at four of the six stops en route to claiming his first Funny Car world title. Last year, Worsham opened the Countdown with two consecutive wins, first at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, then against Matt Hagan at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. This season, Worsham, who won the Top Fuel championship in 2011 and is one of only three drivers to win world titles in both nitro categories, opened the Countdown in Charlotte with a semifinal finish and remains in second place behind Ron Capps.

Capps has sprinted to five victories in eight final-round appearances this season and has held the top position in points for the past 10 consecutive races. Capps and his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T clinched the Funny Car No. 1 seed after winning the postponed Seattle final and recording a semifinal finish in Brainerd and reached the semifinals in Charlotte. He also is competing for his first world championship and is currently the NHRA’s winningest driver without a world title.

Others who will be giving Worsham a run for his money are 16-time world champion and Charlotte winner John Force, Charlotte runner-up Tommy Johnson Jr., "Fast Jack" Beckman, who finished second in the championship hunt last season, national record holder Matt Hagan, Robert Hight, and Tim Wilkerson.

Skillman earned the first Pro Stock victory of his career at Gateway Motorsports Park last year when he took out then-teammate and eventual world champion Erica Enders in the final. The 2015 Auto Club Road to the Future Award winner finished fifth in the championship fight. This season, Skillman raced to the second victory of his career at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, clinching his spot in the Countdown.

Dominating the new era of Pro Stock, which features electronic fuel injection, a 10,500-rpm rev limiter, flattened hoods, and shortened wheelie bars, are Jason Line and Greg Anderson in their Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaros. They entered the Countdown seeded 1-2 and reached the final in Charlotte, where Line took the win to increase his points lead. Recently, however, the rest of the Pro Stock field has worked to catch up: Skillman won in Brainerd, Allen Johnson picked up a victory in Denver, and Chris McGaha was the big winner at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

Bo Butner, Shane Gray, back-to-back and reigning world champion Enders, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. will all duke it out with the Summit boys in pursuit of the elusive Wally.

Both riding Lucas Oil Buells, Arana and his father faced off in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final last year in St. Louis. It was Arana’s second win of the season. Arana finished fifth in the championship chase and his father eighth. This year, neither has won, but both qualified for the Countdown.

On top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings is the Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson of Andrew Hines, who boosted his points lead with a runner-up finish in Charlotte. Hines’ teammate, Eddie Krawiec, first in points most of the season, entered the Countdown second and slipped two spots to No. 4 after a first-round exit in Charlotte.

Chip Ellis scored his first win in eight years in Charlotte to move his Junior Pippin-owned Buell to the No. 2 spot ahead of Englishtown winner Angelle Sampey and Krawiec. Brainerd runner-up Jerry Savoie, Sonoma winner LE Tonglet, and Matt Smith will be among those giving the pair a fight as the championship title looms just four races away.

The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will also feature thrilling competition in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series as well as the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, where future stars of the sport earn their racing stripes.

As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand how the highly skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds and get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers.

As part of NHRA’s ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Funny Car class, one legendary Funny Car driver will be honored during the pre-race ceremony.

Fans also will want to visit NHRA’s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and race vendors create a carnival atmosphere with interactive displays, simulated competitions, merchandise, food, and fun for the entire family.

Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 2:45 and 5:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and the final two rounds of qualifying Saturday, Sept. 24, at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 15.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call 855-RACE-TIK (722-3845) or log on to www.gatewaymsp.com. Kids 12 and younger will be admitted free in general-admission areas with a paid adult.