NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Photo by Alex Owens/Alkey Alex Photos

If the Hollywood scriptwriters weren’t on strike, you’d swear this scenario was concocted in a back room somewhere near Burbank.
 
Anson Brown, a former Jr. Dragster racer and the son of three-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champion Antron Brown, was one of the many drivers entered in this weekend’s TB Promotions Twin 50s at WWTR. The original purse structure was to pay a brand-new Mullis dragster to Thursday’s winner, $50,000 to the winner on Friday, $50,000 to Saturday’s champion and $25,000 to Sunday’s victor. Since forecasts called for heavy rain on Sunday, Saturday’s and Sunday’s purses were combined, guaranteeing a $75,000 payday to Saturday’s winner. 
 
With that much money on the line, there were some big names in the field, including 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon and five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. With that much talent and experience lurking in the pits, Anson – as the old-time race announcers would say – “had a long row to hoe.”
 
On Thursday, Johnny Ezell won the final round of eliminations over Hunter Patton to win the brand-new Mullis dragster. 
 
On Friday, Coughlin, of Delaware, Ohio, defeated Austin Slone of Columbia, Tennessee for the $50,000 winner’s check.
 
On Saturday, young Brown waded past his competitors, round by round, and met Langdon in the $75,000 finale. 

The 18-year-old fourth-generation driver won with a reaction time of .006 to Langdon’s .024 and landed squarely in victory lane with his proud father, Antron, amid a shower of confetti and a very large check.