nhra pro driver Antron Brown edged local favorite T.J. Zizzo on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway, winning 3.777 to 3.798 at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals. The margin was.021 second, and it sent Brown into round two after a lively pre-race ceremony that included the Seal Master track walk.
Brown Edges Zizzo
Brown’s run held up in a tight side-by-side race that never opened into a cushion. Zizzo kept the pressure on, but Brown got to the finish line first and left the local crowd with a narrow result to absorb.
The gap was especially clear on the scoreboard: 3.777 against 3.798. In an event built around round-by-round precision, that kind of split leaves no room for error and puts the next matchup immediately in view.
Hart, Ashley And The Stripe
Josh Hart advanced after a holeshot race with Justin Ashley, taking it 3.790 to 3.785 despite Ashley’s.044 light against Hart’s.035. The difference came down to.004 second at the stripe, while Ashley’s SCAG entry suffered an engine explosion in the lights that took out the supercharger and fuel injector.
That was one of several Sunday runs that shaped the bracket. Tony Stewart posted a 3.742 in his best run of the weekend against Tony Schumacher’s 3.785, and Will Smith beat Billy Torrence from the No. 14 qualifying spot, 3.776 to 3.795, with a.049 light.
Langdon, Gordon And Round Two
Shawn Langdon beat Shawn Reed with a 3.739 and then drew teammate Doug Kalitta in round two, with Kalitta holding lane choice by.003-second. Maddi Gordon advanced with a 3.813 after Krista Baldwin gave her a strong challenge for the first half of the track before the Ron Douglas-tuned dragster knocked the tires loose.
Gordon said she helped build the engine, a skill she learned working on her family's Top Alcohol Funny Car. Brown’s win over Zizzo now feeds into a round-two lineup that also includes Tony Stewart against Josh Hart and Leah Pruett against Will Smith, keeping Sunday’s most competitive runs tied directly to the next set of pairings.
