The raucous but ever-loyal Minnesota drag racing faithful were treated to one of the most exciting national events in recent memory at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals over the weekend at the Brainerd International Raceway, as records were absolutely shattered in the nitro categories when unseasonably cool temperatures and atmospheric conditions pushed into the region, creating a recipe for numbers that even the race teams themselves couldn’t have predicted.

By the close of the weekend, the national elapsed time and speed records in both Top Fuel and Funny Car had been reset, and both the 3.6-second barrier in Top Fuel and the 3.8-second mark in Funny Car had been ripped to shreds.

In Funny Car, where Jack Beckman and crew chief Jimmy Prock have upped the ante and the performance in the class across the board significantly in recent weeks, stunned drag racing fans everywhere during the third round of qualifying on Saturday when he uncorked the-then quickest pass in history for the third race in a row, blasting to a 3.901-second, 325.69 mph pass to put a leg up on a new national record and pace a field that took better than a 3.99 to bump into the top half of the order.

“I am very satisfied with the 3.901 and the speed record,” said Beckman after the run. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a speed record. I saw John Force run that 3.93 right in front of us. But then there goes [crew chiefs] Jimmy [Prock], John [Medlen] and Chris [Cunningham] again. It’s so interesting when you see a car that’s this unbelievable; it’s like everything becomes believable.

With temperatures in the upper 50s and greatly-improved corrected altitude numbers in the forecast for race day, however, the rarified air existed for Beckman and the rest of the field to go even quicker during eliminations. And with a buzz in the air and every fan on the property on the edge of their seats, they did just that, as Matt Hagan, who had qualified down in ninth with a 3.98, ripped off the quickest pass and fastest pass in the history of Funny Car with a stunning 3.879 at 329.58 mph.

On that run, the first ever in the 3.80s — and by a good margin at that — Hagan went 0.858 to the 60-foot clock, 2.226 to 330-feet, and 3.141 at a blistering 283.73 mph to the 1/8-mile.

“It was definitely covering some ground,” Hagan said. “I had to drive it there at the big end. I just can’t say enough about (crew chief) Dickie Venables. (DSR teammate Jack Beckman’s crew chief) Jimmy Prock and those guys are running strong but you can’t count out this team.

In the second round, Hagan and Beckman squared off in one of the most anticipated drag races in years, and in the quickest side-by-side Funny Car race in history, it was Beckman who got to the stripe first with a 3.903 — a run which officially backed up his 3.901 for a new national record and the 20 points that go along with it. Hagan, for his part, paired a 327.19 mph speed with his losing 3.947-second run to back up his earlier 329 mph number for a new national speed record.

While it’s been the Funny Cars garnering the headlines of late with out-of-this-world performances, the Top Fuel contingent took full advantage of the opportunity before them in Brainerd, as well, as three different drivers toppled the seemingly unbreakable 3.6-second barrier.

In the opening round of eliminations, Antron Brown etched his name in the history books with a 3.680-second, 331.12 mph blast to become the first driver to ever record a sub-3.7-second pass in the 1,000-foot era. Just over an hour later, Shawn Langdon and his Alan Johnson-tuned dragster stunned the crowd again with a scintillating 3.662 at an off-pace 321 mph. While the numbers on the scoreboard were certainly more than impressive, what the fans in the stands couldn’t see were the unreal incrementals: Langdon had clocked 299.33 mph — just a whisker short of 300 — in an 1/8 of a mile. Nevermind that he also went 0.833 to 60-feet, 2.083 to 330-feet, and 2.931 to 660-feet.

In the next pair of cars, it was Brown who officially collected the national record, using a 3.696-second pass to back the mark up.

Photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster