Muscle Milk Team Makes It to Brainerd Final Round

Brainerd MN - Madison Payne and the Muscle Milk team went all the way to the Top Alcohol Dragster final round at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd. Madison qualified seventh with a decent 5.32 at 275 MPH in a race that had changing weather conditions from rain to sun most of the weekend.

In round one, Madison faced former National Champion Joey Severance. At the hit, Severance red-lit, and Madison was off to the races with the automatic win. She flew through the finish line with an impressive 5.25 at 276 MPH.

Advancing into the second round, the Muscle Milk team took on Dean Dubbin. At the start, Madison was on her game with a 0.012 reaction time to Dubbins' 0.077. Madison was then on a clean run while Dubbin lost traction and had to abandon the run. Madison stopped the clock with a 5.36 at 275 MPH to take the win.

Next up, Madison drew reigning series Champion Julie Nataas in the semi-finals. Nataas left the starting line first with a 0.093 to Madison's 0.107 but the Dana Hopewell tuned machine made up for the starting line deficit quickly as Madison drove around Nataas just past the starting line. Madison rang up a 5.27 at 275 MPH win over Nataas' valiant 5.32 at 274 MPH effort.

In the finals, Madison raced against Hunter Green. As the lights from the tree came down it was Madison out first with a 0.065 to Green's 0.072. Both cars were neck and neck all the way to the finish line but it was Green securing the Lucas Oil Nationals title by just six thousands of a second and a margin of victory of just two feet. Later, after the finals Madison had a moment to reflect on the race. "It was a good weekend. We needed to win a couple of rounds to get our confidence back and I am happy we were able to get some momentum going into Indy. We are looking forward to it" she said.

While car owner Duane Shields would have loved for the team to have taken the Wally back to the West Coast, he was happy to have made it to the finals. "We hate to lose in the finals because the anticipation is high but Madison did well and we only lost by six thousandths so I can't complain. We are having fun again after a six-week break and are ready to take a swing and hit it hard through the rest of the season" he said.

Next, the team moves on to Indianapolis for the coveted NHRA US Nationals on Labor Day weekend where Madison is the defending Champion. Madison and Duane would like to thank their sponsors, Muscle Milk, NGK Spark Plugs, GPR Connecting Rods, Clean Boost, and Brad Anderson Enterprises for their continued support in 2024.