Antron Brown wins Again.
4-27-08
AP Sports Ticker
Antron Brown is quickly becoming the story in Top Fuel as he advanced to the third straight final and won for the second time. Brown, appearing his 36th overall career final, used the killer starting-line skills he picked up from years in Pro Stock Motorcycle to win his 18th career NHRA Wally. Brown took a .035 to .060 reaction-time advantage at the Tree and held on to the lead all the way down track, edging Tony Schumacher by .0096-second, 4.537 to 4.521. This is the first time Brown, who jumped up to second in points, has defeated Schumacher in three meetings between the two.
“This weekend I had a little problem with my brakes, and my car kept rolling on me a little bit,” said Brown. “I kept pulling the lever back, and it kept rolling a little bit, but I didn’t let that disturb me. That made it pop some real good reaction times this weekend, so it made me look like I was doing good.
“In the final round, we were racing Alan Johnson, Tony Schumacher, and the whole Army team over there, and they’re five-time world champions, so you have to give it everything you’ve got. As soon as I saw that thing just flicker yellow, I hit the pedal as quick as I could, and that thing took off and was going down Broadway; I didn’t feel any hiccups on the racetrack, so I knew it was on a good pass. I didn’t see Tony, but I heard him, so I knew he was right there. I was like, ‘Man, come on, come on.’ I went through the traps, saw that win light on, and I just went ecstatic. I couldn’t get out of that car quick enough. It just felt fantastic.”
Brown’s 4.53 in the final was the last of four straight 4.5-second clockings in eliminations. He ran a 4.580 to defeat Dave Grubnic in round one and followed that up with a 4.591 win over Cory McClenathan and a 4.555 victory over Bob Vandergriff Jr.
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