Brown Scores Big at Firebird Raceway

Takes Points Lead in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series

Race 2 - 2.22.09 - Antron Brown went back to the site of his fastest pass ever on the 1000 foot track length feeling confident in both his and his teams’ abilities to deliver a fast follow-up to the 3.77 second run during preseason testing. His efforts, along with the team were rewarded with his third Top Fuel Dragster race win of his career, and his first career   points lead in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, after the first two races of the season.

After the soaking rains changed everyone’s strategy at the NHRA season-opening round in Pomona two weeks ago, Antron Brown was disappointed in his runner-up finish, as he felt that his Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster was the hot rod to beat.  But Brown was determined not to let if affect his strategy going into the Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals at Firebird Dragway in Phoenix. "We were bummed in Pomona, because we had the car to beat going into the final before we had a mishap that slowed us down. The crew is getting more confident with every run. I think we're going to keep getting stronger as the year goes on."

Brown advanced steadily through the bracket while maintaining consistent 3.8 second times for the 1000 foot track. Eliminating  Del Cox, Jr. in the first round, his engine expired, causing the crew led by Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to shine under the pressure of quickly putting the dragster back together while maintaining the consistency. They proved to be quite successful, putting together a 3.885 second victory over Shawn Langdon, followed by a very competitive battle with multi-year champion Tony Schumacher, with a time of  3.819.

For all of their efforts up to that point, they were rewarded with a final round pairing against the very consistent Brandon Bernstein, who had defeated Larry Dixon’s Al-Anabi Top Fueler when a throttle cable broke in the semifinal round. But Bernstein’s Budweiser Top Fuel Dragster went up in smoke in the finals, garnering just a 5.17 time against Brown’s victorious 3.846 e.t. at 310.63 mph.

"This just shows you how strong this team is,” Brown said, "During the off-season, I found out that we were going to get Brian or Mark, and I had no doubt that we were going to be a good team. They took our car to another level.”

Top Fuel
(Following event 2 of 24 events)
(Includes events through Pomona, Calif.)