BROWN QUALFIES MATCO TOOLS DRAGSTER FIFTH AT NORWALK
NORWALK, Ohio (June 27, 2009) - Antron Brown, the current NHRA Top Fuel
points leader, drove his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to the
No. 5 qualifying position Saturday afternoon at Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park. Now the four-time Top Fuel winner looks to join Ashley
as a winner at the Norwalk NHRA race. Ashley earned the Funny Car title
at the inaugural Norwalk race in 2007.
Brown, who has claimed four No. 1 qualifying awards this season, entered
the final day of qualifying in the provisional No. 5 position. The
20-time NHRA winner posted two solid laps on Friday, the opening day of
qualifying for the third annual Norwalk NHRA race. Brown cruised the
Matco Tools/Lend America dragster to a run of 4.011 seconds at 289.94 mph
on Friday's first attempt and then improved with a lap of 3.933 at
305.01, the fastest speed of the day. Brown, a former college track star,
has the three fastest speeds this season, including the fastest
1,000-foot pass at 319.75 mph (Bristol, Tenn.).
On Saturday, all team's were faced with a very hot Norwalk drag strip.
Brown's Matco Tools/Toyota rail lost traction early on the day's first
qualifying lap, coasting to a pass of 6.465 at 95.90. He remained fifth
in the 16-car order. Brown posted the quickest 330-foot time on his final
qualifying lap and clocked a pass of 4.652 at 165.05 after the Matco
Tools/Lucas Oil car struck the tires down track to remain fifth in the
field. It is the third time that Brown has qualified fifth this season;
his average qualifying position is now 3.75. Brown, who has five final
round appearances this season, has 24 round wins in 11 races, the most in
Top Fuel.
"The last run was really good for us," Brown said. "It's tricky out there
here at Norwalk with the hot track temperatures. It's not just us, but a
lot of cars struggled to get down the track. We were quick early on that
last run to the 330 (foot) and we can fix where it spun the tires. I'm
very confident with this Matco Tools team and we're going to go out and
go some rounds on Sunday."
Brown will face off against Joe Hartley, the No. 12 qualifier, when final
eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (ET) Sunday at Summit Racing Equipment
Motorsports Park. Brown is 2-0 against Hartley, including a first-round
win over the Omaha, Neb. runner two weeks ago in New Jersey.
-credit: mar
