Antron Brown on Atlanta
“Atlanta was an awesome race for us last year being able to win the race over Tony (Schumacher). Anytime you can beat that Army dragster, you’ve accomplished something. We hope to repeat what we did last year with this Matco team. We’re still running great and we expect to have another strong showing.”
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Atlanta
“I’m looking forward to going back to the track where Antron won last year. It can be really fast at Atlanta if it’s cool. I think we’ll be able to continue with our performance where we left off at Las Vegas. We’re getting a handle on the hot-weather tune-up with this Matco dragster.”
Antron Brown Atlanta NHRA Notebook
Brown enters the sixth race on the 2009 NHRA schedule ranked second in the NHRA Top Fuel standings. He trails six-time series champion Tony Schumacher by 18 points or less than one round of racing. Brown has led the standings following three of five races this season. The 19-time NHRA winner has raced his Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-tuned Matco Tools dragster to the win at Phoenix, it was Brown’s third career Top Fuel win. Brown also posted a runner-up finish at the 2009 season-opener at Pomona, Calif., and earned the No. 1 qualifying award at both the Pomona and Houston races. He also clocked the second quickest 1,000-foot elapsed time at 3.778-seconds at Pomona in February.
Two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Brown raced his Matco Tools dragster to the No. 2 qualifying position with a lap of 3.878 seconds at 312.86 mph. Brown has qualified in the top half of the field at all five races this season and has an average qualifying position of 2.8 this season. The former college track star knocked off Utah racer Mike Strasburg and 31-time Top Fuel winner Doug Kalitta before falling in a close match to 17-time winner Brandon Bernstein in the semifinals, 4.004 to 4.149.
Brown is a three-time winner of the Atlanta NHRA race. The fan-favorite won twice on his Pro Stock Motorcycle Suzuki and is the defending Top Fuel champion at Atlanta Dragway. Last April, racing from the No. 9 qualifying position, Brown used two holeshot wins, including the final round, to win the race. He defeated Schumacher, 4.537 to 4.521. Atlanta Dragway is one of five tracks where Brown has won multiple races. He has an average qualifying position of 4.9 in 11 races at Atlanta Dragway.
Antron Brown… Did You Know?
-Brown was a track star at Mercer College in New Jersey competing in the 100 and 200-meters, long jump, and 55-meter indoor. He ran quick enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trails in the 100-meters.
-Brown’s first team owner was former NFL star cornerback Troy Vincent.
-Brown is the only driver in NHRA history to hold the points lead and win races in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle (3 TF/16 PSM).
-Brown’s team owner Mike Ashley has three career NHRA Funny Car wins, including the 2007 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
-Brown’s co-crew chief, Mark Oswald, won the 1984 NHRA Winston Funny Car championship.
-Ashley earned the Funny Car pole at the 2007 Atlanta NHRA race with a qualifying blast of 4.704 seconds at 331.04 mph. It remains the Atlanta Dragway Funny Car track speed record.
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Standings
(five of 24 races)
1. Tony Schumacher (2) 412 - - -
2. ANTRON BROWN (1) 394 -18
3. Brandon Bernstein 388 -24
4. Larry Dixon (1) 335 -77
5. Cory McClenathan 324 -88
6. Morgan Lucas 263 -149
7. Doug Kalitta (1) 256 -156
8. Shawn Langdon 248 -164
9. Joe Hartley 219 -193
10. Spencer Massey 190 -222
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