Antron Brown on Gainesville
“I’m fired up to be going back to Gainesville. It’s one of the biggest races on our entire circuit. It’s always good to race at the stomping grounds of my hero “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. The track is known for some really fast E.T.s and speeds. Our team here at MAR is riding on a really high wave. We’re going into Gainesville focused and we’re going to treat each round like we’re racing for the championship.”
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Gainesville
“We’re going to try and do the same thing we’ve done at the first two races. It can be hot there, so sometimes it’s a tricky track. We’re looking forward to racing in Florida. It’s always a really big race for NHRA and we want to do well and keep our momentum going strong.”
Antron Brown Gainesville NHRA Notebook
Brown is the most recent winner on the NHRA tour. The Matco Tools driver scored his third career Top Fuel win and 19th career win on Feb. 22 at the Phoenix NHRA race. After racing to the pole and a runner-up finish at the rain-delayed season-opening event in Pomona, Calif., Brown qualified third at Phoenix en route to his first win as a member of Mike Ashley Racing. With the win, Brown now leads the NHRA Top Fuel standings.
Last season, Brown qualified the Matco Tools dragster fourth at the Gatornationals with a lap of 4.558 seconds at 327.51 mph. He defeated Doug Foley in the opening round before falling to six-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the quarterfinals. Brown made his professional NHRA debut at the 1998 Gatornationals. He also earned the Pro Stock Motorcycle pole at the 2001 Gainesville race at 7.208 seconds.
Brown leads the Top Fuel standings for the first time since making the move from the Pro Stock Motorcycle division to Top Fuel last season. He ranked as high as second last season, his first in Top Fuel. Brown paced the field at the Winternationals and posted a runner-up finish to Doug Kalitta at Pomona, losing 3.822 to 3.847. Three weeks ago near Phoenix, Brown visited the winner’s circle for the first time since the Atlanta race last April by defeating a tire-smoking Brandon Bernstein in the final round. Brown clocked a winning pass of 3.846 at 310.63.
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. He won the Gatornationals Funny Car title in 1991.
-Brown made his professional NHRA debut at the 1998 Gatornationals.
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Standings
1. ANTRON BROWN (1) 206 - - - 2. Brandon Bernstein 164 -42 3. Doug Kalitta (1) 163 -43 4. Tony Schumacher 127 -79 5. Morgan Lucas 124 -82 6. Larry Dixon 88 -118 7. Spencer Massey 85 -121 8. Shawn Langdon 83 -123 9. Cory McClenathan 82 -124 10. David Baca/Joe Hartley 62 -144
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