May 12, 2008
ANTRON BROWN BRISTOL NHRA ADVANCE
The Brown Bulletin
The prerace release of 18-time NHRA winner Antron Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team
Eighth annual O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals
May 16-18, 2008
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tenn.
Antron Brown on Bristol
“I’m so excited to get to Bristol. I haven’t raced there in years. The last time we ran there was during the Winston Showdown almost 10 years ago. Our Matco team has been on a roll and we want to got into Bristol and have a consistent car that goes down the track. Both of our DPM cars are running strong and we want to keep that going.”
Lee Beard (crew chief) on Bristol
“It’s one of my favorite places to race. I love the layout of the track being in the canyon. I’ve had success there in the past. The Matco car has really been running good. We’ve had top speed of the meet at the last two races. We’re really optimistic about our chances at Bristol.”
Antron Brown Bristol NHRA Notebook
Two weeks ago in St. Louis, Antron Brown qualified his Matco Tools dragster fourth with a pass of 4.517 seconds at 331.94 mph. Brown’s speed set the Gateway International Raceway track speed record. It was a career-best speed for the first-year Top Fuel driver. Brown posted a quarterfinal finish on race day.
Brown has taken the Top Fuel division by storm since making the transition from Pro Stock Motorcycle to Top Fuel. He earned the pole at the season-opener at Pomona, Calif. (4.495 seconds) and won in just his fourth Top Fuel start (Houston). Brown recently advanced to three consecutive final rounds, winning at Houston and Atlanta. He enters the Bristol race ranked second in the standings trailing five-time series champion Tony Schumacher by 68 points. Brown and Schumacher remain the only two Top Fuel drivers to have advanced passed the first round of eliminations at each race this season.
Brown has never competed in a national event at Bristol Dragway. He did compete at Thunder Valley in 1999 and 2000 during the Winston Showdown bonus event. Brown qualified second and advanced to the final round in the 2000 Showdown, posting a runner-up finish to three-time PSM champion Matt Hines, 7.337 to 7.364 seconds.
Brown has qualified for 152 consecutive NHRA events. He hasn’t missed the cut since the Gainesville race in 1998 after being disqualified for bad fuel at his first career race. It is the second longest qualifying streak in the professional ranks (Angelle Sampey—170).
Brown became the eighth different driver that crew chief Lee Beard has tuned to the pole award and 10th different racer Beard has tuned to a win in Top Fuel or Funny Car. Beard tuned Whit Bazemore to the Funny Car win at Bristol in 2002 and pole in 2004.
2008 NHRA Top Fuel Standings
1. Tony Schumacher (2) 608 - - -
2. ANTRON BROWN (2) 540 -68
3. Larry Dixon (1) 469 -139
4. ROD FULLER (1) 434 -174
5. Cory McClenathan (1) 418 -190
6. Hillary Will 381 -227
7. Brandon Bernstein 353 -255
8. Doug Kalitta 323 -280
9. David Grubnic 323 -285
10. Doug Herbert 310 -298
11. Morgan Lucas 265 -343
Antron Brown’s Career Results at Bristol Dragway
Year Qualified Finish/Winning Driver
1999* No. 6 First round—Dave Schultz
2000* No. 2 Runner-up—Matt Hines
*Winston Showdown
Brown’s Bristol Schedule
Date & Time Event and Location
Fri., May 16, 4:30/7 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Bristol Dragway
Sat., May 17, 1/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Bristol Dragway
Sat., May 17, 6 p.m. NHRA Circle Track Challenge, Bristol Motor Speedway
Sun., May 18, Noon Final Eliminations, Bristol Dragway
Brown’s Career-Best Performances
Top Fuel
E.T.—4.495 seconds Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2008
MPH—331.94 mph Madison, Ill. May 2008
Pro Stock Motorcycle
E.T.—6.930 seconds Gainesville, Fla. March 2007
MPH—193.24 mph Englishtown, N.J. May 2002
O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2)
Date & Time (ET) Coverage
Sat., May 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Qualifying Highlights
Sun., May 18, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day
Sun., May 18, 6:30-10 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage
www.matcotools.com
www.davidpowersmotorsports.com
Posted to Auto Racing - Drag Racing by Motorsports Journal « Go Back
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