NHRA
Denver: Antron Brown Saturday notes
BROWN RACES MATCO TOOLS CAR TO NO. 1 SPOT AT DENVER, EARNS FIFTH POLE OF '09 SEASON MORRISON, Colo (July 11, 2009) - Antron Brown, the current NHRA Top Fuel points leader, raced his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to his fifth No. 1 ...
Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:39 PM
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BROWN RACES MATCO TOOLS CAR TO NO. 1 SPOT AT DENVER, EARNS FIFTH POLE OF '09 SEASON
MORRISON, Colo (July 11, 2009) - Antron Brown, the current NHRA Top Fuel points leader, raced his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to his fifth No. 1 qualifying award of the 2009 season. Brown used an elasped time of 3.862-seconds to pace the Top Fuel field and earn his 19th career pole.
After a long first day of qualifying that ended at nearly midnight, Brown entered the final day of qualifying for the 30th annual Mile-High Nationals in the provisional No. 2 qualifying position with a lap of 3.883 seconds at 318.39 mph. It was Brown's second fastest speed of the season (319.75) and the fourth fastest 1,000-foot speed.
On Saturday's opening effort, Brown's Matco Tools/GoFast! dragster lost track near mid-track and slowed to a lap of 5.096 seconds at 145.74 mph. Brown remained second in the order. Brown and the Matco Tools/Toyota team took advantage of the cool summer conditions under the lights at Bandimere Speedway to put the Matco Tool car on the pole for the fifth time in '09. Brown used a tune-up from crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to blast the Matco-backed rail to a lap of 3.862 at 315.05 to lead the 16-car order. It is Brown's eighth career Top Fuel pole. The Matco Tools/DirecTV car now has an average qualifying position of 3.54 in 13 races this season.
"I've just got to say hats off to my awesome crew," Brown said. "Also, the entire staff of NHRA and Bandimere Speedway. This track has been a dream to drive on, even at high altitude. We threw the kitchen sink at it tonight and last night an it's like Disneyland. I just wish the race was at night.
"We're really happy about that run, but we have to start all over tomorrow because we'll be racing in the heat. The blower belt came off or we would have gone even faster. It would have gone like 3.85 at 319 or maybe even 320 mph if the (blower) belt didn't come off. I'm in awe with how awesome these cars are running on the mountain. It's a whole new ballgame on Sunday with the sun on the track. We'll need to run between a 3.98 and 4.05 to win first round. We just have to be smart and put our dirt track setup in the car and take it one round at a time."
Brown will face off against No. 16 qualifier Rob Passey in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations at Noon (MT) on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. Brown has never raced Passey in eliminations. Brown, a four-time finalist at the Denver NHRA race, is the only Top Fuel driver to not have lost in the opening round this season. The Matco Tools flagship driver has two wins this season and a record of 26-10 in 12 races. The Matco Tools dragster has appeared in the last two final rounds at Bandimere Speedway.
-credit: mar
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