Norwalk: Antron Brown preview

Antron Brown on Norwalk "This is a busy week for our Matco Tools team. Norwalk is the home race for Matco Tools, so there would be no better place to get our first win of the 2010 season. Our Matco Tools dragster is running great and we're way ...

Antron Brown on Norwalk

"This is a busy week for our Matco Tools team. Norwalk is the home race for Matco Tools, so there would be no better place to get our first win of the 2010 season. Our Matco Tools dragster is running great and we're way overdue for a trip to the winner's circle. Our goal is to again qualify well and take each round at a time and hopefully have a long day on Sunday."

Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Norwalk

"Norwalk is a big race for our team. It's my home race and Matco's (Tools) home race. We'll be at Matco's headquarters before the race on Tuesday. Our car is running really well and this would be a great race for us to get our first win of the season."

Antron Brown Norwalk NHRA Notebook

Last weekend in Bristol, Tenn. Brown earned his fourth No. 1 qualifying award of the season. The 24-time NHRA winner paced the Top Fuel field with a Friday evening blast of 3.856 seconds at 314.24 mph at Bristol Dragway. It was Brown's 25th career pole and 14th in Top Fuel. On race day, he defeated 31-time winner Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon before losing a close match to Brandon Bernstein in the semifinals, 4.036 to 4.186. It was Brown's first semifinal finish of the season. Brown's four poles equaled DSR teammate Cory McClenathan for the most in Top Fuel this year.

Last June at the Norwalk NHRA race, Brown qualified his Matco Tools car fifth at 3.933 seconds at 305.01 mph. On race day, he knocked off Joe Hartley and current DSR teammate Cory McClenathan before smoking the tires in the semifinals against two-time Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon.

In three tries at the popular Norwalk NHRA race, Brown has not qualified lower than sixth. He has an average qualifying position of 5.7 in those three races. Brown, who won a category-best six races last season, enters the 13th race on the 2010 NHRA schedule ranked fifth in the Top Fuel standings. He trails two-time champion Larry Dixon by 303 points. Brown has four final-round appearances this season (Gainesville, Charlotte 1, Houston and Englishtown) and four No. 1 qualifiers (Gainesville, Las Vegas 1, Topeka and Bristol). Last year, Brown had 10 finals and seven poles. His average qualifying position in 12 races this year is 5.2.