AB Motorsports Post-Race Recap: Las Vegas 2 (1 Viewer)

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NHRA Nevada Nationals
Event 21 of 22
Countdown Event 5 of 6
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas
Oct. 28-30, 2022


Antron Brown Keeps Championship Hopes Alive Despite Second-Round Exit at Nevada Nationals
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Qualified:
No. 9 (3.710 E.T. at 330.47 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.709 E.T. at 330.23 MPH defeated Doug Kalitta 3.751 E.T. at 328.38 MPH
E2: 4.156 E.T. at 211.06 MPH defeated by Brittany Force 3.732 E.T. at 327.98 MPH

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 30, 2022) – Three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown left The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a little earlier than planned after a second-round loss Sunday at the NHRA Nevada Nationals. Still, the first-year team owner remains hopeful in his fight for the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series world championship. He sits 78 points behind leader Brittany Force going into the final race of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
The AB Motorsports owner and driver, who’s raced to victory at three of the last seven races (Topeka, Kan., Indianapolis, Charlotte), entered the Nevada Nationals third in points. He was 84 points behind former point leader Justin Ashley and two points behind Brittany Force in second.
Brown, co-crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, and the Matco Tools team made three solid passes in qualifying, the best of which was a 3.710-second pass at 330.47-mph in the fourth session to qualify ninth.
On race day, Brown paired up with longtime “tool wars” rival Doug Kalitta to kick off Top Fuel eliminations. Kalitta took a slight starting line advantage, but Brown quickly drove around him and finished first with a 3.709 E.T. at 330.23-mph to Kalitta’s 3.751. Later in the round, Ashley lost his match with Clay Millican, opening the door for Brown and fellow championship challengers Force and Mike Salinas.
“We had a solid opening round lap with that 3.70 against Dougie (Kalitta) in the tool wars,” said Brown, who was sporting the bright pink Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery one last time to close out Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “That’s always important to us and our Matco family.”
A monumental matchup followed in the second round, as Brown lined up against Force to race for the No. 2 spot in points along with a berth in the semifinals. Brown left the starting line first, but the Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ dragster started to haze the tires and coasted to a 4.156 E.T. while Force moved on to the semis with her 3.732-second effort.
“Round two was tough,” said Brown, who was undefeated in all prior matchups with Force this season, including the final round of the prestigious U.S. Nationals. “Brittany was a juggernaut all weekend in qualifying and we were just a tad too aggressive. Our Matco dragster was trucking early, but the track just wouldn’t hold it. It’s tough.”
With points-and-a-half up for grabs at the season finale, Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team will head West to Pomona for an all-out battle for the championship.
“We’ve still got a shot going into Pomona in two weeks and that’s all you can ask for,” Brown said. “We’re going to test here tomorrow and dial our tune-up in for the Pomona Finals.”
Brown ended the day fourth in points behind Force (-78), Ashley (-71), and Salinas (-12). He will wrap up his first season as a team owner at the NHRA Finals, Nov. 11-13, at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.


NHRA Camping World Series Top Fuel Point Standings (unofficial):

1Brittany Force
2468
2Justin Ashley
2461
3Mike Salinas
2402
4Antron Brown
2390
5Steve Torrence
2381
6Austin Prock
2342
7Josh Hart
2307
8Shawn Langdon
2290
9Doug Kalitta
2284
10Clay Millican
2269
11Tony Schumacher
2224
12Leah Pruett
2211

About AB Motorsports
Established in 2019 and making its on-track debut in 2022, AB Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Top Fuel team owned and operated by three-time world champion Antron Brown. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., the team competes on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Toyota, SiriusXM, Hangsterfer’s Metal Working Lubricants, and Summit Racing Equipment.
Brown, who serves as both the owner and driver of the AB Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, is the only competitor in NHRA history to have won races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories. Brown is a 71-time NHRA national event winner and became the first Black driver to win a major U.S. auto racing championship when he captured the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel series title.



 
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