[coverattach=1]COMMERCE, Ga. (April 19, 2009) - Antron Brown drove his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to a second round finish Sunday afternoon at Atlanta Dragway. The 19-time NHRA winner continues to rank second in the NHRA Top Fuel standings following six of 24 races on the 2009 NHRA schedule.
After qualifying the bright blue Matco Tools dragster fifth at 3.867-seconds on Saturday afternoon at the Commerce, Ga. track, Brown edged six-time IHRA champion Clay Millican in round one before falling to six-time series champion Tony Schumacher in round two. Brown now trails Schumacher by 39 points.
In the opening round of eliminations, Brown ran his record to 2-0 against Millican this season by racing the Matco Tools dragster to a wire-to-wire win. Brown used Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald horsepower to card the second quickest pass of the round at 3.854 seconds at 314.97 mph. It was Brown's third fastest speed this season. The 3.854-second elapsed time earned the Matco team lane choice over Schumacher in round two. Millican, a Matco Tools driver, trailed slightly in his white dragster at 3.920 at 311.56.
Squaring off against the 58-time Top Fuel winner for the ninth time, Brown used the best reaction time of the round, .057 of-a-second, to race the Matco Tools dragster to the early lead. The Matco car shook the tires forcing Brown to pedal the throttle and slow to a lap of 4.800 at 200.50, while Schumacher's U.S. Army/Matco Tools car labored to a run of 4.029 at 254.23 to advance to the semifinals. Brown is now 1-1 against the Mike Green-tuned Army rail this season. The Matco Tools car is 12-5 in six races this season and Brown has 269 career round wins.
"That was a tough round to lose," Brown said. "We really wanted to leave here with the 'Wally' and the points lead. Our Matco car ran so consistent all weekend long, so that really surprised us that it shook so hard like that. When I saw Tony (Schumacher) have problems, I pedaled it, but we were just too far behind.
"It's all good though. We're still second in the points and less than two rounds out of first place. We're going to test the Matco dragster on Monday and gear up for St. Louis. We have a very fast and consistent car and I like our chances at St. Louis in a few weeks."
The next Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event is the 13th annual O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, May 1-3, at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. Brown qualified fourth at the St. Louis race last May at 4.517-seconds and advanced to the second round before falling to Doug Kalitta. The Matco Tools driver also posted his fastest quarter mile speed at 331.94 mph during qualifying at Gateway last year.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., Mike Ashley Racing fields the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster driven by Antron Brown. MAR proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Lend America, DirecTV, BeepBeep.com, Toyota, DataDot USA, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite, Suzuki, Connexions Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing.
Mike Ashley Racing supports Autism Awareness through their support of the Hyperbaric Therapy Center. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and an estimated 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected. Autism is a national health crisis, and Mike Ashley Racing is working to help educate the public about ways they can get involved.
R1 BROWN (.074) 3.854 ET, 314.97 MPH def. Millican (.099) 3.920 ET, 311.56 MPH
R2 Schumacher (.073) 4.029 ET, 254.23 MPH def. BROWN (.057) 4.800 ET, 200.50
After qualifying the bright blue Matco Tools dragster fifth at 3.867-seconds on Saturday afternoon at the Commerce, Ga. track, Brown edged six-time IHRA champion Clay Millican in round one before falling to six-time series champion Tony Schumacher in round two. Brown now trails Schumacher by 39 points.
In the opening round of eliminations, Brown ran his record to 2-0 against Millican this season by racing the Matco Tools dragster to a wire-to-wire win. Brown used Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald horsepower to card the second quickest pass of the round at 3.854 seconds at 314.97 mph. It was Brown's third fastest speed this season. The 3.854-second elapsed time earned the Matco team lane choice over Schumacher in round two. Millican, a Matco Tools driver, trailed slightly in his white dragster at 3.920 at 311.56.
Squaring off against the 58-time Top Fuel winner for the ninth time, Brown used the best reaction time of the round, .057 of-a-second, to race the Matco Tools dragster to the early lead. The Matco car shook the tires forcing Brown to pedal the throttle and slow to a lap of 4.800 at 200.50, while Schumacher's U.S. Army/Matco Tools car labored to a run of 4.029 at 254.23 to advance to the semifinals. Brown is now 1-1 against the Mike Green-tuned Army rail this season. The Matco Tools car is 12-5 in six races this season and Brown has 269 career round wins.
"That was a tough round to lose," Brown said. "We really wanted to leave here with the 'Wally' and the points lead. Our Matco car ran so consistent all weekend long, so that really surprised us that it shook so hard like that. When I saw Tony (Schumacher) have problems, I pedaled it, but we were just too far behind.
"It's all good though. We're still second in the points and less than two rounds out of first place. We're going to test the Matco dragster on Monday and gear up for St. Louis. We have a very fast and consistent car and I like our chances at St. Louis in a few weeks."
The next Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event is the 13th annual O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, May 1-3, at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. Brown qualified fourth at the St. Louis race last May at 4.517-seconds and advanced to the second round before falling to Doug Kalitta. The Matco Tools driver also posted his fastest quarter mile speed at 331.94 mph during qualifying at Gateway last year.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., Mike Ashley Racing fields the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster driven by Antron Brown. MAR proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Lend America, DirecTV, BeepBeep.com, Toyota, DataDot USA, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite, Suzuki, Connexions Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing.
Mike Ashley Racing supports Autism Awareness through their support of the Hyperbaric Therapy Center. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and an estimated 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected. Autism is a national health crisis, and Mike Ashley Racing is working to help educate the public about ways they can get involved.
R1 BROWN (.074) 3.854 ET, 314.97 MPH def. Millican (.099) 3.920 ET, 311.56 MPH
R2 Schumacher (.073) 4.029 ET, 254.23 MPH def. BROWN (.057) 4.800 ET, 200.50
