[coverattach=1]COMMERCE, Ga. (April 17, 2009) - Antron Brown looks to drive his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to a second straight win at Atlanta Dragway after qualifying his bright blue dragster fifth on Saturday afternoon at the 29th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals. Brown clocked three runs at 3.86-seconds during qualifying at the Atlanta NHRA race.
The three-time Atlanta Dragway winner entered the final day of qualifying in the provisional No. 3 qualifying position after posting a run of 3.869 seconds at 310.13 mph on Friday afternoon at the Commerce, Ga. track. On Saturday's opening pass, Brown used Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald horsepower to record his quickest pass of qualifying at 3.867 at 311.63. On his final qualifying lap, the Corradi/Oswald-tuned rail carded a pass of 3.868 at 311.99, Brown's fastest speed of qualifying. Brown now has an average qualifying position of 3.2 in six races this season. He trails six-time series champion Tony Schumacher, whom he defeated in the final round last April at Atlanta Dragway, by 19 points entering Sunday's eliminations.
"We had an awesome car during qualifying," Brown said. "Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) gave me a bracket car running all those 3.86s with our Matco Tools dragster. We have a great shot to win this race again. We're just going to take things one round at a time and focus and try to get back to the winner's circle here at Atlanta."
Brown will face off against No. 12 qualifier and Matco Tools Racing driver Clay Millican in the opening round of eliminations at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday at Atlanta Dragway. Brown, who is 1-0 against Millican this season, has a round record of 11-4 in five races this year. ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
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. Visit the Heal Autism Now website for more information about how you can get involved at HEAL! Healing Every Autistic Life : Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Q1 3.869 ET, 310.13 MPH No. 2
Q2 6.964 ET, 84.55 MPH No. 3
Q3 3.867 ET, 311.63 MPH No. 5
Q4 3.868 ET, 311.99 MPH No. 5
The three-time Atlanta Dragway winner entered the final day of qualifying in the provisional No. 3 qualifying position after posting a run of 3.869 seconds at 310.13 mph on Friday afternoon at the Commerce, Ga. track. On Saturday's opening pass, Brown used Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald horsepower to record his quickest pass of qualifying at 3.867 at 311.63. On his final qualifying lap, the Corradi/Oswald-tuned rail carded a pass of 3.868 at 311.99, Brown's fastest speed of qualifying. Brown now has an average qualifying position of 3.2 in six races this season. He trails six-time series champion Tony Schumacher, whom he defeated in the final round last April at Atlanta Dragway, by 19 points entering Sunday's eliminations.
"We had an awesome car during qualifying," Brown said. "Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) gave me a bracket car running all those 3.86s with our Matco Tools dragster. We have a great shot to win this race again. We're just going to take things one round at a time and focus and try to get back to the winner's circle here at Atlanta."
Brown will face off against No. 12 qualifier and Matco Tools Racing driver Clay Millican in the opening round of eliminations at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday at Atlanta Dragway. Brown, who is 1-0 against Millican this season, has a round record of 11-4 in five races this year. ESPN2 will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday.
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. Visit the Heal Autism Now website for more information about how you can get involved at HEAL! Healing Every Autistic Life : Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Q1 3.869 ET, 310.13 MPH No. 2
Q2 6.964 ET, 84.55 MPH No. 3
Q3 3.867 ET, 311.63 MPH No. 5
Q4 3.868 ET, 311.99 MPH No. 5
