[coverattach=1]Antron Brown on Houston
"I'm excited to go back to Houston, the site of our first career Top Fuel win. That's was an awesome day last year and we'll never forget our first Top Fuel win. We want to keep that "Wally" trophy in-house for our team here and MAR and I know we have a great shot. Our Matco car is running really well and Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) are doing a great job tuning this dragster."
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Houston
"Hopefully the conditions will allow us to run quick at Houston. We learned some things at Gainesville running in the hot weather that we can apply to help us have a more consistent race car and we hope that will help us get to another final round at Houston."
Antron Brown Houston NHRA Notebook
-Brown continues to lead the NHRA Top Fuel standings. The popular racer has already powered his Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-tuned dragster to the pole and a runner-up finish at the season-opening Winternationals, before earning his third career Top Fuel win by defeating Brandon Bernstein in the final round of the Phoenix race in late February, 3.846 to 5.173. Brown has qualified in the top half of the 16-car field at all three races this season and has an average qualifying position of 3.7. He also has an elimination mark of 8-2 in 10 rounds of racing.
-Brown made NHRA history at Houston Raceway Park last March when he raced his Matco Tools dragster to the win over two-time series champion Larry Dixon 4.605 to 4.621 to become the first driver in NHRA to win races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories. Brown won from the No. 12 starting spot after qualifying with a lap of 4.644 seconds at 322.42 mph. It was his first of two Top Fuel wins (Atlanta) last season. Brown made five final round appearances in 2008.
-In 11 tries at the ultra-quick Houston track, Brown has one win (2008) in two final-round appearances. He posted a runner-up finish to Karen Stoffer in the PSM final in 2004, 7.159 to 7.176. He earned the pole at the 2001 Houston race with a lap of 7.167 at 187.23. Brown's average qualifying position at Houston Raceway Park is 4.54. Houston Raceway Park is one of 10 current NHRA tracks where Brown has won a race.
Antron Brown... Did You Know?-Brown was a track star at Mercer College in New Jersey competing in the 100 and 200-meters, long jump, and 55-meter indoor. He ran quick enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trails in the 100-meters.
-Brown's first team owner was former NFL star cornerback Troy Vincent.
-Brown is the only driver in NHRA history to hold the points lead and win races in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle (3 TF/16 PSM).
-Brown's team owner Mike Ashley has three career NHRA Funny Car wins, including the 2007 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
-Brown's co-crew chief Mark Oswald won the 1984 NHRA Winston Funny Car championship.
-Brown's co-crew chief Brian Corradi was the clutch specialist on Dean Skuza's Matco Tools Funny Car that won the fall Houston race in 1997.
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Standings
1. ANTRON BROWN (1) 259 - - -
2. Brandon Bernstein 239 -20
3. Larry Dixon (1) 206 -53
4. Doug Kalitta (1) 194 -65
5. Tony Schumacher 181 -78
6. Cory McClenathan 178 -81
7. Morgan Lucas 176 -83
8. Shawn Langdon 173 -86
9. Spencer Massey 122 -137
10. Joe Hartley 95 -164
Antron Brown's Career Results at Houston Raceway Park
Year Qualified Finish/Winning Driver
1998 No. 9 Second round-John Smith
1999 No. 3 Second round-Tony Mullen
2000 No. 2 First round-Joe DeSantis
2001 No. 1 Semifinals-Angelle Sampey
2002 No. 3 Second round-Craig Treble (foul)
2003 No. 7 Semifinals-Craig Treble
2004 No. 2 Runner-up-Karen Stoffer
2005 No. 3 First round-Craig Treble
2006 No. 2 Second round-Andrew Hines (foul)
2007 No. 6 Second round-Tom Bradford (foul)
2008 No. 12-4.644 ET WINNER-def. Larry Dixon
Brown's Houston NHRA Schedule
Date/Time Event/Location
Wed., March 25, 11 a.m. NHRA Press Tour-Houston
Thurs., March 26, 8 a.m. Matco Tools Truck Ride w/Bryan Robinson
Auto Care Specialists, Baytown, Texas
Fri., March 27, 2:30/6 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Houston Raceway Park
Sat., March 28, Noon/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Houston Raceway Park
Sun., March 29, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, Houston Raceway Park
Brown's Career-Best Performances
E.T./Speed Location Date
E.T.-4.495 seconds Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2008
MPH-331.94 mph Madison, Ill. May 2008
E.T.-3.778 seconds* Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2009
MPH-317.19 mph* Las Vegas Nov. 2008
*1,000-foot
NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2)
Date/Time (ET) Coverage
Sat., March 28, 8-9 p.m. Qualifying Highlights
Sun., March 29, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day
Sun., March 29, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage
"I'm excited to go back to Houston, the site of our first career Top Fuel win. That's was an awesome day last year and we'll never forget our first Top Fuel win. We want to keep that "Wally" trophy in-house for our team here and MAR and I know we have a great shot. Our Matco car is running really well and Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) are doing a great job tuning this dragster."
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Houston
"Hopefully the conditions will allow us to run quick at Houston. We learned some things at Gainesville running in the hot weather that we can apply to help us have a more consistent race car and we hope that will help us get to another final round at Houston."
Antron Brown Houston NHRA Notebook
-Brown continues to lead the NHRA Top Fuel standings. The popular racer has already powered his Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-tuned dragster to the pole and a runner-up finish at the season-opening Winternationals, before earning his third career Top Fuel win by defeating Brandon Bernstein in the final round of the Phoenix race in late February, 3.846 to 5.173. Brown has qualified in the top half of the 16-car field at all three races this season and has an average qualifying position of 3.7. He also has an elimination mark of 8-2 in 10 rounds of racing.
-Brown made NHRA history at Houston Raceway Park last March when he raced his Matco Tools dragster to the win over two-time series champion Larry Dixon 4.605 to 4.621 to become the first driver in NHRA to win races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories. Brown won from the No. 12 starting spot after qualifying with a lap of 4.644 seconds at 322.42 mph. It was his first of two Top Fuel wins (Atlanta) last season. Brown made five final round appearances in 2008.
-In 11 tries at the ultra-quick Houston track, Brown has one win (2008) in two final-round appearances. He posted a runner-up finish to Karen Stoffer in the PSM final in 2004, 7.159 to 7.176. He earned the pole at the 2001 Houston race with a lap of 7.167 at 187.23. Brown's average qualifying position at Houston Raceway Park is 4.54. Houston Raceway Park is one of 10 current NHRA tracks where Brown has won a race.
Antron Brown... Did You Know?-Brown was a track star at Mercer College in New Jersey competing in the 100 and 200-meters, long jump, and 55-meter indoor. He ran quick enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trails in the 100-meters.
-Brown's first team owner was former NFL star cornerback Troy Vincent.
-Brown is the only driver in NHRA history to hold the points lead and win races in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle (3 TF/16 PSM).
-Brown's team owner Mike Ashley has three career NHRA Funny Car wins, including the 2007 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
-Brown's co-crew chief Mark Oswald won the 1984 NHRA Winston Funny Car championship.
-Brown's co-crew chief Brian Corradi was the clutch specialist on Dean Skuza's Matco Tools Funny Car that won the fall Houston race in 1997.
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Standings
1. ANTRON BROWN (1) 259 - - -
2. Brandon Bernstein 239 -20
3. Larry Dixon (1) 206 -53
4. Doug Kalitta (1) 194 -65
5. Tony Schumacher 181 -78
6. Cory McClenathan 178 -81
7. Morgan Lucas 176 -83
8. Shawn Langdon 173 -86
9. Spencer Massey 122 -137
10. Joe Hartley 95 -164
Antron Brown's Career Results at Houston Raceway Park
Year Qualified Finish/Winning Driver
1998 No. 9 Second round-John Smith
1999 No. 3 Second round-Tony Mullen
2000 No. 2 First round-Joe DeSantis
2001 No. 1 Semifinals-Angelle Sampey
2002 No. 3 Second round-Craig Treble (foul)
2003 No. 7 Semifinals-Craig Treble
2004 No. 2 Runner-up-Karen Stoffer
2005 No. 3 First round-Craig Treble
2006 No. 2 Second round-Andrew Hines (foul)
2007 No. 6 Second round-Tom Bradford (foul)
2008 No. 12-4.644 ET WINNER-def. Larry Dixon
Brown's Houston NHRA Schedule
Date/Time Event/Location
Wed., March 25, 11 a.m. NHRA Press Tour-Houston
Thurs., March 26, 8 a.m. Matco Tools Truck Ride w/Bryan Robinson
Auto Care Specialists, Baytown, Texas
Fri., March 27, 2:30/6 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Houston Raceway Park
Sat., March 28, Noon/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Houston Raceway Park
Sun., March 29, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, Houston Raceway Park
Brown's Career-Best Performances
E.T./Speed Location Date
E.T.-4.495 seconds Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2008
MPH-331.94 mph Madison, Ill. May 2008
E.T.-3.778 seconds* Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2009
MPH-317.19 mph* Las Vegas Nov. 2008
*1,000-foot
NHRA O'Reilly Spring Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2)
Date/Time (ET) Coverage
Sat., March 28, 8-9 p.m. Qualifying Highlights
Sun., March 29, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day
Sun., March 29, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage
