In a tense first-round battle between two NHRA Top Fuel championship contenders, three-time world champion Antron Brown lost a close match to fellow Toyota driver Justin Ashley Sunday afternoon at the Texas NHRA FallNationals. Brown in his Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ Toyota dragster laid down respectable numbers at both ends of the Texas Motorplex 1,000-foot racetrack, but Ashley was just a bit quicker to move on to the second round at the fourth of six races in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Brown, who started the weekend as the points leader, slipped to second with two races left in the season.
Brown’s first qualifying attempt netted a 3.793-second pass at 320.19 mph to move into the middle of the 19-driver pack looking to qualify for the 16-car field. Crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald guided Brown and his Matco dragster to a 3.737 E.T. at 326.75 mph in the second session on Friday to move up four spots to No. 5 going into Saturday. Brown had problems late in the run in the third qualifying session on Saturday, and a similar run followed in the final session. Saturday’s warmer conditions challenged many of the other teams, though, and Brown maintained his No. 5 position for race day.
Brown, who had a 34-point lead over Ashley going into the Texas NHRA FallNationals, also had a winning 10 – 7 round win record over Ashley in previous matchups. The quick-leaving Ashley got a reaction time advantage in this meeting, and while Brown threw down a 3.776-second pass at 324.96 mph, it wasn’t quick enough to get around Ashley’s 3.775 E.T. Ashley then won his second-round race, taking over the points lead.
“That was a rough day at the racetrack,” said Brown, a five-time national event winner this season. “That’s not what we wanted, but we qualified well. We really needed to win that first round. We’ve got to keep our heads down and get ready for Las Vegas, which is a couple of weeks away. The points battle is gonna be really tight, but we’re still in the hunt. That’s the good part about having the first two races (of the Countdown) go our way. We’ve got two races left and we’re gonna have to keep our head down and give it everything we’ve got with our Matco Tools/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster.”
Still very much in championship contention, Brown and the AB Motorsports team will get back on track at the NHRA Nevada Nationals, Nov. 1 – 3, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Qualified: No. 5 (3.737 E.T. at 326.75 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.776 E.T. at 324.96 MPH defeated by Justin Ashley 3.775 E.T. at 329.21 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Justin Ashley | 2422 | |
| 2 | Antron Brown | 2378 | |
| 3 | Shawn Langdon | 2346 | |
| 4 | Steve Torrence | 2334 | |
| 5 | Tony Schumacher | 2317 | |
| 6 | Clay Millican | 2308 | |
| 7 | Doug Kalitta | 2289 | |
| 8 | Brittany Force | 2232 | |
| 9 | Shawn Reed | 2182 | |
| 10 | Tony Stewart | 2181 |
ABM Communications PR
