The Brown Bulletin The pre-race release of 23-time NHRA winner Antron Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team 45th annual Auto Club NHRA Nationals Nov. 12-15, 2009 Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Pomona, Calif. Antron Brown on Pomona “It’s all come down to this. We’re 80 points out, but we’ve still got a shot at this Countdown championship. We ran awesome at Pomona in February with getting the pole and running that 3.77 and making it to the final round. Our DSR Matco Tools dragster is running great and there’s no reason we can’t go out on top a winner at Pomona. We’ve won there on the bikes a while back and it would be cool to do it in Top Fuel too.” Antron Brown Pomona Finals NHRA Notebook Two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Brown qualified his Matco Tools dragster third at 3.834 seconds at 317.42 mph. It is the 12th time in 23 races that Brown has qualified third or better. On race day, Brown bested Denmark driver Stig Neergaard, who made his first NHRA start, in the opening round 4.012 to 6.954. The Matco Tools car was defeated in the second round by Brandon Bernstein in a close race 3.882 to 3.894. Brown is 4-4 in eight races against the second generation Top Fuel driver this season. Brown returns to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, where he made his Top Fuel debut almost two years ago. The 23-time NHRA winner won the Pro Stock Motorcycle crown at the season-ending NHRA bash in 1999. Brown has earned two No. 1 qualifying awards at the historic Southern California track, both at the Winternationals. This February, he paced the Top Fuel field in a rain-shortened qualifying. When the rain-plagued race was finally completed on Tuesday, Brown posted the quickest run of the 2009 season at 3.778-seconds in a semifinal win over Bernstein before falling to Doug Kalitta in the final round 3.822 to 3.847. This season, Brown has five wins in nine final round appearances, along with seven poles. In July, Brown made NHRA history becoming just the seventh professional driver to sweep the grueling Western Swing (Denver, Seattle and Sonoma, Calif.). Brown also posted the fastest run in NHRA 1,000-foot racing at 319.75. He has set the NHRA national speed record twice at 319.22 and 319.60 mph. He led the standings entering the Countdown to 1 and after 13 races this season. He trails Tony Schumacher by 80 points or four rounds of racing and ranks fourth in the Countdown to 1 standings, his lowest placing of the season. Brown’s average qualifying position this season is 3.73 and 3.6 in the five Countdown to 1 races. Antron Brown... Did You Know? -Brown was a track star at Mercer Community 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 race 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 (7 TF/16 PSM). -Brown’s co-crew chief, Mark Oswald, won the 1984 NHRA Winston Funny Car championship. Oswald is one of 14 drivers in NHRA history to have won races in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. -Brown’s team owner, Don Schumacher, owns seven professional NHRA teams. DSR drivers amassed 135 NHRA national event wins and seven championships. 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Standings (23 of 24 races) Countdown to 1 (five of six races) 1. Tony Schumacher (5) 2,485 - - - 2. Larry Dixon (5) 2,484 -1 3. Cory McClenathan (1) 2,437 -48 4. ANTRON BROWN (5) 2,405 -80 5. Brandon Bernstein (1) 2,383 -102 6. Spencer Massey (2) 2,337 -148 7. Morgan Lucas (3) 2,300 -185 8. Shawn Langdon 2,289 -196 9. Doug Kalitta (1) 2,270 -215 10. Clay Millican 2,093 -392 Antron Brown’s Career Results at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Year Qualified Finish/Winning Driver 1998 No. 5 Semifinals—Ron Ayers 1999 No. 2 WINNER—def. Craig Treble 2000 No. 2 Semifinals—Matt Hines 2001 No. 2 Runner-up—Angelle Sampey (foul) 2001 No. 3 First round—Joe DeSantis 2002 No. 10 First round—Michael Phillips 2003 No. 13 First round—Andrew Hines 2004 No. 3 Runner-up—Angelle Sampey 2005 No. 2 Second round—Andrew Hines (foul) 2006 No. 10 Second round—Craig Treble 2007 No. 8 Semifinals—Matt Smith (foul) 2008 No. 1—4.495 Second round—Cory McClenathan 2008 No. 19—4.056 DNQ 2009 No. 1—3.703 Runner-up—Doug Kalitta Brown’s Pomona Finals Schedule Date/Time Event/Location Wed., Nov. 10, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Matco Tools TechEd Visit—Cypress College 9200 Valley View St., Cypress, CA 90630 Thur., Nov. 12, 2:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 1, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Fri., Nov. 13, 2:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 2, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Sat., Nov. 14, Noon/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Sun., Nov. 15, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona 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—319.75 mph* Bristol, Tenn. May 2009 *1,000-foot Auto Club NHRA Finals TV Schedule (ESPN2) Date/Time (ET) Coverage Sat., Nov. 14, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Qualifying Highlights Sun., Nov. 15, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day Sun., Nov. 15, 7-10 p.m. Final Eliminations www.matcotools.com www.shoeracing.com www.antronbrown.com www.twitter.com/AntronBrownTF