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MILLINGTON, Tenn. -- U.S. Army Pro Stock Bike driver Antron Brown captured his first victory of the season here Sunday in the O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. Brown topped Matt Smith in the finals, after disposing of teammate, Angelle Savoie, in the semifinals. In Top Fuel action, U.S. Army driver Tony "The Sarge" Schumacher widened his lead in the chase for the Top Fuel world championship despite losing in the second round.
Brown took care of Kurt Matte, Shawn Gann and Savoie, before cutting a perfect reaction time of .000 in the final round win over Smith. It was his third perfect start of the season. "You can't imagine how excited I am right now about this win," he said. "We've come so close all year long and finally we got the big prize. This U.S. Army team is really rolling right now. I can't wait to get to the next race." As a result of the victory, Brown moved into second-place in the Pro Stock Bike standings and now leads Savoie, in third, by just three points. Savoie marched through the opening two rounds with wins over Blaine Hale and Craig Treble, before facing Brown for the second straight race in the semis. For the first time in four elimination round meetings with Brown this season, Savoie came up on the short end of a "hole shot." While her 7.293-second run was quicker than Brown's 7.307-second jaunt, Brown had a better reaction time at the starting line. "I was little late at the lights and that was the race," she said. "I feel happy for Antron, though. He's been itching to get back at me ever since losing in the finals at Sonoma. More importantly, I'm ecstatic that he and the Army team won the race. That's what ultimately counts."
Schumacher, after qualifying third, took care of Rhonda Hartman-Smith in the first round of eliminations, before being nipped in the second round by newcomer Morgan Lucas, who replaced the late Darrell Russell for the Joe Amato Racing Team. "We had an ignition problem early in the run that cost us," said Schumacher. "I left on him, but losing just that slightest bit of power was the difference." Despite posting the earlier than desired exit in Memphis, Schumacher managed to gain 19 points on second-place Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel standings, who was upset in the first round. Schumacher heads for the prestigious U.S. Nationals in two weeks 141 points up on Kalitta and 177 points ahead of third-place Brandon Bernstein. "I guess that's the upside to today," he added. "Any time you can gain points on your competitors, you have to take advantage. We did that and now we have to go to Indianapolis looking to pad our lead even more." Schumacher, Savoie and Brown will next compete in the 50th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Sept. 3-6.
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