Antron Brown on Bristol
"Man, I'm fired up about going to Bristol. We've got 'big blue' back for Bristol with our Matco
Tools colors and our car is running great. Mark (Oswald) and Brian (Corradi) have this Matco
dragster hauling and we have such a great team here at MAR. Bristol is an awesome track and our
goal is to continue to go rounds and stay consistent with the performance of this Matco dragster.
Mark and Brian won last year with Melanie's (Troxel) Funny Car and we hope to do that well again."
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Bristol
"The goal is to pick up where we left off at St. Louis. As boring as it sounds, we're going to try
and qualify well, a little better than we did at St. Louis, and stay consistent and go some rounds
on race day. Qualifying well is important to having success on race day and those qualifying points
can add up too."
Antron Brown Bristol NHRA Notebook
Brown enters the eighth race on the 2009 NHRA schedule leading the NHRA Top Fuel standings. The
former Pro Stock Motorcycle star has been atop the standings following four of seven races this
season. The second-year Top Fuel racer has two wins in three final round appearances along with two
No. 1 qualifying awards his year. Brown also has recorded personal bests in elapsed time (3.778
seconds) and speed (318.02 mph).
Brown made his first career start at Bristol Dragway last May as the PSM category doesn't compete
at the Bristol race. The 16-time PSM winner qualified his Matco Tools dragster in the No. 4
position at 4.542 seconds at 330.15 mph and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Hillary
Will, 4.541 to 4.560.
Two weeks ago at Gateway International Raceway, Brown collected his 20th career NHRA "Wally" trophy
by defeating Brandon Bernstein in the final round. In a rain-shortened qualifying, Brown raced his
DirecTV/Matco Tools dragster to the No. 7 qualifying position at 3.906-seconds. On race day, he
defeated Doug Kalitta, Cory McClenathan, and Shawn Langdon before outrunning Bernstein in a rematch
of the final round from the Phoenix race in February, 3.850 to 3.888. Brown also earned low E.T.
and top speed of the meet honors. His final round speed of 318.02 mph was a career best and the
fifth fastest 1,000-foot speed recorded.
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 (4 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 team owner Mike Ashley won his first race as a team owner last year at Bristol Dragway
when Melanie Troxel defeated Mike Neff in the Funny Car final round, 5.066 to 6.471.
Brown's Bristol NHRA Schedule
Date/Time Event/Location
Thur., May 14, 8 a.m. Matco Tools truck ride, Johnson City, Tenn.
w/Matco Tools DBR Rick Page
Thur., May 14, Noon NHRA Media Luncheon, Country Club of Bristol
Fri., May 15, 5:30/8 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Bristol Dragway
Sat., May 16, 1/3:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Bristol Dragway
Sun., May 17, Noon Final Eliminations, Bristol Dragway
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2)
Date/Time (ET) Coverage
Sat., May 16, 6-8 p.m. Qualifying Highlights
Sun., May 17, 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day
Sun., May 17, 7-10:30 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage
