Brown, a 20-time NHRA winner, opened qualifying at the ninth annual Thunder Valley Nationals by racing the Matco Tools dragster to the second quickest pass of the round. The four-time Top Fuel winner used a tune-up from co-crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to power the bright blue Matco Tools dragster to a lap of 3.898 seconds at 313.07 mph. It was the fastest run of the round. Only rookie driver Shawn Langdon was quicker at 3.892-seconds in his Lucas Oil dragster. On Friday's second attempt, the Matco Tools rail overpowered the track as Brown slowed to a run of 6.156 at 103.45 mph to finish seventh in the order with two qualifying sessions remaining before the 16-car field is set. Cory McClenathan earned the provisional pole at 3.874-seconds. Brown's 313.07 mph speed was the fastest of the day.

"That was a good first run for this Matco Tools team at MAR," Brown said. "We were going for it on the night run and it was just too hopped up. It's all good. Our Matco dragster continues to run great. We want to make two consistent runs on Saturday and get ready for race day on Sunday."

Professional nitro qualifying is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1 and 3:30 p.m. (ET) at Bristol Dragway. Top Fuel will run first followed by Funny Car. Brown qualified in the No. 4 position (4.542 at 330.15) last year at the Bristol NHRA race before falling to Hillary Will in the quarterfinals. Team owner Mike Ashley scored his first win as a team owner last year at Bristol when Melanie Troxel defeated Mike Neff in the Funny Car final.

Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., Mike Ashley Racing fields the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster driven by Antron Brown. MAR proudly represents racing partners Matco Tools, Lend America, DirecTV, BeepBeep.com, Toyota, DataDot USA, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite, Suzuki, Connexions Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing.

Mike Ashley Racing supports Autism Awareness through their support of the Hyperbaric Therapy Center. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control report found that 1 in 150 children in America today have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and an estimated 1.5 million Americans and their families are now affected. Autism is a national health crisis, and Mike Ashley Racing is working to help educate the public about ways they can get involved. Visit the Heal Autism Now website for more information about how you can get involved at http://www.healautismnow.org

Q1 3.898 ET, 313.07 MPH No. 2
Q2 6.156 ET, 103.45 MPH No. 7

Courtesy of Ted Yerzyk