Antron Brown, who grew up just 30 minutues from Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, drove his Mike
Ashley-owned Matco Tools dragster to the No. 5 qualifying position Saturday afternoon at the 40th
annual United Association SuperNationals. Brown's quickest run of the qualifying was 3.871-seconds.
Brown, a 20-time NHRA winner, entered the final day of qualifying at the historic New Jersey drag
strip in the No. 5 positon with a Friday-evening lap of 3.871 seconds at 315.05 mph. Saturday's
first qualifying attempt looked much like Brown's opening qualifying effort as the Matco Tools
dragster overpowered the track and slowed to a lap of 4.809 at 153.65. Brown remained fifth in the
order. The final qualifying session was canceled due to afternoon rain showers. There are 15 Top
Fuel cars competing this weekend. It is the second time that Brown has qualified fifth this season
(Atlanta). The Matco Tools dragster has an average qualifying position of 3.63 in 11 races this
season and Brown remains the only Top Fuel driver to not have lost in the opening round this
season.
"The track wasn't very good for that first run," Brown said. "A lot of cars didn't get down the
track and the Funny Cars too. I think only (Shawn) Langdon got down. We're all good though. I know
Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) will have this Matco Tools dragster on point and we'll be ready
to roll on race day. I'm excited about going some rounds in front of our big Matco Tools cheering
section that includes a lot of family and friends."
Brown will face off against No. 12 qualifier Joe Hartley in the opening round of Top Fuel
eliminations at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday at Raceway Park. Brown is 1-0 in his career against Hartley.
Brown has two Pro Stock Motorcycle wins at the Englishtown race. Entering Sunday's eliminations,
Brown leads six-time series champion Tony Schumacher by 14 points.
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,
Toyota, Ringer's Gloves, Go Fast! Sports, Goodyear, FRAM, Autolite, Impact! Racing, Connexions
Sports and Entertainment, and Forward Sports Marketing (FSM).
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
