Antron Brown, who leads the NHRA Top Fuel standings, raced his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools
dragster to the provisional No. 2 qualifying position Friday evening at Bandimere Speedway. The
four-time Top Fuel winner powered to an elapsed time of 3.883-seconds.
Following a lengthy evening rain delay, the final three pairs of Top Fuel dragsters were able to
hit the track after 10 p.m. After six-time series champion Tony Schumacher ran 3.922-seconds in the
U.S. Army/Matco Tools dragster, Antron Brown raced to the second quickest pass of the session.
Brown used a tune-up from crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to power the bright blue Matco
Tools/DirecTV car to a lap of 3.931 seconds at 310.13 mph, placing Brown second after the first of
four scheduled qualifying attempts.
As the clock neared midnight, Brown blasted the Matco Tools/SpongeTech rail to a performance of
3.883 at 318.39 to finish second in the order. The Matco car recorded the fastest speed of the day.
It is Brown's second fastest speed of the season (319.75 mph). The Matco Tools/Toyota car has
earned top speed of the meet honors at six of 12 races this season. Cory McClenathan earned the
provisonal pole with a pass of 3.882-seconds, one thousandth of-a-second quicker than Brown.
"It was a really good day for our Matco Tools team here on the mountain," Brown said. "We made two
awesome runs up here at Bandimere. It was a long day, but a good one for all the fans that stuck
around. They got to see a really good show under the lights. Our Matco Tools car continues to haul
the mail. That 318 (mph) speed way up here at Denver is really impressive. Brian (Corradi) and Mark
(Oswald) continue to do a great job."
Professional nitro qualifying is scheduled for 4:30 and 8 p.m. (MT) on Saturday at Bandimere
Speedway. Brown qualified fourth last July at the Denver NHRA race at 3.998-seconds. He is a
four-time finalist at the Mile-High Nationals.
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, SpongeTechR Delivery Systerms, 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 www.healautismnow.org
Q1 3.931 ET, 310.13 MPH No. 2
Q2 3.883 ET, 318.39 MPH No. 2
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