Antron Brown, the current NHRA Top Fuel points leader, raced his Mike Ashley-owned Matco Tools
dragster to his fifth No. 1 qualifying award of the 2009 season. Brown used an elasped time of
3.862-seconds to pace the Top Fuel field and earn his 19th career pole.
After a long first day of qualifying that ended at nearly midnight, Brown entered the final day of
qualifying for the 30th annual Mile-High Nationals in the provisional No. 2 qualifying position
with a lap of 3.883 seconds at 318.39 mph. It was Brown's second fastest speed of the season
(319.75) and the fourth fastest 1,000-foot speed.
On Saturday's opening effort, Brown's Matco Tools/GoFast! dragster lost track near mid-track and
slowed to a lap of 5.096 seconds at 145.74 mph. Brown remained second in the order. Brown and the
Matco Tools/Toyota team took advantage of the cool summer conditions under the lights at Bandimere
Speedway to put the Matco Tool car on the pole for the fifth time in '09. Brown used a tune-up from
crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to blast the Matco-backed rail to a lap of 3.862 at
315.05 to lead the 16-car order. It is Brown's eighth career Top Fuel pole. The Matco Tools/DirecTV
car now has an average qualifying position of 3.54 in 13 races this season.
"I've just got to say hats off to my awesome crew," Brown said. "Also, the entire staff of NHRA and
Bandimere Speedway. This track has been a dream to drive on, even at high altitude. We threw the
kitchen sink at it tonight and last night an it's like Disneyland. I just wish the race was at
night.
"We're really happy about that run, but we have to start all over tomorrow because we'll be racing
in the heat. The blower belt came off or we would have gone even faster. It would have gone like
3.85 at 319 or maybe even 320 mph if the (blower) belt didn't come off. I'm in awe with how awesome
these cars are running on the mountain. It's a whole new ballgame on Sunday with the sun on the
track. We'll need to run between a 3.98 and 4.05 to win first round. We just have to be smart and
put our dirt track setup in the car and take it one round at a time."
Brown will face off against No. 16 qualifier Rob Passey in the opening round of Top Fuel
eliminations at Noon (MT) on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. Brown has never raced Passey in
eliminations. Brown, a four-time finalist at the Denver NHRA race, is the only Top Fuel driver to
not have lost in the opening round this season. The Matco Tools flagship driver has two wins this
season and a record of 26-10 in 12 races. The Matco Tools dragster has appeared in the last two
final rounds at Bandimere Speedway.
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 http://www.healautismnow.org
Q1 3.931 ET, 310.13 MPH No. 2
Q2 3.883 ET, 318.39 MPH No. 2
Q3 5.096 ET, 145.74 MPH No. 2
Q4 3.862 ET, 315.05 MPH No. 1
MAR on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MARnews
MAR on Facebook: facebook.com/MikeAshleyRacing http://www.matcotools.com
