Brown, the most recent winner on the NHRA tour, entered the final day of qualifying for the 22nd annual Northwest Nationals in the provisional No. 9 qualifying position after posting a run of 3.952 seconds at 305.84 mph on Friday. On Saturday's opening qualiyfing pass, the Matco Tools/Toyota rail overpowered the track and slowed to a lap of 6.141 seconds at 102.80. That positioned Brown 10th in the 16-car order following three of four scheduled sessions. The Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-tuned Matco Tools/SpongeTech dragster made a full pull on its final qualifying lap as Brown carded a run of 4.007 at 296.70 to finish 10th in the order. It is the first time that Brown has not qualified in the top half of the field this year. He now has an average qualifying position of four in 14 races this season, and is the only Top Fuel racer to not have lost in the opening round of eliminations.

"It's been tough out here this weekend for us at Seattle," Brown said. "That last run was good for our MAR Matco Tools team. It was hot out and we got down the track, so that was good. We were pretty hopped up for the first run today. We had a little issue on Friday night with our blower being down on boost, but it's all good. It's supposed to cool off on Sunday and that could play right into our hands. We want to take it one round at a time and try and go some rounds.

"Clay (Millican) is always a tough match-up. That Mark Pickens team runs really well with Lance (Larsen) and those boys, so we know it'll be a tough race."

The 21-time NHRA winner will face off against No. 7 qualifier and six-time IHRA champion Clay Millican in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sunday at Pacific Raceways. Brown is 3-0 against Millican this season. The Matco Tools flagship driver has a mark of 30-10 this season with three wins in six final round appearances. Brown will be a guest on NHRA Race Day on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday.

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 4.031 ET, 289.33 MPH No. 4 Q2 3.952 ET, 305.84 MPH No. 9 Q3 6.141 ET, 102.80 MPH No. 10 Q4 4.007 ET, 296.70 MPH No. 10

Courtesy of Ted Yerzyk