Looking to join an exclusive group of NHRA champions on Sunday at Infineon Raceway, Brown qualified the Matco Tools/Lend America dragster in the top half of the field for the 14th time in 15 races this season. After winning the Denver and Seattle races, Brown hopes to join Top Fuel drivers Joe Amato, Cory McClenathan, Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher as the only Top Fuelers to sweep the grueling Western Swing.

Brown's quickest qualifing lap came on Friday evening under the lights at Infineon Raceway when the Matco Tools flagship driver powered his bright blue Matco Tools/Toyota rail to a lap of 3.844 seconds at 311.05 mph. On Saturday's first qualifying attempt, Brown powered the Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-tuned Matco rail to a lap of 3.916 at 308.35 to clock the third quickest pass of the third qualifying session. Brown carded the fastest speed of the round. The two-time Infineon Raceway finalist in Pro Stock Motorcycle finished in the No. 4 qualifying position after the Matco Tools/DirecTV car overpowered the Sonoma track on its final qualifying attempt with a pass of 4.653 at 164.09 mph. It is the first time that Brown has qualified fourth this season and the 24th time in his career that Brown will start fourth. The six-time Top Fuel winner now has an average qualifying position of four through 15 races this season.

"It's been a good qualifying outing for this MAR Matco (Tools) team," Brown said. "We made three good runs and pushed it a little bit on that last run. We knew we couldn't run better, so we were testing a little bit out there. It's all good. We've got an awesome team and I really like our chances. I know Mark (Oswald) and Brian (Corradi) and our whole team will do a great job and put us in a position to win some rounds here at Sonoma."

Brown will face off against No. 13 qualifier Troy Buff in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations at 11 a.m. (PT) on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. Brown is 3-0 in his career against the part-time Top Fuel runner and 1-0 this season. Brown has a mark of 34-10 this year with four wins in seven final round appearances.

Two airtime adjustments have been made to this weekend's ESPN2 coverage of the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals. Saturday's coverage of qualifying will now air at 7 p.m. (ET) instead of the original scheduled time of 6:30 p.m. The show will air again from 11 p.m. to midnight. Sunday's final eliminations show will now begin at 9:30 p.m. instead of the originally scheduled time of 9 p.m. The show will run its entirety (three hours).

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 3.956 ET, 304.39 MPH No. 4
Q2 3.844 ET, 311.05 MPH No. 4
Q3 3.916 ET, 308.35 MPH No. 4
Q4 4.653 ET, 164.09 MPH No. 4

Courtesy of Ted Yerzyk