Mother Nature was the winner Sunday at Memphis Motorsports Park as rain showers postponed final
eliminations at the 22nd annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals. Final eliminations have been
rescheduled for 10 a.m. (CT) on Monday.
Antron Brown, who ranks fourth in the Countdown to 1 Top Fuel standings, enters the third race in
the Countdown trailing Tony Schumacher by 61 points. Brown, a five-time winner this season,
qualified his Mike Ashley-owned Toyota/Matco Tools dragster second at 3.836 seconds at 318.99 mph.
The MAR team earned five bonus points in qualifying after racing to the No. 2 qualifying position
for the third time this season. Brown's 318.99-mph blast on Friday evening was the third fastest
1,000-foot speed. Brown will face off against No. 15 qualifier Tim Cullinan in the first round of
eliminations.
"Mother Nature got us today," Brown said. "It was a beautiful weekend here at Memphis until today.
It got really cold out. This is a bummer because the fans have been great here at Memphis this
weekend and our Toyota/Matco Tools car has run great. We're excited to hit the track and go some
rounds and make up some ground in the Countdown and we'll have to wait until Monday for that to
happen."
The next NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event is the fourth annual Virginia Nationals, Oct.
9-11, at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond, Va. Last fall at the Richmond race, Brown
qualified eighth and advanced to the quarterfinals.
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 Systems, 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
