ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 17, 2015) – Antron Brown knows his Matco Tools’ “Tools for the Cause” team have won the first three events in the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoff.

He fully understands the importance of Sunday’s championship eliminations in the Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas but he and his Don Schumacher Racing team doesn’t plan on doing anything different when racing begins at 11 a.m. (CT).

“Everything’s on the line right now. This is that championship run where you have to run hard,” said Antron, who has won seven times through 21 events this season with his Matco/U.S. Army team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald with assistant Brad Mason.

“Our Matco Tools/U.S. Army boys are staying poised. We’re keeping our heads down,” Antron said. “This is when it all counts, so you can’t let the pressure get to you. We put the work in and now it’s time to let the work come to fruition and let it be. And we’re ready for that challenge and we’re excited about it. We like it when it gets like this.”

Antron qualified seventh with a best time of 3.760 seconds that has him seeded one spot higher than DSR teammate Tony Schumacher, who ranks second by 91 points behind Antron in the championship standings. That run was in Friday’s night session.

Dave Connolly of Bob Vandergriff Racing is the No. 1 qualifier with a time of 3.744 that is only 0.016 of a second quicker than Antron. The top 10 dragsters qualified within four hundredths of a second.

“The fields are just really tight, right now,” Antron said. “We’re pressing, the track’s really good; the conditions are good here in Dallas, so we’ve just got to keep on pressing forward. It’s going to make for a really interesting race day tomorrow.

“Everybody else is running so well, too, so we’ve just got to do what we do: go after it and keep digging hard. Like I always say, you’ve got to go out there and be poised, be focused.”

The Mello Yello series will take next weekend off before heading to Las Vegas for the penultimate Countdown race leading to the Nov. 13-15 finale at Pomona, Calif.

DSR/SEC contributes to Matco’s ‘Tools for the Cause’
Don Schumacher’s Schumacher Electric Corp. and Don Schumacher Racing organizations have pledged a combined 10 percent from each DSR Mello Yello Series event title it wins during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

DSR and SEC, the world’s largest manufacturer of battery chargers, each will contribute 5 percent to the Matco Tools’ “Tools for the Cause” program to help the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Wins by DSR’s Antron Brown in Top Fuel and Jack Beckman in Funny Car two weeks ago near Reading, Pa., contributed $10,000 into the Tools for the Cause coffer.

Another $10,000 is on the line Sunday and $10,000 also could be earned in two weeks at Las Vegas.

TOP FUEL
No. 1 qualifier: Dave Connolly (Bob Vandergriff Racing), 3.744 sec., 329.18 mph (track records)

ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools/U.S. Army
Qualified: No. 7
SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BROWN vs. J.R. Todd
QUALIFYING RESULTS
SATURDAY: 4.607, 163.35, (Session 3); 3.779, 322.19, (Session 4)
FRIDAY: 4.644, 162.59, (Session 1); 3.760, 319.67, (Session 2)