Brown and Matco Tools team brings consistency that results in sixth place qualifying effort in front of sell-out zMAX Dragway crowd
CONCORD, N.C. (April 23, 2016) –The Matco Tools team showed their consistency two weeks ago that earned it the event title near Las Vegas and the team with driver Antron Brown continued their consistent ways into zMAX Dragway near Charlotte for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals.
The winner of that last two Four-Wide titles will be going for his third straight during Sunday eliminations that begin at noon (ET) from the No. 6 starting spot. The unique Four-Wide Nationals features foursomes of 10,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters. Brown will race against recent event winners Brittany Force (Gainesville) and Leah Pritchett (Phoenix) with Pat Dakin filling out the foursomes to open Sunday.
“We had a very consistent day,” Brown said of his runs of 3.762 and 3.766 seconds. “We were shooting for something a little better that last round – like a .73, that’s what we were going for – because the track is just so good out there. We thought for sure we were going to go faster than the run before because we tuned it up.”
The Matco Tools team with crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald along with assistant Brad Mason picked up bonus points for being the third best of each qualifying session on Saturday.
“It was still a great day for our Matco Tools/U.S. Army team. We’re just going into tomorrow knowing we can race. We can definitely race. We’re going to go out there, we’re going to race hard, we’re going to keep our heads down and see what we can pull off.
“We got some good quality runs that is going to set us up for tomorrow where we will see similar conditions. It’s going to be challenging, but we are up for that challenge.”
zMAX Dragway is the fifth stop on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour. Speedway Motorsports Inc., the ownership company of zMAX Dragway and nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway, announced a sell-out crowd estimated at 30,000 on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a huge crowd,” Brown said. “The pits were packed, the stands were packed and the Charlotte fans definitely made us feel welcomed and appreciated. It’s great to come out here and get support like that. Hopefully we can put on a good show for them on race day.”
TOP FUEL
No. 1 qualifier: Steve Torrence (CAPCO Contractors) 3.736 sec., 326.48 mph
ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tool/U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying position: No. 6
First round opponents: Brittany Force, Leah Pritchett, Pat Dakin
FRIDAY: 3.838 sec., 315.49 mph, (Session 1); rained out, (Session 2)
SATURDAY: 3.762, 322.58, (Session 3); 3.766, 318.54, (Session 4)