Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals
Presented by Pennzoil
Event 14 of 24 (Denver)
Bandimere Speedway
Morrisson, Colo.
July 19-21, 2019
Qualified: No. 6 (3.854 E.T. at 315.71 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 3.867 E.T. at 321.27 MPH defeated Greg Carrillo 3.920 E.T. at 275.62 MPH
E2: 3.910 E.T. at 318.54 MPH defeated by Jordan Vandergriff 3.837 E.T. at 321.12 MPH
Race Recap:
Antron Brown entered the race weekend at Bandimere Speedway with 498 Top Fuel round wins under his belt and was looking to cross ‘500’ off his list en route to his first event victory of 2019.
Brown and the Matco Tools Toyota team were strong throughout qualifying, earning the No. 6 starting position and a first-round meeting with part-time race Greg Carrillo on Sunday morning. Brown got the jump at the starting line and never trailed, posting a 3.867 to defeat Carrillo and set off his 499th Top Fuel win light. Unfortunately, Brown came up just short of the milestone round win count when he fell to opponent Jordan Vandergriff in a tight round two battle, with Vandergriff 3.837 second pass edging past Brown’s holeshot 3.910 E.T.
Quotable:
“We made some big strides this weekend in our Matco Tools Toyota. Our crew chiefs made some big moves. They have been wanting to switch some stuff around some different combinations. We did it here, and it worked out for the better. We would have liked to go further, but you have to look at all the pluses – we’re leaving here without tearing up any parts, we made big gains, and have our car where it doesn’t drop holes anymore, and we’re running good mile-per-hour through the finish line. Now when we come here next year, we have a good starting place where we can start where we left off and have a car that’s capable of running high 70s and maybe even go for a mid-to-low 70. We’ll be able to start off in the right position to do that, knowing where the tune-up needs to be at, and the engine isn’t hurting itself. The good part is that we made big strides and I think it’s the strides we need to get ready for the Countdown. We’re really looking forward to going to Sonoma next weekend. I think Sonoma is going to be a break-out race. I can’t wait to get out to the race track.”