Qualified: No. 9 (3.780 E.T. at 322.42 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 5.233 E.T. at 143.76 MPH defeated by Shawn Reed 3.924 E.T. at 238.26 MPH
Race Recap:
Starting from the No. 9 position, three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown faced Shawn Reed as his first race day opponent of 2020. Brown had the immediate starting line advantage, but his machine went into early tire shake. He pedaled it, but it dropped a cylinder and wouldn’t hook back up. The three-time Auto Club Raceway at Pomona winner wisely aborted the run, and his Matco Tools/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota Top Fuel dragster coasted across the stripe in 5.233 seconds, while his opponent was able to take the win with his 3.924-second pass.
Quotable:
“We started off good in the first day of qualifying, and then on Saturday we got after it a little bit, but things didn’t go our way with a dropped hole. On race day, we lined up, we felt really good, and we thought we had a really great shot at getting the round win, but we fell short with some tire shake; the track was extremely cold.
“I have all the confidence in the world in (crew chiefs) Brian Corradi, Mark Oswald, and this whole Matco Tools/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota Top Fuel dragster team. We’re going to keep our heads down, keep pushing, keep working, and get ready for Phoenix. There are plenty of races ahead of us, and the main thing is, we’re going to grow at each and every one. Our game plan is just to keep getting better each and every time we hit the race track.”