Qualified: No. 6 (3.761 E.T. at 285.95 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 3.804 E.T. at 315.56 MPH defeated Shawn Langdon 3.947 E.T. at 245.67 MPH, Leah Pruett 4.310 E.T. at 193.32 MPH
E2: 3.743 E.T. at 327.11 MPH defeated Doug Foley 3.778 E.T. at 319.45 MPH, Krista Baldwin 4.220 E.T. at 228.38 MPH
E3: 3.738 E.T. at 327.03 MPH defeated by Steve Torrence 3.716 E.T. at 329.10 MPH, Brittany Force 3.723 E.T. at 333.16 MPH
Race Recap:
Antron Brown was looking to capture a second consecutive victory on Sunday following his NHRA Southern Nationals championship finish at the previous event, and he came close, advancing to the final elimination quad at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Ultimately, his performance at zMAX Dragway was recorded as a semifinal finish and helped him to maintain his No. 2 ranking in the point standings.
Brown’s bid to the final elimination quad began by qualifying his Matco Tools/Fisher House Foundation dragster sixth to set up a meeting with teammate Leah Pruett, Shawn Langdon, and Krista Baldwin in E1. Brown was quickest of his quad, clocking a 3.804, to get to the finish line first. With his first-round triumph, Brown became just the sixth driver in NHRA history to achieve 750 round wins. After checking that milestone off the list, Brown had his sights set on another personal victory – capturing career win No. 69 to tie Kenny Bernstein’s sixth-place ranking on NHRA’s all-time win list. He looked well on his way to accomplishing that goal in round two where he was first out of the gate and never trailed for the win, leading his three opponents to the finish line. In the final elimination quad, Brown gave it a good run but was outpaced by opponents Steve Torrence and Brittany Force, who claimed the win and runner-up positions. While he may not have left zMAX with the hardware, Brown’s outing marked his sixth consecutive event where he finished with a semifinal appearance or better.
Quotable:
“All in all, it was a great weekend here at the four-wides. We got better and better with each lap. In the first round today, we actually dropped a hole early into the run and still muscled it down there in 3.8 flat, and then we picked it up in the second round and ran a .74. We stepped it up even more in the finals; the track got tighter. We came up a little short today, but all it does is keep all of us hungry, and we’re looking forward to getting to Houston and getting right back into it. We’re learning, and we’re growing and we’re getting better and better. I’m so proud of our Matco Tools/Toyota/Global Electronic Technology/SiriusXM/Hangsterfer’s team. Steve-O (Torrence), Brittany (Force), and Josh Hart, they all did a great job up there, and this Top Fuel category is unreal right now. I like our chances and I’m pumped up and ready to go.”