Elimination Highlights:
- Top Fuel ace Antron Brown finished the ‘regular season’ ranked third to start his playoff run
Qualified: No. 15 (4.305 E.T. at 192.14 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 8.442 E.T. at 72.76 MPH defeated by Steve Torrence 3.716 E.T. .at 325.37 MPH
Race Recap:
After persistent rain showers wiped out Saturday’s two qualifying sessions and the Sunday elimination field was set based on Friday night’s sole qualifying session, three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown found himself seeded in the unfavorable 15th position, and facing point leader and defending series champion Steve Torrence in round one. Brown was prepared to battle from the bottom of the ladder and earned a slight starting line advantage against Torrence, but his hopes of a fourth U.S. Nationals Wally trophy were up in smoke shortly after when his machine lost traction right at the hit and his opponent made a clean pass for the win.
The U.S. Nationals marks the conclusion of NHRA’s regular season. Brown begins the seven-event 2021 Countdown to the Championship ranked third. He will begin his quest for a fourth series title next weekend in Reading, Penn. where he is a two-time Maple Grove Raceway event champion, and five-time finalist.
Quotable:
“This was not the U.S. Nationals we wanted. We got behind from the start with having only one qualifying run, and that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. It’s not what we wanted. We really wanted to build some momentum going into the Countdown to the Championship next weekend at Reading. But, we’re looking forward. We’re locked into third place going into the Countdown. We set ourselves up for a ‘top three’ spot, and that’s a good thing. Now we just need to go out and swing for the fences. We’re ready for Reading. I’m anxious to get out there and get back at it.”