NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2022) – Twenty-one Top Fuel entries showed up at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals vying for a shot to make the competitive 16-car elimination field. A semi-finalist in Bristol, Tenn. last weekend, AB Motorsports driver and team owner Antron Brown was looking to carry that momentum into the Norwalk, Ohio event.
Brown qualified the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster 11th and faced Doug Kalitta in the first round of eliminations. Against Kalitta, Brown powered the Matco Tools/Lucas Oil/Toyota/SiriusXM/Hangsterfer’s machine to its quickest pass of the weekend, posting a 3.772 E.T. Unfortunately for Brown, his opponent clocked the quickest lap of the session and outpaced Brown to the finish line for the win.
“We’re a work in progress and we’re moving forward,” said the three-time Top Fuel series champion. “We’re doing that. We’re getting better and learning different things. We’re looking forward to the next race at Denver in a few weeks, and we have three races in a row, and that should help us build some momentum.
“I have confidence in my team. That first lap today we just raced the wrong person at the wrong time in Doug Kalitta. We have to qualify better. That’s the goal, to qualify in the top five like we did at Bristol last weekend. Then you set yourself up better for success in the first round on race day. With that being said, we’re excited to go to Denver. It’s been one of the best races on tour. We’ve won at Bandimere Speedway a few times. We want to start ‘the Swing’ right and go some rounds. We’ll go out and have some fun for all our great guests and fans from Matco Tools, and Lucas Oil, and Toyota, and Hangsterfer’s. We need to win for them.”
Brown and the AB Motorsports team will take these next two weeks to regroup and refocus as they prepare for the Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, an event they’ve won three times, including their 2009 victory where they ‘swept the Swing,’ winning the trio of Western Swing races.
Qualified: No. 11 (3.808 E.T. at 316.90 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.772 E.T. at 324.36 MPH defeated by Doug Kalitta 3.736 E.T. at 330.23 MPH
NHRA Camping World Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Mike Salinas | 821 | |
| 2 | Brittany Force | 809 | |
| 3 | Steve Torrence | 712 | |
| 4 | Justin Ashley | 711 | |
| 5 | Austin Prock | 513 | |
| 6 | Josh Hart | 509 | |
| 7 | Shawn Langdon | 467 | |
| 8 | Clay Millican | 462 | |
| 9 | Doug Kalitta | 459 | |
| 10 | Leah Pruett | 417 | |
| 11 | Antron Brown | 402 |