50th annual NHRA Gatornationals
Event 3 of 24 (Gainesville)
Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, Fla.
March 15-17, 2019
Gainesville Event Highlights:
- 2013 event champion
- Four-time runner-up:
- Top Fuel: 2010, 2014, 2017
- Pro Stock Motorcycle: 2006
- Two-time No. 1 qualifier:
- Top Fuel: 2010
- Pro Stock Motorcycle: 2001
2018 Gainesville Recap:
Qualified third; Semifinal finish (defeated Audrey Worm in E1, Leah Pritchett in E2; defeated by Richie Crampton in E3)
Last Event (Phoenix):
Qualified third; Semifinal finish (defeated Steve Torrence in E1, Austin Prock in E2; defeated by Leah Pritchett in E3)
2019 Season Statistics:
Two round wins; Ranked seventh in points
Career Statistics:
408 races; 66 wins (16 Pro Stock Motorcycle); 49 No. 1 qualifiers (11 PSM)
Noteworthy:
- NHRA legend and ‘Unfinished Business’ participant Don Garlits is scheduled to warm-up Brown’s Matco Tools/Toyota Top Fuel dragster at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday
- Made his NHRA debut at the 1998 event, competing in Pro Stock Motorcycle
Quotable:
“It would be huge to win another Gatornationals, especially on the 50th anniversary. Big things can happen in Gainesville. For me, it was my Pro Stock Motorcycle race in 1998, so that track and I go way back. This will be my 21st season going there. We won there once in Top Fuel and it would be great to win it in our Matco Tools/Toyota in the 50th anniversary and be in the record books for winning something so historic; that would be really special to me.
“The fans in Gainesville are phenomenal. It seems like every year we go there it’s sold out. There’s going to be a huge crowd this year. The Gatornationals just has an aura of drag racing.”