So far this season, things have not gone according to script for Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.

Brown, who finished third in the final points chase last year, just 49 points behind champion Tony Schumacher, has had a rocky start to 2010.

Brown, trying to reverse his fortunes, took a step toward doing just that by grabbing the top qualifying spot Friday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals with a 3.803-second elapsed time at Houston Raceway Park.

“We went out there earlier in the day in the right lane and we were just a little bit early fast,” Brown said. “We went to the left lane after Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) saw (John) Force run that 4.02, that was pretty sporty. We were in that lane and we were like two pairs behind him (Force), so they wanted to step it up. When we took off, the car lifted the front wheels higher than they’ve ever lifted them up and carried them far out there. I knew I was on a ride right there. The car held on really good and we got back to look at the computer and that thing was on the edge all the way to the 330-mark. That’s about as much as it is going to hold for a dragster, unless someone runs out the back door better than we did.”

So far this season, things have not gone according to script for Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.

Brown, who finished third in the final points chase last year, just 49 points behind champion Tony Schumacher, has had a rocky start to 2010.

Brown, trying to reverse his fortunes, took a step toward doing just that by grabbing the top qualifying spot Friday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals with a 3.803-second elapsed time at Houston Raceway Park.

“We went out there earlier in the day in the right lane and we were just a little bit early fast,” Brown said. “We went to the left lane after Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) saw (John) Force run that 4.02, that was pretty sporty. We were in that lane and we were like two pairs behind him (Force), so they wanted to step it up. When we took off, the car lifted the front wheels higher than they’ve ever lifted them up and carried them far out there. I knew I was on a ride right there. The car held on really good and we got back to look at the computer and that thing was on the edge all the way to the 330-mark. That’s about as much as it is going to hold for a dragster, unless someone runs out the back door better than we did.”

The numbers Brown posted were a much-need jolt for his Matco Tools dragster, which is part of the Don Schumacher Racing team.

“We’re stoked and happy with that run,” Brown said. “That was a good arm pump booster. We have fallen short the last couple of races and we want to make up for it. We want to get one of those race wins this year.”

The final Top Fuel qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12:15 and 3 pm Saturday.

“I feel like you can get some high 70s out there if you get everything dialed in perfect,” Brown said. “These conditions just make us smile. The tires are looking beautiful at the end of the race track where the track got just enough traction, but not too much where it’s trying to rip those Goodyear’s apart.”

A year ago, Brown led all Top Fuel drivers with six wins and 10 final-round appearances. This season, however, Brown took a step back on Feb. 21 at the second event of the season at the Arizona Nationals. The left rear wheel and tire became detached from Brown’s dragster during first-round eliminations, and it had tragic consequences.

A woman, struck by debris from Brown’s crash, died on Feb. 21 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. Brown was not injured in the crash, but the incident did have an emotional impact on him.

During Brown’s run, his dragster experienced severe tire shake, and the circumstances that led to the tragedy are still being investigated by the NHRA and Don Schumacher Racing.

“I don’t think we’re going out there with something to prove, we just plan on running the way we performed last year,” Brown said. “Last year, our team in my eyes was one of the best teams in Top Fuel and we performed very well. We joined up with DSR and we had better resources and we had all these neat, cool gadgets and more stuff to work with, and Brian and Mark wanted to settle down and go back to basics. We came out with a new race car and when that deal happened in Phoenix, that’s right at the point where we were turning everything around. The accident set us back again and we came out at Gainesville and basically started over from ground zero.”

Now, Brown knows his team, which is fifth in the points chase, has to turn things up a notch.

“We have a lot of ground to catch up,” Brown said. “We want to be poised and take it one round at a time and get as many rounds as we can and we’re hungry for a race win.”

Brown also is optimistic his Matco Tools team can learn from just missing out on winning the 2009 world crown after fading slightly at the end of the season.

“Our team was phenomenal out there on the West Coast right before the Countdown started,” Brown said. “I don’t want to say that we peaked too soon, I think we were just on a string and we kept it going. We just had a couple of things that got us in the Countdown. We just missed it in the first two races of the Countdown with a gremlin problem, and then we had one bad race. We’re going to go into the Countdown this year with all of our Ts crossed and gone over. Also, DSR strategically plans out their setups and has everything laid out for the Countdown. We’re building that inventory right now, so when the Countdown comes, you’re going to see three DSR cars out there charging for it (the championship) for sure.”

There was no surprises in Pro Stock qualifying Friday in the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.