BROWN USES THE ELEMENTS TO RETAIN NO. 1
Nationals, he thought it was going to stick.He was right.
Brown’s 3.785-second time at 321.96 mph left him on the pole. Both are track records at Heartland Park. It was also was the sixth fastest speed at 1,000 foot since the NHRA moved to that distance from the quarter-mile in July of 2008.
Those numbers were not challenged because of the hot and windy conditions Saturday.
When Antron Brown captured the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel Friday night at the 22nd annual O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, he thought it was going to stick.
He was right.
Brown’s 3.785-second time at 321.96 mph left him on the pole. Both are track records at Heartland Park. It was also was the sixth fastest speed at 1,000 foot since the NHRA moved to that distance from the quarter-mile in July of 2008.
Those numbers were not challenged because of the hot and windy conditions Saturday.
“You have to always look at the weather conditions around and the wind was a big factor,” said Brown, who is the pilot of the Matco Tools Racing dragster. “When it is head wind or tail wind, it really doesn’t do too much to us. When it’s head wind it gives us a little bit more downforce. It helps us drive a little bit. It hits the chutes a little bit harder and it actually makes it a little bit safer for us to go down the race track. Anytime you get a crosswind, that’s when it is a little iffy. Our whole car likes to go sideways because it is so tall on the sides. Hopefully, it will get a little cloudy Sunday, so we can get some good runs in.”
The pole was Brown’s third of the season and the 24th of his career, and second in a row at Topeka.
Brown, who is part of the Don Schumacher Racing stable, is trying to rebound after losing in the second round at Las Vegas and St. Louis, and then getting beat in the opening round by Pat Dakin this past Sunday in Commerce, Ga.
“There is going to be a lot of tough rounds Sunday, and our goal is to get past that first round, and then focus on second round,” Brown said.
