Antron Brown clocked the first sub four-second 1,000-foot pass in NHRA history Friday evening at Bandimere Speedway as the two-time Top Fuel winner clocked a run of 3.998-seconds in his David Powers-owned Matco Tools dragster. Brown finished in the provisional No. 4 qualifying position.

Antron Brown clocked the first sub four-second 1,000-foot pass in NHRA history Friday evening at Bandimere Speedway as the two-time Top Fuel winner clocked a run of 3.998-seconds in his David Powers-owned Matco Tools dragster. Brown finished in the provisional No. 4 qualifying position.

The bright blue Matco Tools dragster, which advanced to the final round at the Denver race last July, experienced a mechanical error on Friday’s opening attempt as Brown coasted to a pass of 12.020 seconds at 64.86 mph. Crew chief Lee Beard, who scored his first career win as a crew chief at the 1980 Mile-High Nationals (Jerry Ruth), made the necessary adjustments as Brown powered to a run of 3.998 at 287.11 to finish fourth in the 15-car Top Fuel order. 

“Like always, my guys made the right call,” Brown said. “My Matco team is awesome. To get that first three-second pass was cool. We’re happy with that run. We’re just going to come out on Saturday and try to stay consistent in the heat.”