CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 19, 2012) - If Antron Brown were any hotter he’d melt the North Pole or Antarctica orIceland.
Actually, he just might be able to melt them all.
The 35-year-oldNew Jerseynative living nearIndianapoliswon his 16th NHRA Top Fuel title Sunday when he defeated Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher to win the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
Brown and his Matco Tools team also left the track nearPhoenixwith the points lead in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series after two of 23 national events. He advanced to the final of the series opener a week before atPomona,Calif., when he lost to Spencer Massey, another DSR teammate
“When you win, it never gets old,” Brown said.
Brown won for the fifth time in the past 12 Full Throttle events when he defeated teammate Schumacher with a run of 3.793 seconds at 319.82 mph to just edge the seven-time world champion’s 3.813 (318.17).
Driving the Matco Tools dragster, he won the 32nd NHRA title of his career including 16 in Top Fuel – including at Firebird in 2009 – and 16 in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
It is the 14th time since 2005 that DSR Top Fuel teammates met in a final round of eliminations and a total of 26 times when DSR drivers ran for the Wally trophy in Top Fuel and Funny Car.
It was the eighth runner-up for Schumacher since the second race of 2011.
It’s the fourth time since the start of last season that they have met in the final round; Brown now has won four straight.
“Tony’s running good and (Massey’s) Prestone/FRAM team is running on mean,” he said. “We have three strong cars at DSR and we bow out against each other. That’s what pushes us.”
Brown’s win marked the 176th NHRA national event title for DSR. All three DSR dragsters are in the top three in points standings in the Top Fuel category.
Brown, who qualified No. 5, said crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi were confident heading to the last round despite knowing Schumacher’s U.S. Army had the choice of lanes because it ran had quicker in the semifinals than the Matco team.
ARIZONA NATIONALS RESULTS
TOP FUEL
Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster
Qualified: No. 5
Round 1: BROWN def. (3.796 sec., 320.36 mph) def. Terry McMillen (3.857, 313.73)
Round 2: BROWN def. (3.888, 287.47) def. (3.987, 262.74)
Semifinals: BROWN (3.832, 313.51) def. Shawn Langdon (6.072, 106.18)
Final: BROWN (3.793 sec., 319.82 mph) def. Tony Schumacher (3.813, 318.17)
Event winner: Antron Brown
NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING STANDINGS
(ThroughPhoenix; 2nd of 23 national events)
TOP FUEL
1. ANTRON BROWN, 212
2. TONY SCHUMACHER, 180
3. SPENCER MASSEY, 176
4. Morgan Lucas, 143
5. Shawn Langdon, 139
6. Clay Millican, 126
7. Steve Torrence, 89
7. Bob Vandergriff, 89
9. Brandon Bernstein, 85
9. Doug Kalitta, 85
NEXT UP
The DSR racing convoy of 19 rigs hits the highway Monday for its 1,689-mile jaunt back to headquarters inBrownsburg,Ind.The next NHRA event is the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals presented by NAPAfilters.com on March 8-11 inGainesville,Fla.
