Topeka: Antron Brown preview

Antron Brown on Topeka

"I'm excited to race at Topeka. I've never been to the track, so it's an unknown to me. I'm looking forward to the challenge and going out there and meeting some new fans and having a lot of fun."

Lee Beard (crew chief) on Topeka

"Topeka is an exciting place for me to go. In 1989, Gary Ormsby made the quickest and fastest pass in NHRA history, 4.88 at 296 mph. At the time it was the first car to ever run in the 4.80s. It's inspiring to drive into on Gary Ormsby Blvd. We've won there with five different drivers, and hopefully we can have a good showing at Antron's (Brown) first race there."

Antron Brown Topeka NHRA Notebook

Two weeks ago at Bristol Dragway, Brown qualified his Matco Tools dragster fourth at 4.542 seconds at 330.15 mph. He advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a close match to third-year Top Fueler Hillary Will. Brown and Tony Schumacher are the only Top Fuel racers that have not lost in the first round this season.

In his first eight races in the Top Fuel division, Brown has one pole (Pomona 1) and two victories (Houston and Atlanta) in three final round appearances. He advanced to three consecutive final rounds and has round record of 16-6. He enters the Topeka race trailing Schumacher by 131 points. His teammate, Rod Fuller, ranks fourth in the Top Fuel standings.

In 10 seasons as a professional in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category, Brown never competed at Heartland Park. The PSM division does not compete at each race. Brown earned 16 victories and 11 poles in 10 seasons on his Suzuki in the PSM class.

Brown has qualified for 153 consecutive NHRA events. He hasn't missed the cut since the Gainesville race in 1998 after being disqualified for bad fuel at his first career race. It is the second longest qualifying streak in the professional ranks (Angelle Sampey--170).

Brown became the eighth different driver that crew chief Lee Beard has tuned to the pole award (Pomona 1) and 10th different racer Beard has tuned to a win in Top Fuel or Funny Car (Houston). Beard has called the shots for five different winners at Heartland Park: Pat Austin (1991), Ed McCulloch (1992), Cory McClenathan (1994), Kenny Bernstein (1997) and Whit Bazemore (2004). He also has three poles at Heartland Park, including Gary Ormsby in 1990.

-credit: dpm