The Brown Bulletin The prerace release of 18-time NHRA winner Antron Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel team Contact: Ted Yerzyk, (317) 852-6363 o, or (760) 207-9767 c ted@davidpowersmotorsports.com 20th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals May 30-June 1, 2008 Heartland Park Topeka Topeka, Kan. 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. 2008 NHRA Top Fuel Standings 1. Tony Schumacher (3) 726 - - - 2. ANTRON BROWN (2) 595 -131 3. Larry Dixon (1) 561 -165 4. ROD FULLER (1) 466 -260 5. Hillary Will 455 -271 6. Cory McClenathan (1) 450 -276 7. Brandon Bernstein 427 -299 8. Doug Kalitta 384 -342 9. David Grubnic 360 -366 10. Doug Herbert 343 -383 11. Morgan Lucas 296 -430 Antron Brown’s Career Results at Heartland Park Topeka Year Qualified Finish/Winning Driver Brown has never competed at Heartland Park Topeka. Brown’s Topeka Schedule Date & Time Event and Location Thur., May 29, 6-8 p.m. NHRA Autograph Party—Jeremiah Bullfrogs 4115 SW Huntoon, Topeka, Kan. 66614 Fri., May 30, 4:30/7 p.m. TF Qualifying 1/2, Heartland Park Sat., May 31, Noon/2:30 p.m. TF Qualifying 3/4, Heartland Park Sun., June 1, 11 a.m. Final Eliminations, Heartland Park Brown’s Career-Best Performances Top Fuel E.T.—4.495 seconds Pomona, Calif. Feb. 2008 MPH—331.94 mph Madison, Ill. May 2008 Pro Stock Motorcycle E.T.—6.930 seconds Gainesville, Fla. March 2007 MPH—193.24 mph Englishtown, N.J. May 2002 O’Reilly Summer Nationals TV Schedule (ESPN2) Date & Time (ET) Coverage Sat., May 31, 5:30-8 p.m. Qualifying Highlights Sun., June 1 11-11:30 a.m. NHRA Race Day Sun., June 1, 4-7 p.m. Final Eliminations Coverage www.matcotools.com www.davidpowersmotorsports.com