Again, Antron Wins Sonoma!

Antron Brown scores again to keep Swing sweep hopes alive!

 

 
Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Sunday at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals and moved into position to become the first NHRA driver to sweep the three-race Western Swing, twice!

Antron Brown

Brown, who became one of seven drivers in NHRA history to sweep the Western Swing in 2009, outran Spencer Massey in the final to claim his third win in Sonoma, his fourth victory of the season and 35th of his career. Brown’s Matco Tools dragster produced a final-round of 3.814 seconds at 318.02 mph to hold off Massey’s charging FRAM/Prestone dragster, which finished in 3.826 at 323.50. So close, but just enough to take the win.

“The car is just running phenomenal, it’s so easy to drive,” said Brown, who defeated Steve Torrence, Tony Schumacher, and Brandon Bernstein to advance to the final round.

“The boys [crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi] made great decisions each and every round,” Brown continued. “It’s one of those weekends that everything worked out.

It was brutal for us given the [eliminations] ladder we had. We had to take it one round at a time. We kept our head down and kept digging. We aren’t going to talk about [sweeping the Western Swing]. We can talk about sweeping if we get to the final round in Seattle next weekend. First, we have to qualify. Then we have to get past first round. The competition is just that good.”

Brown says he’ll try to remember what worked for him in 2009 as he approaches a second sweep of the Western Swing.

“We’re going to take the same approach this time like we did the last time,” Brown said. “We aren’t going to look into the future, and we’ll just focus on the here and now.”

Due to qualifying bonus points earned by Massey, he and Brown moved into a tie for the series lead. They are 126 in front of third-place Tony Schumacher, the seven-time world champ. So in reality, its too close for any high anticipations next week.

“We’re just trying to shoot for it and win as many races as possible,” Brown said. “We want to go into the Countdown as the points leader, and there’s an extra 20 points on the line if you can do that. That proved to be huge last year in the final race of the season. We are clawing for everything that we can get.” 

As one who has been involved in NHRA drag racing for a number of years, I have yet to understand the neglect major news media seems to skew towards the professionals competing in the sport, and yes, it is a team sport! The driver is just the most visible component on the team. 

For the past few years, Antron Brown has been the most visible in Top Fuel, the fastest class in any motorsport.

Antron Wins Denver, now on to Sonoma!

Antron is eager to build on past success as NHRA heads to Sonoma

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The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Sonoma for the 25th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 27-29, and Antron Brown, the defending Top Fuel champ and winner of the most recent tour event in Denver, can’t wait to return to Wine Country, even if he’s not much of a wine drinker.

“I don’t drink wine, but I like looking out at the vineyards and the beautiful countryside that surrounds the track,” Brown said. “It’s just the atmosphere up there and the weather where it can be cool in the morning and then warm up in the afternoon.”

Sonoma’s textbook weather and premier facility have provided great conditions in seasons past, and this year should offer more of the same.
“The sun setting over the mountains is something I always look forward to because then it gets cool and quick, especially in Friday night qualifying, and that’s when it’s time to throw down,” Brown said.
This year, the event in Sonoma is the middle leg of the grueling three-week Western Swing, and Brown has plenty to look forward to as he returns not only as a two-time winner at the track, but also a fan favorite.
“It always feels great to go back to a track where you won at the year before,” Brown said. “Sonoma has been one of my favorite racetracks on the tour since I started racing Pro Stock Motorcycles there. It’s more exciting out there because you have all types of fans that come out, a lot who have followed me from when I was on a Pro Stock Bike to when I moved to Top Fuel.”
Brown’s Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also defending winners of the event that will be telecast on ESPN2.

Brown understands the importance of the entire Western Swing, especially Sonoma, but he also is looking forward to the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s playoffs. With only five races left in the regular season, the Western Swing means that it’s crunch time for teams hoping to secure a place in the top 10, and the Matco Tools team is looking for consistency and to use the Swing to help in the final races of the regular season.
“The Western Swing helps us get ready for the Countdown,” Brown said. “We need to keep focused and be more in line to be ready for the Countdown. We used to really hit the Western Swing hard, but we’ve learned it’s more important to prepare for those last six races than just worry about those three races.”

As much as Brown wants to focus on the Countdown, he would love to defend his win at Sonoma and use success in the Swing to move from second in points to first for the 20-point bonus that the leader receives at the beginning of the Countdown.
“Don’t get me wrong — we always hit it hard and want to win every time we roll our Matco Tools dragster to the starting line, and Sonoma is no different,” Brown said. “But we are working on things that might help us later in the season. We took a brand-new dragster the boys built back at the shop at Don Schumacher Racing to Denver to break in and plan to use that at Sonoma, too. We have to keep working on getting better and get our mindset ready to go for the championship.”

Not only can fans expect great on-track action all weekend in all four NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series categories and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, but plenty of fan-friendly activity is also planned in the pits. The track will host special events throughout the weekend, including the Nostalgia Get-Together car display, winner’s circle interviews, Blast on the Grass car show, and the annual Eric Medlen Ice Cream Social Sunday afternoon after the final round.
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All fans are welcome to head down to the starting line on Sunday morning to be a part of pre-race ceremonies to see the top 16 drivers in each category introduced and for a chance to see their favorite driver up close and personal. After eliminations are complete on Sunday evening, fans can head back down to the starting line for the winner’s circle celebration and enjoy the taste of victory with the weekend’s winners.

Ford issues recall on thousands of Escapes.

July 16, 2012

 

According to a report from the New York Times, Ford is recalling almost 8,300 2013 Ford Escapes in the United States because improperly installed carpeting may interfere with a driver’s application of the brake pedal.

A report by Ford to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration said that the “mispositioned” carpeting “may result in the operator’s foot contacting the side of the brake pedal while transferring the foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal, potentially increasing stopping distances,” the story said.
In Canada, about 2,200 Escapes were also being recalled.

Though the recall is voluntary, Ford is required to inform the safety agency of its recall plan, or they could face a fine.

McKernan named chairman of NHRA museum.

 

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Thomas V. McKernan, chairman of the board of the Automobile Club of Southern California, has assumed the role of board chairman of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. McKernan succeeds NHRA founder Wally Parks’ longtime friend and So-Cal Speed Shop founder Alex Xydias, who will continue to be an active board member. McKernan has served as a board member since 2010.

“I am truly honored to be taking on this new role for the museum,” said McKernan. “This is a wonderful opportunity to ensure that we are meeting Wally Parks’ dream — to influence, collect, and interpret drag racing’s rich history for a diverse community.”

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California opened to the public in 1998 based on the vision to preserve the history of NHRA and America’s love affair with hot rods, speed records, and classic automobiles.

“We have a great board of directors, and I’m delighted to have McKernan assume the role as chairman,” said Xydias. “He has demonstrated a genuine commitment to the museum and passion for the sport. He is a tremendous asset for the museum.”

McKernan and the Auto Club have been tremendous supporters of the museum and the NHRA at all levels of the sport. In addition to its presenting sponsorship of the museum, the relationship includes naming rights for Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, entitlement rights of the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, entitlement of the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, entitlement of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, sponsorship of the Auto Club Road to the Future Award annually recognizing the sport’s Professional rookie of the year, and presenting sponsorships of the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Ky., and the popular California Hot Rod Reunion at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield.

In addition, Auto Club is the presenting sponsor of the NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA.