Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Another explosion in Sonoma for Antron!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Antron Brown and NASCAR??

Test has drag racer Brown interested in more

The NHRA's reigning Top Fuel champion, Brown tested a K&N Pro Series car Tuesday with NASCAR's Rev Racing team at Motor Mile in Langley, Va. It was a first experience making left turns for a driver more comfortable going straight for a quarter mile.

"I started off easy at the beginning just getting my feet wet -- not really worried about times," Brown said. " When the track got hot, I was pretty much running what some of the other drivers were running. I was right in the ballpark. Just worked at getting more consistent with it where I could duplicate each lap, and run on the marks, and stuff like that."

Rev Racing driver Brian Gifford was on the radio helping Brown hit his marks on the race track. Brown said he did about 100 laps -- and got into the throttle a little too early on the last one, and spun out exiting a turn.
"All in all, I had a little bit of everything," said Brown, a 37-year-old native of Chesterfield, N.J. "I even learned about spinning out, and learned about going around the track, learned about corner speed, learned about lines and being smooth. It was a lot to take in ? but we made some really big, big strides, and it was a lot of fun."

Brown said he had plenty running through his head early in the test, when he tried to get comfortable thinking about getting on and off the gas and how much to carry into a corner -- factors very different from the ones he's accustomed to in drag racing. "What was big was building your confidence up enough to trust yourself that you could drive the car in deeper, and be smooth and fluent with it," he said.

The adjustments were physical as well as tactical. ""I think the biggest thing is just getting into the shape to drive the car," Brown said. "Not physical shape, but just driving shape, is what you would call it. The only way you get in driving shape is by driving the car. With your neck, that was the biggest deal there, was that it was actually taxing on your neck because you have to keep up with the Gs and stuff when you're turning and holding your neck right."

It all left Brown ready to try some more -- and perhaps try his hand at a late model race.
"The next step is just that we're going to be back in contact and try to come out and maybe do some testing in a late model car," he said. "Go do some testing in a late model car, and then actually maybe that same week we can make a race with it. And that's the next step. That's our next step that we're going to talk about, and that we have to plan and we have to do when the schedule's got an opening, but I definitely want to get back and try to do it some more."

Antron Brown is the reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion, but he's becoming interested in stock car racing. (Photos courtesy of JW Martin)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Antron & The Crew Win in Georgia!!

Brown, Matco Tools team post second Mello Yello title

of 2013, move within 5 points of DSR teammate, points leader

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 11, 2013) - Antron Brown and Don Schumacher Racing's Matco Tools team were not daunted by barely losing the No. 1 qualifying position and settling for the second seed to start Saturday's NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

The team merely went out during the rain-delayed Southern Nationals and dominated the four rounds of championship eliminations to win its second title of the season and move to within five points of DSR teammate Tony Schumacher.

"This is big, especially down here at the Southern Nationals," Brown said. "This track has always been special to us. It's our fifth time winning - two times in Pro Stock Motorcycle and three times now in Top Fuel. So, we like this place a lot. It reminds me a lot of tracks where I grew up in (New Jersey), like one of the grassroots tracks that's been around forever. It's got that special atmosphere, and the fans here are just intense."

When Brown beat Brandon Bernstein in the championship round, it marked the 205th national event win for DSR, 39th career title for Brown and the fourth time this year and 36th since 203 when DSR has won two or more titles at the same NHRA national event.

After rain wiped out the Southern Nationals last weekend, the Mello Yello Series returned to the track north of Atlanta for abbreviated qualifying with only two sessions on Friday to determine the top-16 for Saturday's championship eliminations.

"The track was a challenge these last two days," Brown said. "We ran a (3.78) in the semis but Brandon threw the gauntlet out there with a (3.76 in the semifinals), so we thought we needed to set up for speed in the final.

"But then, like Atlanta does, the clouds went away and the sun came out and the track got warmer. We knew what we needed to do to get the job done. If we got beat, we got beat, but we wanted to go A to B and put on a race and not throw it away. We were fortunate to get the job done."

Bernstein's run in the semifinals was the quickest run over the two days.

"When he busted that (3.76) out in that semifinal round, all of our guys were looking at each other, (crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald) were looking at their computer screens, and telling me, 'We'll make this happen.'

"Then the sun came out and I saw our boys go back to their (computer) boxes doing different things. Those guys are just incredible. I'm very blessed to have them and to be a part of this Matco Tools/U.S. Army team. Those guys make it happen. They dialed back the car because the sun was out for so long before our run. All I do is pull the trigger on that bullet and hold on tight."

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series moves to Heartland Park Topeka next weekend for the Kansas Nationals, an event Brown has never won in five tries.

The following are Brown's results and other notes from the NHRA Southern Nationals:

TOP FUEL
Event winner: Antron Brown (DSR)
No. 1 qualifier: Shawn Langdon (Al-Anabi Racing) 3.791 sec., 324.36 mph

Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster
Qualifying position: No. 2

SATURDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS
First round: BROWN (3.857 sec., 324.98 mph) def. Pat Dakin (4.007, 295.21)
Second round: BROWN (3.798, 318.24) def. Spencer Massey (4.286, 205.13)
Semifinals: BROWN (3.798, 320.43) def. Doug Kalitta (4.864, 150.68)
Final: BROWN (3.801, 321.35) def. Brandon Bernstein (7.105, 90.64)

FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.876 sec., 316.52 mph
Session 2: 3.826, 321.35

It was tough, but Antron Brown Wins Again!

Brown, Matco Tools team post second Mello Yello title

of 2013, move within 5 points of DSR teammate, points leader

COMMERCE, Ga. (May 11, 2013) - Antron Brown and Don Schumacher Racing's Matco Tools team were not daunted by barely losing the No. 1 qualifying position and settling for the second seed to start Saturday's NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

The team merely went out during the rain-delayed Southern Nationals and dominated the four rounds of championship eliminations to win its second title of the season and move to within five points of DSR teammate Tony Schumacher.

"This is big, especially down here at the Southern Nationals," Brown said. "This track has always been special to us. It's our fifth time winning - two times in Pro Stock Motorcycle and three times now in Top Fuel. So, we like this place a lot. It reminds me a lot of tracks where I grew up in (New Jersey), like one of the grassroots tracks that's been around forever. It's got that special atmosphere, and the fans here are just intense."

When Brown beat Brandon Bernstein in the championship round, it marked the 205th national event win for DSR, 39th career title for Brown and the fourth time this year and 36th since 203 when DSR has won two or more titles at the same NHRA national event.

After rain wiped out the Southern Nationals last weekend, the Mello Yello Series returned to the track north of Atlanta for abbreviated qualifying with only two sessions on Friday to determine the top-16 for Saturday's championship eliminations.

"The track was a challenge these last two days," Brown said. "We ran a (3.78) in the semis but Brandon threw the gauntlet out there with a (3.76 in the semifinals), so we thought we needed to set up for speed in the final.

"But then, like Atlanta does, the clouds went away and the sun came out and the track got warmer. We knew what we needed to do to get the job done. If we got beat, we got beat, but we wanted to go A to B and put on a race and not throw it away. We were fortunate to get the job done."

Bernstein's run in the semifinals was the quickest run over the two days.

"When he busted that (3.76) out in that semifinal round, all of our guys were looking at each other, (crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald) were looking at their computer screens, and telling me, 'We'll make this happen.'

"Then the sun came out and I saw our boys go back to their (computer) boxes doing different things. Those guys are just incredible. I'm very blessed to have them and to be a part of this Matco Tools/U.S. Army team. Those guys make it happen. They dialed back the car because the sun was out for so long before our run. All I do is pull the trigger on that bullet and hold on tight."

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Antron Scores Again!

Brown completes rebound with Gatornationals Top Fuel title to give Don Schumacher Racing 200th NHRA event trophy

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 17, 2013) - Exactly one month after Antron Brown's horrific crash at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Series season-opener at Pomona, Calif., the reigning Top Fuel world champion experienced diametrically opposite emotions.

On Sunday, in the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla., Brown and his Matco Tools team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald did more than just win the event title.

After Don Schumacher Racing teammate Johnny Gray set the table by winning the Funny Car title, Brown sealed the deal to give DSR its 200th NHRA national event title.

"I just feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this whole organization," said Brown, who has contributed 20 titles to the list. "To bring that 200th win home with Johnny and myself, it was all of us together. It wasn't just my team or his team, it was all of us together at DSR."

DSR owner Don Schumacher, who won the first of his five NHRA Funny Car titles in 1970, was emotional when he met with media members.

"It's a tremendous reward," said Schumacher, who will be inducted May 2 into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, Ala.

"I can't say what this personally feels like. When we won both championships in November, my mother passed away on the day of the banquet the next day. I haven't had joy really since then.

"Today brings a special meaning to all of my efforts out here for all of these years."

For Brown, he reflects back to Sunday, Feb. 17, when an engine failure led to a crash that he was able to walk away from.

"Everything that Don has been orchestrating in all the years he's been in drag racing has been about building the quickest, the fastest and absolutely the safest cars. I believe he's done that, especially with the way I was able to walk away from that accident at Pomona."

Returning is one step, but dominating so soon is another.

"We knew we wanted to come out here and have some fun, but we had to execute. The Top Fuel class right now by far is the toughest it's ever been. Different people are setting low ETs and you never know what to expect. To go up against our teammate in the semis, that was like a final too."

Brown guided his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.761 second run at 318.77 mph to finish in front of Clay Millican, who posted a 3.813 at 319.67, in the championship round.

Before that, Brown outran Larry Dixon, Steve Torrence and DSR teammate Spencer Massey in the first three rounds.

The win enabled the Matco team to move around teammate Tony Schumacher for the points lead.

The following are Brown's results from this weekend's NHRA Gatornationals and other notes:

TOP FUEL

Event winner: Antron Brown (DSR)

No. 1 qualifier: Doug Kalitta (Kalitta Motorsports) 3.779, 326.32 mph

Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster

Qualifying position: No. 2

CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATIONS

SUNDAY

First round: BROWN (3.782 sec., 321.81) def. Larry Dixon (3.881, 302.55)

Second round: BROWN (3.771, 326.48) def. Steve Torrence (3.793, 326.08)

Semifinals: BROWN (3.777, 320.74) def. Spencer Massey (3.799, 325.92)

Final: BROWN (3.761, 318.77) def. Clay Millican (3.813, 319.67)

Monday, February 25, 2013

Blacked -Out 2014 C7 Spotted in So Cal

Blacked-Out 2014 C7 Corvette Spotted in So Cal

For those who’ve never been to California, let me be the first to tell you – it’s a huge state. As gorgeous and scenic as it is, it’s very possible to get lost in the twisty, turny roads of the desert, mountain, and valley roads. It can happen to anyone that’s not familiar with the area, even if you have a decent GPS system.

Love it or hate it, the rear of the C7 is quickly growing on us...

That’s just what happened to a pair of Gen-5 Camaro owners over the weekend. According to a recent thread on Corvette7.com, the pair of Camaros missed their turn, and stumbled upon this all-black 2014 Stingray by accident! As Camaro5 board member, Schmidty, puts it,

“ChargedCamaro and I went for a cruise today up to Borrego Springs to enjoy our cars in the awesome California weather (went from 52 degrees and snow to 84 and sun in the matter of minutes)! Thank God my buddy has no sense of direction because we missed our turn at the bottom of the mountain, but when we went back this Black Beauty had just parked in a lot we were about to pass. ChargedCamaro redeemed himself and pointed out this lucky find so we cornered the cornered in the lot and blocked all exits!

Turns out there were a couple prototype Corvette’s doing some testing on the mountain. We chatted up the Development Engineer and asked if we could take pics. I believe this Black One is the Sport Prototype and they were testing steering. The red one was on the mountain with a large black van behind it (secret service? haha). The engineers joked that it was protected by Pit Bulls. I asked about the blue one which we had seen pics of the crash on different blogs. He mentioned it was a friend of his who was driving it and that it had also recently been on the mountain. Anyway, wanted to share a few pics. This car is absolutely beautiful in person! ENJOY!

PS..we did ask about the 6th Gen Camaro. haha! And like all good employees who love their job…they had no comment. Very friendly guys who thanked us for driving GM cars. And no pics of the red one…we passed her on the mountain and it wasn't a good time to stop.”

By Rick Siez

Arizona Mello Yellow Results

Enders-Stevens, Schumacher, Capps collect Phoenix wins

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Tickets | Schedule | Entries | Results

Team reports | Photos | Video

Bonus coverage (NHRA Members only)

"Tony Schumacher won a wild tire-smoking final round against Morgan Lucas Sunday to claim the Top Fuel victory at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int'l Raceway.

Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Erica Enders-Stevens (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event near Phoenix.

Schumacher raced to his 70th victory and fourth at FIR when he was able to get his 8,000-horsepower U.S. Army dragster under control and finish just in front of Lucas’ charging GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster. Both dragsters lost traction early in the side-by-side race, and both drivers were on and off the throttle as they navigated the dragstrip.

Tony Schumacher

Ron Capps

“When you can win ugly like that it is so much fun,” said Schumacher, who beat Sidnei Frigo, Khalid alBalooshi, and Antron Brown in earlier rounds. “Both cars were set up to run really fast, and we both lost it and smoked the tires. It was lift, pedal, lift, pedal all the way down. I could hear Morgan beside me the whole time. As a driver, that kind of race is so much fun, and I enjoy winning like that more than a record run.”

It was the fourth consecutive final-round appearance for Schumacher dating back to last season, and he moves into the series points lead with the victory.

“Four finals in a row; it’s unbelievable that our team is that good,” Schumacher said. “Win No. 70. I like that number. I was stuck on 69 for a long time.”

In Funny Car, Capps earned his 39th victory and third at this event, outrunning Matt Hagan in the final round. Capps powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to a 4.064 at 314.90 to finish in front of Hagan’s Mopar/Rocky Footwear Charger, which trailed with a 4.158 at 300.33.

Capps reeled off a series of quick runs in the mid-4.0-second range in early round-wins over TonyPedregon, Cruz Pedregon, and Tim Wilkerson. His machine was just as quick in the final round over Hagan.

“This new car really likes to be planted early, and so [crew chief] Rahn Tobler has been working on a new clutch package,” Capps said. “In [the final qualifying session] yesterday, we finally found out what it really liked. And when you give Tobler a new combination, he’s going to bracket-car it to death.”
With the victory, Capps moves into the series points lead. With back-to-back final rounds to open the season, Capps says his NAPA team is picking up right where it left off last season.

“We are starting to feel like we are getting into the same rhythm that we were last year when we went to six finals in a row,” Capps said. “I think that both Rahn and I built up some confidence in each other [with our runner-up] at Pomona, and now here.”

Erica Enders-Stevens

Enders-Stevens outran top qualifier Mike Edwards in the Pro Stock final round to earn her fifth victory. She used a quicker reaction time in her GK Racing Chevy Cobalt to take the win against Edwards in his Interstate Batteries/I am Second Chevy Camaro. Enders-Stevens finished in 6.538 at 211.99, just in front of Edwards’ quicker but losing performance of 6.520 at 213.74.
“Coming off the season we had last year and starting the way that we did this year, it was kind of a gut check in that we wonder if we can ever get it done again,” Enders-Stevens said. “Our guys really worked their butts off during the winter, but we didn’t get the chance to test a lot. And I was a little bit nervous coming into this year because the other big teams got to test a lot. But our guys proved that they can pick up where they left off, and I’m excited.”

Enders-Stevens, who moved to second in the points standings with the win, defeated Shane Gray, V. Gaines, and Jason Line in the first three rounds and won from the No. 7 qualifying position.
“My crew chief, Dave Connolly, reminded me that every time that Jimmie Johnson wins, we win,” Enders-Stevens said with a smile. “And he told me that Jimmie won today’s Daytona 500 prior to the final. So needless to say, we’re going to be cheering for Jimmie all year.”

Following Courtney Force’s Funny Car win in Pomona last weekend, this is the first time in NHRA history that two female drivers have won races in back-to-back events to open a season.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues March 14-17 with the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville."

While NASCAR is trying to diversify the participants in their professional ranks, the NHRA is still bringing them up from the ranks of sportsman racers. We can compliment staff for relegating the primary requirement for the pro category is simply the "bring the sponsors to fuel the cars" and let's get it on!
National Dragster

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Courtney Force on National Teen Outreach Program

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 20, 2013—In just a year of competition among the best race car drivers in world, Courtney Force has established herself as a smart, focused competitor on the track and a solid role model away from it.

Now Force, straight from the winners circle of the famed 53^rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, and Ford Driving Skills for Life are happy to announce the 24-year-old former high school cheerleader from Yorba Linda, Calif. will continue to serve as spokesperson for Ford’s nationwide teen safe driving program for the third year in a row.

“I am really excited to be working with Ford Driving Skills for Life for my third year,” said Force, who will participate in a monthly radio show, write blogs for www.DrivingSkillsforLife.com and attend a special conference in the fall. “Last year I know we reached a lot of teens and hopefully they got the message about practicing safe driving. This year we are going to continue to try and get this important message to as many teens and parents as possible.

Ford DSFL’s National Tour will be in the Los Angeles area March 2-3, 2013. To sign up, visit https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com.

“I focus on being the safest driver I can behind the wheel of my Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car at 300 mph, as well as my Mustang on the street,” Force said. “There are so many distractions on the road and I really want to work with as many people as possible to make sure that everyone is safe on the road and doing what they can to practice these driving skills.”

Ford DSFL helps young drivers improve their skills in four key areas: 1) Hazard Recognition; 2) Vehicle Handling; 3) Speed Management; and 4) Space Management, as well as a special focus on distracted driving. The award-winning program was established by Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts in 2003 to teach newly licensed teens the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in standard driver education programs.

“We're proud to have Courtney on board as spokesperson for Ford DSFL for the third year in a row," said Jim Graham, manager, Community Relations, Ford Driving Skills for Life. "Courtney has proven to be an outstanding role model on and off the race track and teenagers really respond to her. We're happy to welcome her back for 2013."

Force worked her way up through the lower ranks of the National Hot Rod Association before earning her seat in the professional ranks in her Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car. The reigning Rookie of the Year and 2012 NEXT ESPN The Magazine athlete to watch will compete fulltime in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Series this year, regularly reaching more than 300 mph on the 1,000-foot, straight-line drag racing tracks.