Uninjured Brown, Matco team eager for fresh start at Phoenix

Uninjured Brown, Matco team eager for fresh start at Phoenix after horrifying crash Sunday in Mello Yello opener at Pomona

BROWNSBURG, Ind. - RIS - While the Matco Tools team stayed on the West Coast this week getting a new Top Fuel Dragster ready for driver Antron Brown, the reigning NHRA world champion was back home in Pittsboro, Ind., getting his own tune-up.

The one Brown drove Sunday in the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., was destroyed in a crash that occurred moments after an engine explosion. After Brown crossed the finish line at 300 mph, the detonation sent his dragster veering sharply to the left before flipping onto its side, backing into a concrete guardwall before sliding past of the dragstrip pavement and into the sand trap.

Brown, who won that race to advance to the semifinals round, escaped injury thanks to the quality of the Don Schumacher Racing-built chassis and revolutionary enclosed safety canopy developed by DSR.

"The canopy's windshield is five-eighths-of-an-inch thick. Nothing got to me. When I hit the sand trap (at the end of the pavement), I saw stones flying all over the place, but I didn't get dusty, nothing got into me. It really, really did its job.

"I remember turning the fresh air on because the (nitro) fumes were getting to me. Thank God that canopy is on our car because when we hit that sand trap it really kept everything away from me and the fire away from me."

Brown returned to Pittsboro to reassure his wife, Billie Jo, and their three children that he was fine but he also visited his doctor for a quick check-up that determined all of his body parts were fine although he was a little sore.

He also stopped by DSR headquarters in nearby Brownsburg to thank the DSR fabricators who built a dragster capable of protecting him in the crash at nearly 300 mph.

"Our guys in the DSR fabrication shop prepared such a great, safe racecar. Everything is ready to rock. I'm ready to get to Phoenix and get back on that horse. That's what it's all about."

NHRA rules mandate a driver can only compete in eliminations with the car he/she ran in the opening round. That prevented Brown from returning to competition in the semifinals against DSR and U.S. Army teammate Tony Schumacher, but Brown said he would have quickly jumped back into a back-up car if permitted.

"Absolutely. Absolutely. I got out of the car after the accident and walked away. I felt good. Being a racer, I love racing and I could have gotten right back in.

"Phoenix is a good place to get it going and get back on track. We had a good showing out there last year and want to get back and execute that same thing.

A year ago at Phoenix, Brown defeated DSR teammate Tony Schumacher for the Arizona Nationals title to post the first of his six national titles in 2012 that enabled him to become the first African-American to win a major U.S. auto racing championship.

Brown remains confident although he will be in a new DSR dragster.

"It's never been down a racetrack, but I know the great job our guys do in our (fabrication) shop. We'll take it one lap at a time and we get four laps in qualifying. We can get back into our routine. We're feeling pretty good about going back out there.

"We won't be going there in test mode; we'll be going there in race mode and make the right moves so we can contend for the win.

"We have to start off one step at a time with qualifying and hopefully we can ramp back up to where we were last year."

ANTRON AT PHOENIX
A year ago: Antron Brown defeated DSR teammate Tony Schumacher to win the Arizona event title for the first of his Top Fuel-best six titles in 2012.
Career: Wins 2 (2012, 2009); runner-ups 1 (2011); poles 1 (2000).

ANTRON'S STATS
2013 Pts Races Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
          4th     1         0        0       0        0        2-1
Career Races Titles Rup Poles DNQ Win/Loss
                 263     37*    36      32      2      445-224
*21 Top Fuel/16 Pro Stock Motorcycle
Career Best Time, Speed
3.701* (10-8-12, Reading), 328.78 (10-8-12, Reading)
* current NHRA national record

THIS WEEK AT FIREBIRD
WHAT: 29th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals
WHERE: Firebird International Raceway, south of Phoenix
NITRO SCHEDULE:
Friday: Qualifying, 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: Qualifying, 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Sunday: Championship eliminations, 11:30 a.m.

ON ESPN2:
Sunday: Qualifying, 1 a.m., 8 a.m. (ET)
Sunday: Championship eliminations, 8 p.m. (ET)

WEATHER.COM FORECAST
Friday: High 63; 0 percent chance of rain
Saturday: High 69; 0 percent chance of rain
Sunday: High 64; 0 percent chance of rain

LAST WEEK AT POMONA
DSR's Tony Schumacher in the U.S. Army dragster advanced to the Winternationals championship round of Top Fuel where he lost a close race to Shawn Langdon of Al-Anabi Racing; Ron Capps put the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T into the final round but lost traction and Courtney Force of John Force Racing produced the quickest run of the weekend. ...
In an unplanned example of the strength and safety of DSR-built Top Fuel Dragsters and innovative enclosed safety canopy, reigning world champion Antron Brown walked away unscathed from a horrific crash at nearly 300 mph that destroyed his Matco Tools dragster. Brown will be at Phoenix with an all-new car and eager to run in Friday's first qualifying session.

NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES
(After 1 of 24 events; DSR drivers in CAPS)

TOP FUEL
1. Shawn Langdon, 116
2. TONY SCHUMACHER, 106
3. Khalid alBalooshi, 74
4. ANTRON BROWN, 67
5. Brandon Bernstein, 60
6. Doug Kalitta, 59
7. David Grubnic, 55
8. Steve Torrence, 53
9. SPENCER MASSEY, 34
10. Clay Millican, 33

Dusty Brandel

President of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, Inc. Worked with Mike Hollander since Tapsis, Compuserve, etc. and has posted to the website since the beginning. First Female photo-journalist to be given a garage and pit pass for the NASCAR garage, 1972 at Ontario Motor Speedway. One of first seven female writers, photographers given access to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage and pits in 1971. Past President of Greater Los Angeles Press Club, 1992-96, and first female editor of the 8-Ball publication for the Press Club

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Volume 2012, Issue 10, Posted 8:49 PM, 02.21.2013