Brown edges DSR teammate for provisional pole going to last day of NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying

June 15

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 15, 2012) – On a sunbaked Friday and near perfect evening in Bristol Dragway’s picturesque Tennessee valley, each of the seven Don Schumacher Racing teams qualified in the top half of their respective categories in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

The DSR “super team” was led by Antron Brown, whose Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools dragster took the Top Fuel provisional pole with a run of 3.814 seconds at 323.66 mph. Brown, whose dragster is tuned by crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi, posted the fastest speed of the day.

Brown, and teammate Tony Schumacher in the U.S. Army dragster were the final pair to go down the track and Brown just edged Schumacher for the provisional pole. Schumacher was a whisker slower at 3.822 (320.66).

Spencer Massey, the current Top Fuel points leader, is seventh for DSR’s FRAM/Prestone team.

The four DSR Funny Cars were led by Jack Beckman, whose Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger R/T tuned by crew chief Todd Smith was the best for DSR in both qualifying sessions. Beckman’s best run of 4.077 (310.13) in the night session earned him the No. 3 provisional qualifying position.

Within the DSR camp, Ron Capps’ NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge is qualified fourth, Mopar’s Matt Hagan is sixth and NTB/Service Central’s Johnny Gray, who won the last NHRA event, is eighth.

Bob Tasca III holds the provisional pole with a nighttime run of 4.063 (310.48).

The following are qualifying results from Friday’s sessions and notes:

FUNNY CAR
Provisional No. 1 qualifier: Bob Tasca III (4.063 sec., 310.48 mph)

JACK BECKMAN, Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger R/T
Ranked No. 5 in Funny Car points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 3
FRIDAY
Session 1: 4.164 sec., 300.26 mph
Session 2: 4.077, 310.13
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 4; lost in finals to Robert Hight
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 0; runner-ups 1 (2011); poles 0

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T
Ranked No. 2 in Funny Car points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 4
FRIDAY
Session 1: 4.492 sec., 205.60 mph
Session 2: 4.091, 303.43
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 11; lost first round to Robert Hight
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 2 (2001, 2006); runner-ups 0; poles 0

MATT HAGAN, Mopar/Aaron’s Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T
Ranked No. 12 in Funny Car points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 6
FRIDAY
Session 1: 4.204 sec., 293.03 mph
Session 2: 4.096, 307.79
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 2; lost in second round to Jeff Arend
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 0; runner-ups 0; poles 0

JOHNNY GRAY, NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger R/T
Ranked No. 3 in Funny Car points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 8
FRIDAY
Session 1: 6.223 sec., 104.41 mph
Session 2: 4.120, 309.56
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 7; Lost first round to Jeff Arend
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 0; runner-ups 0; poles 0

TOP FUEL
Provisional No. 1 qualifier: Antron Brown (3.814 sec., 323.12 mph)

ANTRON BROWN, Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools dragster
Ranked No. 3 in Top Fuel points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 1
FRIDAY
Session 1: 3.892 sec., 319.75 mph
Session 2: 3.814, 323.12
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 5; lost in final to Larry Dixon
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 0; runner-ups 1 (2011); poles 1 (2010)

TONY SCHUMACHER, U.S. Army dragster
Ranked No. 2 in Top Fuel points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 2
FRIDAY
Session 1: 3.865 sec., 316.38 mph
Session 2: 3.822, 320.66
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 8; lost in semifinals to Antron Brown
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 4* (2004, 2008-10); runner-ups 1 (2001); poles 3 (2004, 2007-08) * track record

SPENCER MASSEY, FRAM/Prestone dragster
Ranked No. 1 in Funny Car points
Provisional qualifying position after Friday: No. 7
FRIDAY
Session 1: 7.267 sec., 76.57mph
Session 2: 3.844, 321.58
2011 AT BRISTOL: Qualified No. 11; lost in semifinals to Larry Dixon
CAREER AT BRISTOL: Wins 0; runner-ups 0; poles 0

FIVE STRAIGHT FOR NAPA AUTO PARTS TEAM
Ron Capps and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team lost two weeks ago at Englishtown, N.J., in the championship round to DSR teammate Johnny Gray. It was the fifth consecutive championship round for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team.
They became only the fifth team in Funny Car history to advance to five straight final rounds. The others are Don Prudhomme, John Force, Kenny Bernstein and Cruz Pedregon. Prudhomme holds the record for most consecutive final rounds in Funny Car with 13.

FULL THROTTLE NITRO SCHEDULE
Saturday: Qualifying, 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m.
Sunday: Eliminations, Noon ... Happy Father’s Day!

ON ESPN2
Qualifying: 5:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, (delayed)
Eliminations: 5 p.m. (ET) Sunday (delayed)

WEATHER.COM FORECAST
Saturday: High 83, 10 percent chance of rain
Sunday: High 82, 30 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms