Brown’s personal best for Aaron’s sets Gateway records; Beckman, Valvoline team quickest ever near St. Louis

September 28

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 28, 2012) – Antron Brown recorded a personal best and the third quickest Top Fuel Dragster run ever, and Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in Funny Car used a record time as both teams earned provisional No. 1 qualifying positions Friday night in the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

Brown recorded an elapsed time of 3.737 seconds at 326.79 mph for his special edition Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools dragster adorned with special graphics to salute Aaron’s 2,000th store that opened in Bronx, N.Y.

Close behind Brown heading to Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions are DSR teammates Spencer Massey (3.752, 326.79) in second and Tony Schumacher (3.775, 325.69) in fourth.

Brown set track records for elapsed time and speed.

In Funny Car, Beckman broke the track’s elapsed time record when he uncorked a run of 4.049 seconds at 308.85 mph and is on the cusp of earning the team’s third No. 1 qualifying position of the year.

Reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan in the DieHard Dodge produced an impressive 4.061 at 305.42 to earn the provisional No. 3 spot, three positions ahead of DSR teammate Ron Capps in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge, which is atop the standings in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship playoff.

The following are DSR qualifying results for Friday and notes from the NHRA Midwest Nationals near St. Louis:

TOP FUEL
Provisional No. 1 qualifier: Antron Brown (DSR) 3.737 sec., 326.79 mph

Antron Brown, Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools dragster
Provisional qualifying position: No. 1
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.814 sec., 321.04 mph
Session 2: 3.737, 326.79

Spencer Massey, FRAM/Prestone dragster
Provisional qualifying position: No. 2
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.848 sec., 310.55 mph
Session 2: 3.752, 326.16
Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army dragster
Provisional qualifying position: No. 4
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 3.793 sec., 314.09 mph
Session 2: 3.775, 325.69

FUNNY CAR
Provisional No. 1: Jack Beckman (DSR) 4.049 sec., 308.85 mph

Jack Beckman, Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger R/T
Provisional qualifying position: No. 1
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 4.153 sec., 279.90 mph
Session 2: 4.049, 308.85

Matt Hagan, DieHard/Aaron’s Dream Machine Dodge Charger R/T
Provisional qualifying position: No. 3
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 4.141 sec., 293.28 mph
Session 2: 4.061, 305.42

Ron Capps, NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T
Provisional qualifying position: No. 6
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 8.197 sec., 84.67 mph
Session 2: 4.083, 309.34

Johnny Gray, NTB/Service Central Dodge Charger R/T
Provisional qualifying position: No.11
FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 4.131 sec., 304.60 mph
Session 2: 4.208, 208, 237.35

NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS EVENT SCHEDULE
(All times CT)
Saturday: 12:30, 3 p.m. qualifying
Sunday: 11 a.m., eliminations

ESPN2 SCHEDULE (All times ET, subject to change):
Sunday: 2:30 a.m., 1 p.m., qualifying
Sunday: 8-11 p.m. ET, eliminations

WEATHER.COM
Saturday: high 75, 0 percent chance of rain
Sunday: high 75, 10 percent chance of rain

UPCOMING FULL THROTTLE EVENTS
Oct. 4-7, NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa. (Philadelphia area)
Oct. 25-28, Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas
Nov. 8-11, Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Pomona, Calif.

About Don Schumacher Racing
Don Schumacher Racing, headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., consists of seven professional NHRA teams: in Top Fuel, the U.S. Army dragster driven by seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher, the FRAM/Prestone dragster of Spencer Massey and the Matco Tools dragster of Antron Brown; and in Funny Car, 2011 NHRA Funny Car champion Matt Hagan in the Aaron’s Dream Machine/Mopar Dodge Charger R/T, Valvoline NextGen Dodge piloted by Jack Beckman, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge of Ron Capps and the Service Central Dodge of Johnny Gray. DSR has won 193 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

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