Sub-par qualifying effort by Brown, Aaron’s/Matco team won’t slow Top Fuel points leader in Countdown at zMAX

September 15

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2012) – The first event in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff is not when Antron Brown expected his Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster to have one of its worst qualifying positions of the year.

Brown and the Don Schumacher Racing team will start championship eliminations from the No. 10 qualifying position when racing begins at noon in the NHRA Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s zMAX Dragway at Concord, N.C.

That means the top seed for the Countdown in the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will not have his choice of lanes when he opens the event against Khalid alBalooshi of Al-Anabi Racing who did not qualify for the Countdown.

“We qualified for the first race in the Countdown. One step is out of the way and now it’s time to race,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a great race. Khalid alBalooshi has been running good all weekend long, so we have a tough matchup, but it looks like everybody does. We’ll go out there and be poised and can’t slip-up on our game.

“It’s all about the guys on this Aarons/Matco Tools/U.S. Army team. They are shedding their blood, sweat and tears on this car. Our team is just incredible. When the chips get down against us, these are the guys I want to go into battle with. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

It also might not help Brown’s early Countdown cause that his teammates – Spencer Massey and Tony Schumacher who are qualified second and third respectively – are in the same bottom half of the 16-car eliminations bracket. If Brown and Massey win their first-round race, they will meet in the second round and could face Schumacher in the semifinals.

“We ran really consistent today” he said after his last run Saturday, which at 3.861 seconds at 319.22 mph was his best of the weekend.

“The last run we shredded the blower belt, and that’s why we slowed down a little bit. The car is looking good. Now we’re back in the groove again, so tomorrow we can go out there and focus on each round and take it one round at a time.

“We’re right there on the pace where everybody else is running. All we need to do is step it up a little bit more and we should be right there where we need to be.”

The following are Brown’s qualifying results and other notes:

Antron Brown, Aaron’s Dream Machine/Matco Tools dragster
Qualified: No. 10
First-round opponent: Khalid alBalooshi

FRIDAY QUALIFYING
Session 1: 4.393 sec., 207.08 mph
Session 2: 4.913, 152.06
SATURDAY QUALIFYING
Session 3: 3.865, 318.69
Session 4: 3.861, 319.22

FULL THROTTLE EVENT SCHEDULE
SUNDAY: Championship eliminations, Noon

ON ESPN2 (times are ET, delayed)
SUNDAY: Qualifying, 2 p.m.; Eliminations, 8:30 p.m.

WEATHER.COM FORECAST
SUNDAY: High 79 degrees; 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms

About Aaron’s, Inc.
Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation's leader in the sale and lease ownership of residential furniture, computers, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories. Aaron’s Inc., which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, has over 1,940 company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur and current Chairman R. Charles Loudermilk Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's has been publicly traded since 1982. For more information, visit www.aarons.com.

About Matco Tools
Matco Tools manufactures, distributes and services premium quality automotive equipment, tools, and tool storage for the professional technician. The company has more than 60 years of national brand experience in the automotive equipment industry and a vast product line of more than 13,000 of the highest quality, innovative tools and accessories.
The company's franchise offering has no franchise, royalty, or advertising fees. Initial corporate and ongoing local training create and build outstanding value for the franchisee's business. For more information on Matco Tools products or franchise opportunities, visit www.matcotools.com.

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 191 NHRA national event titles and nine world championships.
Follow Don Schumacher Racing at ShoeRacing.com, on Twitter at @shoeracing and Facebook.com/shoeracing.

- 191 -