News

 

ANTRON BROWN
Driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster
 

Driver of the MOPAR Dodge Top Fuel Dragster
 

Qualified: No. 7 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 10 Cameron Ferre 

The Results:
Q1: No Time
Q3: 3.968 E.T. at 228.85 MPH
Q4: 3.744 E.T. at 282.42 MPH

Quotable:
"Q3 and Q4 were both planned early shut-offs. Our season-opener in Pomona created quite an extra amount of work, so we were erring on the side of parts attrition. We have to prepare to race as best as possible and that’s what qualifying was for us. The issues we were having, we were experiencing early in the run and other ones were happening later in the run, so we were chipping away at it. We feel really good about going into race day tomorrow here in Phoenix. About 12 of the variables we’ve been fighting, we feel as if we’ve overcome then and we were erring on the safe side in case there was something. We need to save our best parts for race day and get in the field. Not only did we get in the field but we have lane choice.

"It feels good to be back in the MOPAR colors with the MOPAR-power this weekend. I think the fans have taken a great liking to this updated MOPAR livery, and I believe they’ll take a great liking to the competition tomorrow. The track will get better with the more runs that are made, and we feel good. Phoenix has always been really good to us. Just trying to return the favor and make it three wins here in Phoenix."

Qualified: No. 14

The Competition: No. 3 Tim Wilkerson 

The Results:
Q1: 6.594 E.T. at 107.30 MPH
Q3: 8.115 E.T. at 88.46 MPH
Q4: 5.022 E.T. at 159.80 MPH

Quotable:
"We ran on Friday and like everyone else with the exception of one team, we didn’t make it down the track, so we had no data to tune off of. We went out there for the first qualifying session today and the car shook the tires and we really weren’t sure why. It was weak shake. Came back to the pit and started inspecting things and found the bellhousing was cracked. Maybe that had something to do with it, but maybe not. We kind of had to split the difference and assume that it was partially to blame but also not make the car too aggressive. Well, it went out there and shook again during Q4. I pedaled it and got us in the show. Fourteenth isn’t where we thought we’d qualify but I think we have a smart group of people and enough data to go back on, that we should be able to put our collective minds together and come up with a car that can win some rounds tomorrow."

Qualified: No. 9

The Competition: No. 8 John Force

The Results:
Q1: 16.256 E.T. at 65.28 MPH
Q3: 3.951 E.T. at 315.49 MPH
Q4: 7.825 E.T. at 82.53 MPH

Quotable:
“Friday was a throw-away for most teams. I brag about it a lot, but the guys with (crew chief) Rahn Tobler really have that NAPA Know How. This weekend we are debuting the Dodge Hellcat version of the Pennzoil scheme that we parked in the winner’s circle the last time we ran it. We didn’t go to Nitro Spring Training and we are just getting a feel for what this 2019 DSR chassis wants. I always have confidence no matter where we qualify. You can race John Force any time on Sunday and it will feel like a final; it’s a big deal and it’s great for the fans. I have the greatest confidence in this Pennzoil/NAPA team.”

Qualified: No. 2 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 15 Phil Burkhart Jr. 

The Results: 
Q1: 3.942 E.T. at 321.50 MPH (Three bonus points for quickest run of the session)
Q3: 3.900 E.T. at 327.82 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q4: 3.881 E.T. at 323.43 MPH (Two bonus points for second quickest run of the session)

Bonus Points: Six

Quotable:
"I’m feeling really, really confident in this Sandvik Coromant Hellcat. (Crew chief) Dickie Venables seems to have a really good handle on it. We’ve been down the race track three times out of the three qualifying sessions. We were ‘top three’ of each session. We ran into an issue with the five disc (clutch) clunking a little bit out there, but NHRA really has the race track glued in so it’s not been such an issue. Hopefully tomorrow the track will be prepped well again and we can lay some power down and win some rounds. All in all, we’re very pleased with how this Sandvik Dodge has been running."

Qualified: No. 4 (lane choice)

The Competition: No. 13 Jim Campbell 

The Results: 
Q1: 5.880 E.T. at 114.73 MPH (One bonus point for third quickest run of the session)
Q3: 3.911 E.T. at 326.95 MPH
Q4: 8.377 E.T. at 83.22 MPH

Bonus Points: One

Quotable:
"I think we made the best of the conditions we were dealt with. The track is really tough and it’s really hard to hit it perfectly. I think tomorrow will be a little warmer and the conditions will be a little more forgiving. If not, we probably have enough data where we can adjust and go from there. Looking forward to a long race day. I’d like to celebrate my 30^th anniversary with a win tomorrow."