Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster driver Antron Brown rolled into Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Monday morning looking to make it a ‘threepeat’ at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals after scoring back-to-back Indianapolis wins in 2022 and ‘23. Brown qualified fourth for the final event of NHRA’s regular season but saw his chances for a fourth 2024 victory go up in smoke when he lost traction in the opening round of eliminations.
With 20 cars vying for a spot on the 16-car Indy Top Fuel elimination ladder, crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald came out of the gate swinging. The Matco Tools team unleashed a 3.759-second at 330.63 mph pass during Friday night’s opening qualifying session, which held up to be the second-quickest run of the round and earned the team three bonus points. Brown continued to impress during qualifying, clocking three more quick and consistent passes, including his best run of 3.723 seconds during Saturday’s first round. By the time the fields for the 70th running of the ‘Big Go’ were set, Brown had amassed a class-best total of 11 bonus points to place fourth on the eliminations ladder to start race day.
Brown’s bid for a third consecutive Indianapolis trophy and sixth overall at his home facility began with a first-round contest versus eventual race winner Clay Millican. Brown, a resident of nearby Pittsboro, was looking to extend his 33 – 7 record over his opponent. He used his quicker reaction time to gain the early lead, but Millican had pulled ahead before the pair reached the 330-foot marker and made a clean pass to the finish line while Brown’s machine started to lose traction in the opposite lane.
“Rough way to end our U.S. Nationals,” said Brown, who scored three specialty wins throughout the first 14 events of the season in addition to his Chicago, Norwalk, and Sonoma triumphs. “We had a really strong showing in qualifying, got a lot of points for running second and third quickest in every session but one, but today wasn’t how we drew it up. Got a little aggressive there, and it just didn’t go our way today. But, we’re going to take this time to get our car right, get our minds right, and get ready for this Countdown to the Championship. So, they’ve got us sparked up, and now it’s time to react. Looking forward to getting to Reading, Pennsylvania for the first race of the playoffs.”
Making his 16th Countdown to the Championship appearance, Brown will begin the first event of the six-race playoffs ranked fifth in the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel standings and is on track to finish in the Top 10 for the 27th consecutive season. The three-time Top Fuel world champion is seeking his fourth series title and first for his third-year AB Motorsports team.
Despite the early exit for the Matco Tools team, Brown was still able to close out his Indianapolis outing with a visit to the final round when AB Motorsports Accelerate driver Angelle Sampey powered her No. 2 qualified Michalek Brothers Racing-prepared Hangsterfer’s Metalworking Lubricants A/Fuel Dragster to a runner-up finish on Monday afternoon. Sampey defeated Brandon Greco, Terry Schmidt, and Shawn Cowie to reach her first national event final aboard a four-wheel machine. Unfortunately, Sampey was shut off on the line after the burnout, ending her chances at a first Top Alcohol Dragster triumph. She had one previous final-round appearance while competing in a divisional event in Belle Rose, Louisiana earlier this year. The three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion is a two-time Indianapolis winner in the two-wheel category.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series picks back up with the first race of the Countdown to the Championship, September 13 – 15, for the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
This story was originally published on September 3, 2024. 
