Antron Brown raced to his third victory of the season and first ever Top Fuel win at his home track, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Sunday at the Toyota NHRA Summernationals.
Brown, a local favorite as a native of nearby Chesterfield, N.J., powered his dragster to the winner’s circle with a performance of 3.843 seconds at 318.47, also claiming a milestone 50th NHRA victory in the process. Brown has 34 wins in Top Fuel, and he earned 16 victories in Pro Stock Motorcycle competition from 1999-2007.
The 2012 Top Fuel world champion and current series points leader raced past Brittany Force’s dragster, which lost traction early in the run and finished with a 5.398 at 150.16 mph in her fifth final-round appearance. Brown defeated Jenna Haddock, Doug Kalitta, and Dave Connolly in earlier rounds.
“We knew (my 50th win) was at stake when we came in here, but I put everything of what this race means to the side, and that’s what our team did,” Brown said. “We came in here and treated it like a race. Every race we come in, we put in all the hard work and put in our all. We had to remind ourselves that each and every round. To do it in the hometown and in front of family means the world to me.”
Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were victorious at the ninth of 24 events during the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.
In Funny Car, Hagan’s final-round effort of 4.132 at 299.53 in his Dodge Charger R/T was enough to hold off Alexis DeJoria’s Toyota Camry at the finish line and earn his third victory of the season. Hagan, the defending world champion, has 17 career wins, two at Raceway Park, and now leads the series standings.
Anderson powered his Chevy Camaro to a 6.504 at 214.31 mph to earn his 76th career victory and take over the Pro Stock points lead. He sprinted past Allen Johnson in the final round to earn his second win of the season and a record sixth trophy at Raceway Park.
Louisiana alligator farmer Savoie earned his second career Pro Stock Motorcycle victory when second-time finalist Jim Underdahl turned on the red-light in the final round.
The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues with the NHRA New England Nationals, June 12-14, in Epping.
Bill Glidden raced to his first career victory Sunday in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the event.
This weekend’s Pro Mod competition at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is co-presented by Smithfield Foods and Western Beef and is the fourth of 10 events in the season.
Glidden powered his Mickey Thompson Ford ’10 Mustang to a 5.923-second pass at 243.24 mph to beat Don Walsh’s 5.897 at 252.33 in his Precision Turbo/Walsh Motorsports Chevy Camaro on a holeshot. This was a rematch of the final in Houston earlier this year in which Walsh was victorious.
Glidden entered eliminations as the No. 13 qualifier and raced past Steve Matusek, Troy Coughlin, and No. 1 qualifier Mike Janis to make it to the final round. Glidden, the son of 10-time NHRA Pro Stock world champ Bob Glidden, is second in championship points.
Don Walsh, the No. 2 qualifier, sprinted past Mike Knowles, Kevin Fiscus, and Gainesville winner Bob Rahaim to make it to his final-round appearance of the season. Walsh remains the leader in the points category.
The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series heads to Bristol for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, June 19-21. The event is the fifth of 10 races in the 2015 Pro Mod season.
