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Brown Caps Off Historic O’Reilly Spring Nationals With First Top Fuel Win

Del Worsham, Greg Anderson and Matt Smith round out winner’s circle

BAYTOWN, Texas – Antron Brown capped off an historic Sunday afternoon at the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil when he powered his Matco Tools dragster past Larry Dixon’s U.S. Smokeless dragster to become the first driver in NHRA history to win races in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Fuel.

He followed Del Worsham (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) into the winner’s circle at the fourth of 24 races in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Brown had won 16 races in Pro Stock Motorcycle before making the jump to the 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel class this year and he’d not been able to get past the quarterfinals until Sunday when he sped past Dixon in a terrific final, 4.605 (at 320.28 mph) to 4.621 (at 309.06).

“We’ve been plagued by the second round all season – the second round’s been biting us, but today we bit back,” said Brown, who joins J.R. Todd as the only African-American drivers in NHRA history to win a race in Top Fuel.

Worsham defeated John Force in the semis and Ashley Force in the final – 4.933 at 316.60 to 4.971 at 302.62 – en route to his 22nd career win, but just his first since Labor Day weekend 2005.

“It finally happened,” said Worsham, who was sporting a K&N Filters paint scheme over the traditional Checker Schuck’s Kragen decal on his Chevy Impala. “Everything came together. I won’t say it wasn’t without a problem, but my dad (crew chief Chuck Worsham) made some great calls on the starting line. Great day.”

Ashley Force was in her second career final round in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and she remains the only female competitor to reach a final round in Funny Car.

Anderson’s win – 6.692 at 207.37 in his Summit Pontiac GXP over a tire-shaking Kurt Johnson (13.425 at 64.01) in his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt – was the 53rd of his career, which moved him one ahead of Joe Amato (52) into solo fifth on the NHRA POWERade Series’ all-time wins list.

It was quite a bit different from win No. 52, which came in the season-opener at Pomona when he ran the table from the No. 1 qualifying position.

“We were flawless at Pomona. This was different – we qualified No. 6, I don’t know how it looked (from the stands), but it was a struggle (on the track). The good lord was looking after me today,” Anderson said. “There’s no such thing as an ugly win so we’ll take it,” he said.

Anderson leapfrogged teammate Jason Line and defending POWERade Series world champion Jeg Coughlin to regain the points lead.

Defending Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Smith powered his Nitro Fish Buell past Matt Guidera’s Mohegan Sun Buell, 7.060 at 187.76 to 7.140 at 185.03, to claim his first win of the 2008 season.

“It’s an awesome experience,” said Smith, who struggled at Gainesville in the season-opener for the two-wheel class. “We were embarrassed the way we raced at Gainesville. We went home and went to work and it showed (with the win Sunday).”

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues with the ninth annual Summitracing.com NHRA Nationals, April 10-13 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The race is the fourth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Antron Brown; 2. Larry Dixon; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Doug Herbert; 5. Cory McClenathan; 6. Tony Schumacher; 7. Urs Erbacher; 8. Bruce Litton; 9. Doug Foley; 10. Hillary Will; 11. Morgan Lucas; 12. David Grubnic; 13. Bob Vandergriff; 14. Alan Bradshaw; 15. Brandon Bernstein; 16. Rod Fuller.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Del Worsham, Chevy Impala; 2. Ashley Force, Ford Mustang; 3. John Force, Mustang; 4. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo; 5. Tony Pedregon, Impala; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Impala; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Dodge Charger; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Impala; 9. Mike Neff, Mustang; 10. Ron Capps, Charger; 11. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo; 12. Jack Beckman, Charger; 13. Bob Tasca III, Mustang; 14. Jerry Toliver, Charger; 15. Gary Densham, Impala; 16. Gary Scelzi, Charger.

PRO STOCK:

1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP; 2. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt; 3. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus; 4. V. Gaines, Stratus; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt; 6. Jim Yates, GXP; 7. Warren Johnson, GXP; 8. Matt Hartford, Stratus; 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 10. Jason Line, GXP; 11. Greg Stanfield, GXP; 12. John Nobile, Stratus; 13. Justin Humphreys, GXP; 14. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO; 15. Kenny Koretsky, GXP; 16. Rickie Jones, Stratus.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Matt Smith; 2. Matt Guidera, Buell; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 4. Chip Ellis, Suzuki; 5. Hector Arana, Buell; 6. Angelle Sampey, Buell; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 8. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson; 9. Michael Phillips, Suzuki; 10. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 11. Edward Murphy, Suzuki; 12. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 13. Junior Pippin, Buell; 14. Chris Rivas, Buell; 15. Angie McBride, Buell; 16. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Sunday’s final results from the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The race is the fourth of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 4.605 seconds, 320.28 mph def. Larry Dixon, 4.621 seconds, 309.06 mph.

Funny Car — Del Worsham, Chevy Impala, 4.933, 316.60 def. Ashley Force, Ford Mustang, 4.971, 302.62.

Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.692, 207.37 def. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 13.425, 64.01.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Matt Smith, Buell, 7.060, 187.76 def. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.140, 185.03.

Top Alcohol Dragster — Randy Eakins, 5.392, 263.67 def. Duane Shields, 5.392, 273.50.

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 5.626, 256.41 def. Mickey Ferro, Chevy Monte Carlo, 11.799, 62.46.

Super Stock — Pete Peery, Olds Calais, 9.990, 123.63 def. Scotty Richardson, Chevy S-10, foul.

Stock Eliminator — Bob Unkefer, Pontiac Trans Am, 11.402, 116.57 def. Austin Ford, Shelby Mustang, 10.947, 120.97.

Super Comp — Shawn Langdon, Dragster, 8.881, 170.02 def. Kurt Damron Jr., Dragster, 8.875, 175.21.

Super Gas — Jimmy Lewis, Chevy Corvette, 9.929, 147.88 def. Wes Neely, Chevy Camaro, 9.975, 148.20.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Final round-by-round results from the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE — Doug Kalitta, 4.607, 317.19 def. Hillary Will, 4.619, 310.84; Tony Schumacher, 4.526, 321.19 def. Brandon Bernstein, 11.160, 74.80; Bruce Litton, 4.603, 298.87 def. David Grubnic, 5.051, 227.34; Antron Brown, 4.591, 322.27 def. Doug Foley, 4.606, 320.13; Larry Dixon, 4.595, 311.92 def. Morgan Lucas, 4.671, 313.37; Urs Erbacher, 5.046, 211.99 def. Alan Bradshaw, foul; Cory McClenathan, 4.614, 281.83 def. Rod Fuller, 11.374, 75.39; Doug Herbert, 4.587, 316.52 def. Bob Vandergriff, 5.671, 220.12;

QUARTERFINALS — Kalitta, 4.635, 311.13 def. Erbacher, 4.785, 309.70; Dixon, 4.955, 227.11 def. Litton, 6.269, 138.74; Brown, 4.541, 326.56 def. McClenathan, 4.566, 305.22; Herbert, 4.572, 315.49 def. Schumacher, 4.585, 316.97;

SEMIFINALS — Dixon, 4.599, 319.14 def. Herbert, 10.040, 90.07; Brown, 4.570, 321.88 def. Kalitta, 4.689, 311.56;

FINAL — Brown, 4.605, 320.28 def. Dixon, 4.621, 309.06.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE — Del Worsham, Chevy Impala, 4.922, 313.22 def. Jerry Toliver, Dodge Charger, 12.697, 77.25; Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.870, 319.37 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.953, 309.27; Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 6.327, 261.88 def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 7.767, 191.87; Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.937, 304.74 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 13.823, 72.29; Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.904, 304.80 def. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.896, 319.45; Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.921, 316.30 def. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 4.977, 311.27; Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 6.088, 217.63 def. Gary Densham, Impala, 13.512, 83.49; John Force, Mustang, 4.924, 313.95 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 6.188, 147.28;

QUARTERFINALS — Bartone, 5.071, 287.05 def. Johnson Jr., 6.104, 170.26; J. Force, 5.077, 244.83 def. C. Pedregon, 6.732, 138.98; Worsham, 4.917, 311.85 def. Wilkerson, 5.113, 275.00; A. Force, 4.932, 307.86 def. T. Pedregon, 5.097, 270.54;

SEMIFINALS — A. Force, 5.008, 300.33 def. Bartone, 12.483, 86.06; Worsham, 4.917, 313.37 def. J. Force, 5.005, 303.57;

FINAL — Worsham, 4.933, 316.60 def. A. Force, 4.971, 302.62.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE — Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.659, 209.10 def. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GTO, 6.706, 205.60; Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.658, 206.64 def. Rickie Jones, Dodge Stratus, 27.039, 24.58; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.666, 207.08 def. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.686, 206.42; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.643, 208.36 def. John Nobile, Stratus, 6.686, 206.32; V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.696, 206.13 def. Kenny Koretsky, GXP, foul; Matt Hartford, Stratus, 6.739, 205.32 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.671, 206.99; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.686, 206.70 def. Justin Humphreys, GXP, 6.704, 205.98; Jim Yates, GXP, 6.692, 205.63 def. Jason Line, GXP, 6.681, 206.67;

QUARTERFINALS — Gaines, 6.709, 206.64 def. Yates, 6.695, 205.69; Anderson, 6.668, 207.46 def. Hartford, 6.723, 206.01; A. Johnson, 18.755, 41.41 def. Coughlin, foul; K. Johnson, 6.655, 208.30 def. W. Johnson, 6.710, 208.42;

SEMIFINALS — Anderson, 6.683, 207.11 def. A. Johnson, 15.333, 53.54; K. Johnson, 6.695, 207.34 def. Gaines, foul;

FINAL — Anderson, 6.692, 207.37 def. K. Johnson, 13.425, 64.01.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE — Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.282, 178.73 def. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, foul; Hector Arana, Buell, 14.646, 50.78 def. Chris Rivas, Buell, foul; Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.131, 184.17 def. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.275, 178.92; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.107, 184.72 def. Edward Murphy, Suzuki, 7.229, 179.64; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.370, 178.66 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul; Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 6.995, 187.86 def. Angie McBride, Buell, 8.188, 114.57; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.065, 183.62 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.144, 187.70; Matt Smith, Buell, 7.018, 186.74 def. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.275, 177.07;

QUARTERFINALS — Hines, 7.171, 183.05 def. Johnson, 7.392, 177.21; Guidera, 7.161, 182.62 def. Krawiec, foul; Smith, 7.059, 185.66 def. Sampey, 7.286, 180.79; Ellis, 7.095, 184.19 def. Arana, foul;

SEMIFINALS — Guidera, 7.067, 189.47 def. Ellis, 7.084, 185.49; Smith, 6.991, 188.78 def. Hines, 7.076, 186.38;

FINAL — Smith, 7.060, 187.76 def. Guidera, 7.140, 185.03.

BAYTOWN, Texas — Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 21st annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series –

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 357; 2. Larry Dixon, 349; 3. Antron Brown, 279; 4. Brandon Bernstein, 216; 5. Cory McClenathan, 214; 6. Rod Fuller, 211; 7. David Grubnic, 201; 8. Hillary Will, 195; 9. Doug Herbert, 193; 10. Morgan Lucas, 148.

Funny Car

1. Cruz Pedregon, 260; 2. Jack Beckman, 249; 3. Tony Pedregon, 233; 4. Robert Hight, 232; 5. Ashley Force, 231; 6. John Force, 219; 7. Gary Densham, 208; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 204; 9. Del Worsham, 187; 10. Jim Head, 156.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 343; 2. Jeg Coughlin, 340; 3. Jason Line, 275; 4. Kurt Johnson, 266; 5. Allen Johnson, 263; 6. V. Gaines, 250; 7. Warren Johnson, 221; 8. Mike Edwards, 212; 9. Justin Humphreys, 168; 10. Greg Stanfield, 151.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Matt Guidera, 212; 2. Matt Smith, 195; 3. Andrew Hines, 171; 4. Chip Ellis, 151; 5. Eddie Krawiec, 111; 6. Angelle Sampey, 105; 7. Angie McBride, 85; 8. (tie) Hector Arana, 84; Chris Rivas, 84; 10. Karen Stoffer, 67.

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