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NHRA
NHRA: Brown Nabs Fast Time At Gatornationals
If Antron Brown was the slightest bit nervous to get back into the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster after his scary crash at Phoenix, he sure didn’t show it.
Craig Wack  | http://www.go2Geiger.com  |  Posted March 13, 2010  
Antron Brown made two strong runs in the near ideal conditions at Gainesville Race way with a best pass of 3.803 seconds at 321.04 mph. (Go2Geiger.com)
If Antron Brown was the slightest bit nervous to get back into the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster after his scary crash at Phoenix, he sure didn’t show it charging to the No. 1 qualifier spot at the 41st annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals on Saturday.

Brown made two strong runs in the near ideal conditions at Gainesville Race way with a best pass of 3.803 seconds at 321.04 mph. Brown said the solid back-to-back passes have given his team its swagger back.

“When we first came out here this weekend you see my crew chiefs and the other guys double-checking each other,” Brown said. “Everybody’s flipping this or everybody’s doing that. You want to get back on that track and be competitive.

“We’ve had freak things happening, where last year we came out and we were rocking right off the get-go. It’s a better feeling for the crew guys now. I see the confidence in their eyes. There’s no nervousness anymore. Everyone was nervous, including myself.”

In other racing on Saturday, Mike Edwards put the finishing touches on Phoenix Pro Stock competition and wrapped up the Gatornationals No. 1 spot. Matt Hagan snatched up the top spot in Funny Car on his last run of the day, and Karen Stoffer jumped from 20th to first in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Brown said he was thrilled to see his car be both fast and consistent.

“The track came around great considering all the rain we had the last few days,” Brown said. “We’re trying to do things one step at a time, and being No. 1 qualifier was huge and I’m stoked about that.

“It just feels good to get two solid laps back-to-back. That gives you confidence for race day when you are able to go back-to-back, round-by-round.”

Edwards continued his domination of the Pro Stock class in his Interstate Batteries Pontiac. He qualified No. 1 for Sunday’s eliminations and won the delayed Phoenix race, beating the upstart Bob Yokne, who reached the final on the back of two hole shot victories.

Edwards’ best pass for qualifying was a 6.537 second run at 211.53 mph. He beat Yonke with a 6.552 at 211.16 mph. Yonke had a 6.604 at 209.36.

“A win is a win, unfortunately we didn’t get to celebrate it in Phoenix,” Edwards said. “It was a different mindset today, especially with the conditions changing so much. You are qualifying, you are racing. You just push it and see what happens.”

Hagan, who added former John Force Racing crew chief John Medlen to his team on Saturday, guided the DieHard Dodge Charger to the third No. 1 of his career. He had a blistering 4.060 second run at 313.58 mph.

“It’s great to snag that No. 1 spot at the Gatornationals, because it’s a huge race for us,” Hagan said. “We were already qualified so we took the chance and went for broke. I know when the clutch went one-to-one and pushed me back in the seat, we were going to have a good run.”

Stoffer recovered from a bad run on Friday to be quickest in both Saturday sessions. Her best run on the GEICO Powersports Suzuki was a 6.855 at 194.77 mph, which was the second quickest run on a Pro Stock Motorcycle ever.

“It was kind of nerve wracking at first to see Eddie Krawiec go out the pair in front of me and set the low ET,” Stoffer said. “We knew I had a fast bike, I just had to do my job. I was excited they gave me the performance and I was able to get the performance out of our package and get that No. 1 back. I’ve got the No. 1 before but I never had to fight for it like that.”

Stoffer, who squares off against Rendell Harris in the first round on Sunday, said that the excitement in the motorcycle class won’t be limited to Saturday’s racing.

“I think there’s going to be a record broken, that’s my prediction,” Stoffer said. “We’re in the batter’s box and we want to take a big swing at that record. That would be a first for me, and I would love to be able to do it here in Gainesville.

“I don’t know if we’re going to see these kind of good conditions the rest of the year, so I think it’s going to be critical to get it done here.”

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Craig Wack

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