Brown claims US Nationals
CLERMONT, Ind. — Antron Brown became the first NHRA racer to win the U.S. Nationals in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle, beating Del Worsham on Monday in the Top Fuel final.
Mike Neff topped the Funny Car field, Greg Anderson won in Pro Stock and Hector Arana Jr. won the Pro Stock Motorcycle division in the final event before the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Brown beat Worsham with a run of 3.813 seconds at 321.73 mph. Brown has five victories this season.
“Words cannot describe how this feels,” Brown said. “To come here and win at Indy, the biggest stage in drag racing, means so much. It just goes back to my childhood dream and sitting under those grandstands as a kid and saying ‘I want to do that one day.’ It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had.”
Worsham secured the No. 1 spot in the points during qualifying, while Kalitta Racing driver David Grubnic locked down the 10th and final spot after both Terry McMillen and Bob Vandergriff lost in the second round.
In the Funny Car final, Neff beat Bob Tasca for his fifth victory of the season. Neff had a 4.068-second run at 314.61 mph in his Ford Mustang, while Tasca’s engine exploded shortly before the finish.
“It’s The Big One. It’s the one you dream about,” Neff said. “I wasn’t feeling confident. We struggled the last few races. Since we were racing a teammate (Robert Hight) in the first round, I said, ‘Let’s take a shot.’ We tried some different things, and we won. Once we got by the first round, I felt better.”
Neff took the top spot in the Countdown during qualifying, while Tasca clinched the 10th and final spot after Johnny Gray lost in the first round to Daniel Wilkerson.
