Brown, Matco Tools hold top spot for second straight NHRA event; Beckman paces DSR Funny Cars at Topeka with 3-second run
TOPEKA, KS – Antron Brown and the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team is on the cusp of winning their second 
consecutive No. 1 qualifying position after setting a Heartland Park Topeka track record on his last lap Friday night with a time of 3.727 seconds.
A combination of temperatures in the 60s under cloudy skies and one of the best racing surfaces on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit produced track records in all pro categories to open the 27th annual Kansas Nationals.
Brown’s DSR teammate Jack Beckman and the Infinite Hero 2015 Dodge Charger R/T led by crew chief Jimmy Prock recorded Beckman’s seventh sub-4-second time in the last session when the team completed its run in 3.991 seconds at 319.37 mph to earn the provisional No. 3 qualify position.
The last two qualifying sessions scheduled for 2 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday will try to dodge thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon before Sunday’s eliminations at noon (ET) in the eighth event of the 24-race Mello Yello season.
For Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, it is the fifth time in the past six qualifying sessions that their Matco dragster was quickest in the field. That includes all four qualifying runs last weekend near Atlanta where Brown, the current Top Fuel points leader, went on to become the only Top Fuel driver with two Mello Yello titles this year. Brown was fourth quickest in Friday’s opening session in Kansas.
“The track is buttery smooth and the traction was there so we could go out there and run some incredible (elapsed times),” said Brown, who has won the pole three times at Topeka but has never advanced to a championship round in seven previous Top Fuel events at the track.
“The weather held up for us so we could put on a really good show for the fans. This is the racing we like to do when we run at nighttime and run side by side. It feels real good and an honor to be on this Matco Tools/U.S. Army team. I can’t thank the Lord enough for everyone who is involved with our team and help make this happen. They know how to make these Matco Tools work.”
Eight-time and reigning Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher (U.S. Army), who owns two NHRA Wally trophies from Topeka, holds the No. 3 position with a best run of 3.748. Reigning event champion Spencer Massey (Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher/Sandvik Coromant) is seeded eighth with a time of 3.775.
Beckman recorded his seventh 3-second run to tie teammate Matt Hagan (Rocky Boots/Mopar) for the second most in Funny Car history, and gives Dodge its 17th that is the most of any manufacturer and DSR its 17th to extend its lead among Funny Car organizations.
Joining Beckman in the top-eight is Tommy Johnson Jr. (Make-A-Wish), who qualified No. 8 with a best run of 4.030 (315.56). Ron Capps (NAPA AUTO PARTS) is 10th with a time of 4.038 and Hagan is 12th at 4.064 (319.22).
