BROWN, LANGDON TOP TOYOTAS IN BRAINERD NHRA QUALIFYING
BRAINERD, MN – Antron Brown qualified third in Top Fuel, while Shawn Langdon was sixth in Funny Car to lead 
Toyota in preparation for Sunday’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Brown, who won the most recent Top Fuel event in Seattle, led the field after Friday’s qualifying, but slipped to third overall – just .005 seconds off the pole. It marks his third straight top-five qualifying effort – two of those in the top three.
“It is no secret that we have been through our bumps and bruises this year, but we’re starting to peak at the right time,” said Brown, who will race Luigi Novell in the first round. “I couldn’t be more proud of our Matco Tools/Toyota boys. We came in looking to qualify in the top three and now we need to stay focused and go out tomorrow and do what we did in Seattle.”
After running a pair of 4.013-second passes in his Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry on Saturday, Langdon is a clear contender for his first Funny Car victory on Sunday. He placed third in the day’s first session and fourth in the final round of qualifying. In placing sixth overall, the 2013 Top Fuel world champion has now qualified in the top half of the field in six consecutive races. He will meet Bob Tasca in the opening round of eliminations.
Just .005 seconds behind Langdon was Kalitta Motorsports teammate J.R. Todd, who qualified eighth in his DHL Camry. A two-time winner this season, Todd will open up with Bob Bode on Sunday.
Del Worsham went from outside of the field heading into his final qualifying run all the way up to 12th with a 4.028 second pass, setting up an opening round battle with Tommy Johnson. Cruz Pedregon placed 16th and will face-off with pole-sitter Robert Hight.
Rounding out the Toyota Top Fuel contingent, Richie Crampton placed 11th, while Doug Kalitta was 12th. Crampton will race Brittany Force in Sunday’s first round, with Kalitta matching up against Mike Salinas.
Today’s qualifying can be seen Sunday on FS1 beginning at 12:00 p.m., while Sunday’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations will be shown live on FS1 beginning at 2:00 p.m. (ET).
