Brown keeps heat on Top Fuel points leader by advancing to final near Seattle while DSR’s Hagan advances to second straight semis

KENT, WA – The battle for Top Fuel supremacy in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continued Sunday in the Northwest NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways near Seattle when points leader Doug Kalitta and Don Schumacher Racing’s Antron Brown met in the final round of eliminations.

Kalitta won the battle when he slipped past Brown and the Sandvik Coromant/Matco Tools team but Brown, the series leader with five event titles this year, only trails Kalitta by 76 points with two events remaining in the regular season of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Each eliminations round win is worth 20 points so Brown can close the gap when the series resumes in two weeks at Brainerd, Minn.

It was a remarkable comeback for Brown and his team led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald after they struggled in qualifying and started Sunday seeded 12th.

In the semifinals, Brown defeated DSR teammate Tony Schumacher who earned the 74th pole of his career and competed in his 1,000th round of eliminations to start the day.

Schumacher clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship. Brown had already clinched at position in the six-race playoff in his search for a second world championship in three seasons.

In Funny Car, Matt Hagan advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive race with DSR’s 426 Race HEMI 50th Anniversary Tribute Mopar Dodge Charger R/T.

Sunday’s race, which was the 16th of the 24-event schedule, ends the annual “Western Swing” that began with races at Denver and Sonoma, Calif.