Toyota NHRA Indianapolis Preview

BROWN LOOKS TO CLINCH TOP SEED  – Antron Brown will take a 31-point lead into the regular season finale at the U.S. Nationals as he attempts to secure the number one seed for the playoffs. He has four wins to his credit this season and has reached the final round in eight of the last 10 Top Fuel races.

Brown is looking for his third consecutive world championship and his fourth in the last six seasons. Over that span, he has won 34 races – 18 more than any other driver in the series. In addition, he has closed to within three wins of Joe Amato for third on the all-time Top Fuel win list.  Brown joins Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein and Ed McCulloch as the only drivers to have won the U.S. Nationals in more than one pro category.

DEJORIA CHASES SECOND U.S. NATIONALS WIN AND COUNTDOWN BERTH – Fresh off a victory in Brainerd, Alexis DeJoria will look to earn her second U.S. Nationals title in the last four years after previously winning in 2014.  DeJoria defeated Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, John Force and Tommy Johnson on the way to winning Brainerd.

With the triumph, DeJoria jumped up into tenth in a heated five-car battle for the final Funny Car berth in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. She takes a 12-point advantage over fellow Camry driver Pedregon, a three-time U.S. Nationals champion, into Indy.  Three additional drivers, including Toyota’s Del Worsham, are all within 60 points and still alive heading into the regular season finale which will offer points worth 1.5 times more than usual.

CRAMPTON RETURNS TO TOP FUEL SEAT – Richie Crampton will return to the cockpit this weekend in the SealMaster Toyota for Kalitta Motorsports.  Crampton drove the Morgan Lucas Racing Toyota from 2014-2016, winning the Racer Magazine Rookie of the Year in 2014 over such competition as NASCAR’s Kyle Larson.  Crampton then won five races in 2015 on the way to an overall third-place finish in the Top Fuel world championship.  This weekend, Crampton returns to the site of his biggest victory in the 2014 U.S. Nationals.

TALKING U.S. NATIONALS:

Antron Brown: “Our goal all season was to get into the Countdown as the number one seed. That’s been our game plan. Those extra points for being first in the regular season can be crucial.”

Alexis DeJoria:  “Winning Brainerd was a huge morale boost for our team. It definitely gave us a step up in confidence and came at a great time. Obviously we’re not safe in the Top 10, so we’re just going to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other. We’re not trying to get ahead of ourselves. It’s very exciting to go back to the U.S. Nationals and having a win under our belt there always helps. A lot of people are gunning for that 10th spot right now so we’ll see what happens.”