Words and images courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

Antron Brown raced to his first win of the season in Top Fuel Sunday as racing came to an end at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Robert Hight and Jason Line were also winners in their respective categories at the second of 23 races in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season.

Brown held off fellow Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher in the final round when he powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.793-second pass at 319.82 mph. It was Brown’s first win of the season in his second consecutive final round appearance. It was also his 32nd career win, with 16 wins in Top Fuel and 16 wins in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“It was an incredible day,” said Brown. “The competition in Top Fuel now, pound for pound, is like a 324 mph Pro Stock class. Even though the odds were against us, we dug down deep and believed in our Matco Tools boys. We took it one round at a time and really had to battle with these guys. Making it to the final round for the second race in a row is a real huge statement. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish especially when the Countdown gets tight.”

The win moved Brown to the top spot in the Top Fuel standings, 32 points ahead of second-place Schumacher, who continued his winless streak to eight final round appearances. Schumacher’s last win came in Las Vegas in Oct. 2010. Fellow Don Schumacher Racing teammate Spencer Massey sits third after his second round appearance.

In Funny Car, Hight powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang past fellow John Force Racing teammate Mike Neff when he posted a 4.139 at 307.07 in the final round. It was Hight’s first win at Firebird International Raceway and 24th win of his career.

“It’s pretty exciting two weekends in a row having all-John Force Fords in the final,” said Hight. “You have to cherish that because you know that’s not going to keep happening. It’s tough to do. What’s really cool is I got in that Traxxas (Nitro) Shootout. When they show you the rules and there’s seven guaranteed in there – the first seven winners – that isn’t that easy. There’s a lot of good Funny Cars out here, so to get it this early, it’s a little relief.”

With the win Hight moved to second in the point standings behind teammate Neff. Team owner John Force sits third in the point standings, four points behind Hight. Force fell first round to daughter Courtney Force, who went on to her first career semifinal appearance.

Defending Pro Stock world champion Line held off fellow KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson to secure his first win of the season. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.558 at 211.69 past Anderson to secure his 28th career win and first at Firebird International Raceway.

“This is a great start,” said Line. “I felt like I had the best car at both races, but we just didn’t get the job done in Pomona. This was the first off-season we’ve had in a while without any tragedies, and I think it shows in how we’ve started off the year. All in all, it was a great day and a great weekend.”

With the win Line moved to second in the point standings, one point behind leader Anderson who made his second consecutive final round appearance of the season. Recent runner-up finisher Jeg Coughlin sits fifth in the point standings after his first round loss to Line.

Saturday

Johnny Gray held on to the No. 1 spot in Funny Car Saturday as qualifying came to an end at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Shawn Langdon and Mike Edwards also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the second of 23 races in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season.

Gray powered his Service Central Dodge Charger to a 4.074-second pass, the quickest lap of the weekend, at 298.93 mph Friday night and kept the top spot through Saturday qualifying to secure his second career No. 1 qualifying position.

“Rob (Wendland, crew chief) backed the thing down and got it ready for tomorrow,” said Gray. “He said we ought to run about a 4.12, and that’s what we ran, so we’re real confident going into tomorrow that we’ve got the Service Central/Big O car ready to compete. The car really ran good at the end of last year, and we runner-upped here last year. We just missed it by a hair in the final, so hopefully we can end up back there and learn from the mistake we made here last year and go ahead and win this thing.”

Gray will face Funny Car driver Grant Downing in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Recent race winner John Force qualified fifth in the field, while defending event winner Jack Beckman qualified sixth. Rookie driver Courtney Force raced to the 12th qualifying spot in the category, while Kalitta Motorsports driver Alexis DeJoria’s pass of 4.296 was not strong enough to secure her a spot in Sunday’s eliminations.

After setting the track record Friday night, Langdon kept his Al-Anabi Racing dragster in the top spot in Top Fuel through Saturday qualifying. Langdon’s Friday night pass of 3.754 at 323.12 stayed strong enough to secure him his second career No. 1 qualifying position.

“It feels great to qualify No. 1 in just the second race of the year,” said Langdon. “I’m still trying to process all this stuff and catch up with these (Al-Anabi team) guys. They are so good. Giving me such a good race car helps my confidence as a driver. Race day will be different than qualifying. There’s a lot more pressure. But it’s nothing that this team can’t handle. As a driver I will try to do the best job I can. I hope to move forward and get my first win.”

Langdon will pair up against Top Fuel pilot Troy Buff in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Three-time Firebird International Raceway winner Tony Schumacher secured the second spot in the field while Schumacher’s teammate Antron Brown locked in the fifth spot in the category.

In Pro Stock, Edwards took the top spot away from Friday qualifying leader Jason Line when he powered his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.536 at 210.80. The pass not only set the track record for time, but also secured Edwards his 40th career No. 1 qualifier, fourth consecutive at Firebird International Raceway and fifth overall at the track.

“There’s something about the desert,” said Edwards. “Our car seems to run really good here. I can’t put my finger on why this happens, but we even ran good in the heat here last year. Anytime that you can qualify No. 1, it’s really good for us. But we’ll have to work hard to stay up there, because Jason (Line) and Greg (Anderson) really came on strong in the final qualifying session.”

Edwards will face NHRA legend Warren Johnson in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. Line qualified second for the event and recent race winner Anderson qualified fifth. Eliminations for the NHRA Arizona Nationals begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

Friday

Shawn Langdon raced to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel Friday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.

Johnny Gray and Jason Line also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the second of 23 races in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season.

Langdon powered his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a track record 3.754-second pass at 323.12 mph. It was the fifth quickest run in NHRA Top Fuel history and moved the driver into the provisional top spot with two qualifying sessions left. If it stands, it would be Langdon’s second career No. 1 qualifying position.

“This is a great team to be a part of,” said Langdon. “It shows how great Brian (Husen, crew chief) and Alan (Johnson, team manager) are. I’m glad I had the chance to show off their efforts in the pits. I was very shocked by the run. I was thinking if we could go a 3.78 or a 3.79, that would put us in a good position for tomorrow. I don’t think there was a 3.74 left. I think they used up every bit of the run. Our goal now is to work on the consistency we need to put us in the winner’s circle.”

Recent winner Spencer Massey currently sits in the third provisional spot in the category, while seven-time Top Fuel world champion and three time winner at Firebird International Raceway, Tony Schumacher is second in the provisional field. Langdon’s fellow Al-Anabi teammate, Khalid alBalooshi, sits in the provisional 11th spot in the field.

Gray followed his runner-up finish at Firebird International Raceway in 2011 with the quickest lap of the day Friday. Gray powered his Service Central Dodge Charger to the top of the provisional field with a 4.074 at 298.93. If it stands it would be his second career No. 1 qualifying position.

“The Tire Kingdom/Service Central car is running really good,” said Gray. “It was running really good at the end of the year, and we’re hoping to carry that on. The thing came out and ran good. It dropped a hole on the first run and ran good on the second run. I actually had to shut the car off before the finish line because it was getting close to the wall, and I was fixing to get in trouble. If I can hold it in the middle, it out to be fast. There is more in the car, definitely.”

Gray’s fellow Don Schumacher Racing teammate and defending event winner Jack Beckman sits in the provisional seventh spot, while defending world champion Matt Hagan is in the provisional 10th spot. Recent O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals winner John Force is currently fourth in the provisional field.

In Pro Stock, Line followed up his No. 1 qualifying position at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona one week ago with the provisional top spot on Friday. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to the top of the pack with a pass of 6.553 at 211.00. If it stands it would be his second of the season and 26th of his career. It would also be his second No. 1 qualifier at Firebird International Raceway.

“It’s good that we qualified No. 1 (in both sessions) today, but it won’t stand,” said Line. “Tomorrow’s conditions will be better, and some of the other cars haven’t made their best runs yet. But it’s still fun to come up here for the No. 1 qualifier interview. I like visiting the press towers of all the different tracks.”

Line’s teammate and O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals winner Greg Anderson sits fourth in the provisional field, while former Pro Stock world champion Mike Edwards sits in the provisional second spot in the category. Qualifying will continue Saturday with sessions scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.