National Hot Rod Association

It marked the second consecutive semi-final round showings for each as both made the finals at Englishtown a week ago.

Brown began the weekend as the number one qualifier for the fourth time in the last nine races. He then defeated Doug Kalitta in the first round before knocking off fellow Toyota driver Shawn Langdon in the second round. He then fell to Brandon Bernstein in the semi-finals.

A week after losing a thrilling final at Englishtown, Worsham advanced to the semi-finals in equally impressive fashion. Despite a strong fourth in qualifying, he drew series points leader Robert Hight in the first round and, for the second consecutive week, he eliminated the defending series champion. He then dispatched Jack Beckman in the second round before eventually losing to Tim Wilkerson in the semis.

Two more Toyota-sponsored drivers reached the second round today. Langdon advanced with a first-round victory over Terry McMillen before losing a tight match-up with Brown. His teammate, Morgan Lucas, also moved ahead to round two after upsetting fellow Toyota driver and series points leader Larry Dixon in the first round. Lucas’ run was strong enough to win lane choice for round two against Tony Schumacher, but after leading early, he lost the car midway through the run, smoking the tires in the process.

Toyota Camry Solara Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon was upset in the first round by his brother, Tony, after a season-best second in qualifying earlier in the weekend.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series moves on to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, to conclude a four-races-in-four-weeks stretch of the schedule with the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, June 25-27.

Toyota Drivers, Results – Thunder Valley Nationals Qual./Finish

Top Fuel
Antron Brown Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster 1/Semi-finals
Shawn Langdon Lucas Oil/Speedco Top Fuel Dragster 9/Second-round
Morgan Lucas GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster 14/Second-round
Larry Dixon Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel Dragster 3/First-round

Funny Car
Del Worsham Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Camry Solara Funny Car 4/Semi-finals
Cruz Pedregon Snap-On Tools Toyota Camry Solara 2/First-round

NOTES:

• Antron Brown’s appearance in the semi-finals is his fifth of the season. He also made the final at Gainesville, Charlotte, Houston and Englishtown
• Del Worsham’s semi-final run was his fourth of the season and his second in a row. He also qualified for the semi’s at Houston and Las Vegas in addition to his final appearance at Englishtown.
• When Morgan Lucas defeated Larry Dixon in round one Sunday, it snapped Dixon’s streak of seven consecutive races where he had advanced to the semi-finals or finals.

2010 Wins (6) - Larry Dixon, Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown
2010 Poles (7) - Antron Brown, Gainesville, Las Vegas, Topeka, Bristol; Larry Dixon, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago

Quotes:

Del Worsham, Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Camry Solara Funny Car: “This was good weekend for the Al-Anabi Racing Toyota team, and now we have two in a row.  We went to the finals last week in Englishtown and to the semifinals today in Bristol so our Al-Anabi team is moving in the right direction.  We are definitely looking forward to Norwalk this coming weekend. I’ve said all season that once we started winning some rounds, the wins would follow.  I think an Al-Anabi Funny Car win is just a matter of time now.”

Morgan Lucas, GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: "We made some progress this weekend. The biggest thing is that we were able to learn from our mistakes early in the weekend. Anytime you can beat someone as good as Larry Dixon, it’s an accomplishment. In the second round, we just lost the car half-way down the track.”

Shawn Langdon, Lucas Oil/Speedco Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: “We’ve struggled a little bit lately, so it was nice to move into round two, but then our qualifying on Friday came back left us with a difficult match-up. We ran a good drag race in the second round, but Antron was just a little bit faster. There’s nothing you can do about that. We had two solid runs today and our car continues to run well. We just need a little bit of luck to go our way, but we know we can contend."

Larry Dixon, Al-Anabi Racing Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: “The Al-Anabi Toyota team just missed the setup this weekend, and we weren’t able to advance to the second round.  We still have a great car and a great team.  The car has everyone’s full attention, and we’ll do everything we can to right the ship by the time we roll into Norwalk next weekend.  The Al-Anabi team will be ready to go when we get there.”