Brown moves into series lead in Top Fuel with win

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) Antron Brown raced to his third Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals, moving into the series points lead in a tight battle with Doug Kalitta.

Brown earned his third Chicago win and 57th career victory with a final-round performance of 3.777 seconds at 321.19 mph in his dragster to hold off J.R. Todd, whose Kalitta Motorsports racer trailed with a 3.798.

''Chicago is incredible,'' said Brown, who with the win moved two points ahead of season-long leader Kalitta. ''We love coming here. This is the gladiator stadium. To be able to see all the Don Schumacher Racing cars run great today and to bring home a win for our boss man, Don Schumacher, at his home track is just awesome.''

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago.

Beckman defeated Ron Capps in the final. Beckman posted a winning time of 3.955 at 324.05 in a Dodge Charger, while Capps lost traction near the start. It was Beckman's first win of the season, 23rd of his career and first at this event.

Anderson claimed his sixth victory of the season in Pro Stock, defeating rising star Bo Butner in the final round. Anderson scored his 84th career win with a final round of 6.644 seconds at 209.01 in a Chevy Camaro. Butner trailed with a 6.667 in his Camaro. It was Anderson's eighth consecutive final-round appearance.

Hines claimed his second victory of the season and 44th of his career, tying him for most victories in the two-wheel class with the late Dave Schultz. He outran Angelle Sampey in the final round, clocking a 6.858 at 194.91 mph on his Harley-Davidson.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues July 22-24 with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.