BROWN MAKES NHRA HISTORY.(Competition)

Antron Brown became the first driver in NHRA history to win races in both Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Fuel, when he collected the Top Fuel trophy at Houston Raceway Park. Brown made the rare crossover from bikes to dragsters this past off-season and needed just four events to push his overall NHRA wins total to 17. He also became only the second black driver to win in Top Fuel, joining J.R. Todd.

In a very tight final, Brown, 34, trailed two-time champion Larry Dixon all the way down the dragstrip before passing him a few feet from the finish line to win by just 0.0004 second, 4.605 seconds at 320.28 mph to Dixon's 4.621 seconds at 309.06 mph.

Wildly popular sophomore Funny Car driver Ashley Force was denied a trophy for the second time in her young career, when she lost to a resurgent Del Worsham, who failed to qualify for the season's first two races. The daughter of 14-time champion John Force was late leaving the line (Worsham's 0.033-second reaction time crushed Force's 0.142- second start) and was outrun down the track. Worsham's Chevy Impala posted a 4.933-second run at 316.60 mph to Force's 4.971 seconds at 302.62 mph in her Ford Mustang.

Three-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson inched back into the championship points lead by three with his 53rd win. His final-round race was little more than a victory pass after opponent Kurt Johnson, the event's No. 1 qualifier, had trouble just off the launch pad and was forced to shut down his Chevrolet Cobalt. Anderson went on to post 6.692 seconds at 207.37 mph in his Pontiac G6.

JEAN-MARIE BALESTRE DIES

Jean-Marie Balestre died on March 27 at the age of 86. The fiery Frenchman served as president of FISA from 1979 to 1991 and as FIA president from 1986 to 1993.

Balestre was always a controversial figure, in part because he served during World War II in the French regiment of the Nazi SS. He was imprisoned when the nation was liberated in 1945 but subsequently convinced the authorities that he had been a double agent for the Resistance. He became a successful publisher, owning Auto Journal magazine and the Le Figaro newspaper. He became an official with the French national motorsports body in Paris, the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile, and was elected its president in 1973.