SONOMA, Calif. -- When Antron Brown and Spencer Massey met in the final round of Top Fuel in the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway, they did more than settle the matter of victory for that event. They served drag racing fans a glimpse of the race to the 2012 championship.

Brown’s victory left the drivers tied at the top of the category standings and both have clinched berths in the NHRA’s Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Tony Schumacher also has a Countdown berth.

Brown was one of five drivers to win at Sonoma on Goodyear tires, the best showing among tiremakers. Goodyear-shod drivers won in both the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for professional teams and in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series for sportsmen.

The other Goodyear-equipped winners at Sonoma were Johnny Gray (in Funny Car) and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) in the professional categories, plus Justin Lamb (Super Stock) and Rob Willis (Super Gas).

Brown’s victory at Sonoma was his fourth of the season and the 19th of his Top Fuel career. But he and Massey are tied atop the standings as the series races toward the third leg in the Western Swing at in Washington.

Gray beat Matt Hagan in the Funny Car final. Robert Hight leads the standings with 1,112 points. Ron Capps is second with 1,031. Hight and Capps are the only Funny Car drivers in the Countdown field so far.

Johnson defeated Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock final. Johnson leads the standings with 1,234 points and Anderson is next with 1,180. Both are in the Countdown, along with Jason Line, Mike Edwards and Vincent Nobile.

Lamb’s victory in Super Stock was his ninth in national event competition. His margin of victory was estimated at seven inches by tracksiders.

Willis’ win was his first in a national race.

More information about Goodyear Racing is available at www.racegoodyear.com. More information about the NHRA is available at www.nhra.com.

Goodyear employs about 73,000 people at manufacturing plants and facilities in 22 nations. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is among the largest tiremakers in the world and is the world-wide leader in race tire innovation.