Antron Brown Motorsports
Antron Brown Hits 800-Round-Win Milestone En Route to Thunder Valley Nationals Runner-Up Finish
BRISTOL, TN – Three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown bounced back from a challenging two days of qualifying at the NHRA 
Thunder Valley Nationals by taking his Matco Tools dragster to the final round Sunday evening at Bristol Dragway. He claimed his 800th round-win along the way before falling in an all-Toyota Racing final to technical alliance teammate Justin Ashley.
Hot track conditions tested many of the teams through Friday and Saturday qualifying, which also saw drivers complete eliminations from the rain-delayed New England Nationals. Brown bowed out of the Epping race in the second round, and his best of 3.907 seconds put him No. 15 on the final qualifying order for just the second time in his Top Fuel career.
“We got too aggressive on Friday night – the first run coming out – our car was on a .78 run and it didn’t make it because we were too aggressive,” Brown said. “We want to qualify well. We like to qualify in those top three spots. We want No. 1. We are going to go with that same attitude going into Norwalk. We are just going to scale it back.”
Antron Brown’s Week-Long New England Nationals Experience Ends in Second Round at Bristol
BRISTOL, TN – A hot, tricky race track stopped Antron Brown and his Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster in the second round of the rain-
delayed NHRA New England Nationals eliminations on Saturday afternoon at Bristol Dragway. Racing during qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Brown smoked the tires in his match with fellow multi-time world champion Steve Torrence.
Brown qualified No. 1 at New England Dragway last weekend before persistent rain pushed Sunday eliminations into Monday, then again to Bristol Dragway this weekend. It was a milestone achievement for the second-year team owner in multiple ways. Brown is now a 50-time No. 1 qualifier, with 39 of those in Top Fuel and 11 in Pro Stock Motorcycle. It was Brown’s first No. 1 qualifier award in nearly six years and the first for his Brownsburg, Ind.-based AB Motorsports operation.
As the No. 1 qualifier, Brown had a first-round bye run when eliminations got underway at Bristol on Friday. Crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald used the opportunity to test the track conditions, and Brown smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle. When eliminations continued on Saturday, Brown’s Matco Tools entry launched hard off of the starting line but eventually lost traction, slowing to a 4.442-second losing effort to Torrence, one of Brown’s Toyota Racing teammates.
Brown heads to Bristol looking for that Elusive first Win on the Mountain!
Bristol, TN – Brown, a three-time Top Fuel world champion, has won at every track along the current NHRA tour with the exception of 
Bristol, and the second-year team owner is hoping to capture that elusive first Thunder Valley Nationals victory in 2023.
Antron captured his 50th No. 1 qualifier (39th in Top Fuel) at the Epping, N.H. event and enters the weekend with 796 round wins and is seeking to become only the sixth driver in NHRA history to achieve 800 round wins.
“The weather is looking good this weekend, which is important because we have a lot of racing to get through. We were No. 1 qualifiers in Epping and we’ll start eliminations for that on Friday night. Teams will get one run down the track, and then it’s right into racing but for us, we have the added bonus of starting our eliminations on a Bye run, so we’ll actually get two shakedown runs during qualifying. I like the momentum we’re carrying from Epping into this race weekend. We had two tough qualifying runs up there in New Hampshire but we managed to get down both of them; from the hot round to the super cold, damp round where the track was hard like plastic. Our team is very versatile, we’re in a very good place and we like how everything is shaping up for this weekend in Bristol,” explained Brown
Due to persistent rain, last weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals from Epping, N.H. were postponed following Saturday qualifying. Eliminations will be contested this weekend during qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals as follows:
Antron Brown Earns Milestone 50th No. 1 Qualifier, First Since 2017, During NHRA New England Nationals
EPPING, NH – Antron Brown picked up his first No. 1 qualifier award in nearly six years on Saturday at the NHRA New England Nationals 
to score the 50th pole of his career. Aboard the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster, Brown powered his 11,000-horsepower machine to a 3.729 second at 329.99 mph pass during the weekend’s second qualifying session to earn his 39th Top Fuel pole (11 from Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Brown and the Brian Corradi/Mark Oswald-led team had to battle extreme weather conditions throughout the event’s abbreviated qualifying show to earn their first No. 1 qualifier award for Brown’s AB Motorsports organization, which made its on-track debut in 2022.
Friday’s lone qualifying session was contested in the heat of the day, with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, causing almost the entirety of the nitro field to struggle to make a clean pass. Brown was one of the few standouts, clocking a 3.899 at 310.98 mph run to earn two bonus points and the provisional No. 2 spot.
Brown and Crew Headed to New England Nationals
Epping, NH – Brown enters the weekend with 796 round wins and is seeking to become only the sixth driver in NHRA history to achieve 800 
round wins. He sees huge potential to make reach that goal at the New England Nationals in Epping this weekend.
“I’ve had a lot of good races at Epping, and we have a lot of good Matco support coming this weekend. We’re looking for this weekend to be a bounce-back for us as we get back in the swing of things. I like where our car is at right now, and our team is in a really good spot. We’re looking to come out there and qualify in the top five, and see what we can do on race day. The weather is going to be a little tricky on Friday but we’ll have cool weather for the weekend, so we’re looking for a really good show out,” explained Antron.
NHRA New England Nationals Event Highlights: 2016 event champion, Two-time runner-up (2017, 2018), 2014 No. 1 qualifier
2022 NHRA New England Nationals Recap: Qualified 10th; First round exit (defeated by Austin Prock in E1)
Antron Brown Finds Positives Despite First-Round Loss at Route 66 Nationals
JOLIET, IL – Antron Brown’s hopes for a triumphant return to Route 66 Raceway were dashed Sunday morning when he fell in the opening 
round of eliminations at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, the first NHRA national event at the Chicagoland track since 2019. He was one of numerous drivers to struggle to get down the track, ending a weekend that saw the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster show plenty of promise in qualifying.
Brown, who has won at Chicago three times in Top Fuel and twice in Pro Stock Motorcycle, made the quickest pass of the second qualifying session, a 3.736-second effort, to earn three bonus points. Another bonus point followed in the final session when Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald threw down a 3.720-second E.T. at 330.55 MPH to move up to the No. 5 spot for the Sunday show.
In the first round of eliminations, Brown and opponent Josh Hart both struggled to get traction. After pedaling his Matco Tools dragster for the second time, a quick flash of flames signaled the end of Brown’s day.
Brown Headed to the Windy City with Victory on His Mind
Joliet, IL – With five Chicago triumphs, Brown is tied with Tony Schumacher and Jeg Coughlin Jr. for winningest Camping World Series 
driver at the facility.
Brown enters the weekend with 796 round wins and is seeking to become only the sixth driver in NHRA history to achieve 800 round wins.
By advancing to the semifinal round during the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. earlier this season, Brown secured a spot in the Joliet Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge, scheduled for Saturday
“We haven’t been to Chicago in so long, and we’re all really looking forward to getting back there. Love the race track, the facility; I’ve always done well there. Our Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster is geared up for the race weekend. We’re coming off of some really good testing this week and we’re looking forward to being able to apply that once we get out there. Our main focus is to try and qualify well and get up there in the top five spots of qualifying with a shot to go for that No. 1 seed and then, we’ll see what we can do on race day. We’re going to have a sold out crowd in the AB Motorsports pit with all of our Matco distributors, Lucas Oil guests, Hangsterfer’s guests, so we’re super pumped to get out there and put on a great show.” explained Brown
Antron Brown Scores First Win of 2023 at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown raced to victory for the 72nd time in his career Sunday at the 
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Brown used consistency in his Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster to collect his fourth Las Vegas spring race win, though it’s his first four-wide triumph at the facility.
Brown started race day from the No. 9 position after posting a best run of 3.769 seconds at 333.00 MPH in the third qualifying session. In an ultra-competitive first-round quad with fellow world champions Brittany Force and Tony Schumacher, Brown advanced with a 3.780-second effort at 321.65 MPH to beat Schumacher’s 3.789 E.T. by .009 seconds, finishing .004 seconds behind Force. It was Force and Brown advancing in the second round too, as Brown left the starting line first and posted a 3.769 E.T. to move on over Leah Pruett and Rob Passey. Brown finished second behind Force by just .009.
Brown was the first to the finish line when it mattered: in the final round. He was the first off the starting line and laid down his best run of the weekend, a 3.760 E.T. at 319.75 MPH, to beat Steve Torrence’s 3.774 E.T., Force’s 3.769 E.T., and Josh Hart’s 3.791-second effort.
BROWN LOOKING FOR REDEMPTION IN POMONA AFTER EARLY EXIT IN PHOENIX
Pomona, CA – Antron earned his first No. 1 qualifier in the Top Fuel category during the 2008 Pomona 1 event. While Brown has been 
triumphant at Pomona, all three of his wins have come from the NHRA Finals event contested at the end of the season.
Brown explained how the team is looking for more great performance at the Winternationals, “I’m really looking forward to getting to Pomona. It’s pretty cool to be racing out here in late March. The weather is going to be phenomenal, low 60s. We’re coming off of a weekend where we had some really good performance out in Phoenix, and we’re looking to carry that into Pomona. The game plan is to qualify in the top three, and give ourselves a better spot and a better line of attack on the field. So, we’re going in, heads held up high, and we’re very optimistic for our Matco Tools/Lucas Oil/Toyota Top Fuel dragster, and we’re ready to go. Hopefully, this can be our breakout race and we’re looking for a lot of great things to happen this weekend.”
NHRA Winternationals Event Highlights: Two-time No. 1 qualifier (2008, 2009), Three-time runner-up (2009, 2012, 2015)
Antron Brown on the Bad Side of a Good Drag Race in Phoenix
CHANDLER, AZ – Three-time NHRA Arizona Nationals event champion Antron Brown started from the No. 9 seed for the final running of 
the Phoenix-area event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. He posted a 3.739 E.T. aboard his Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster to draw No. 8 qualifier Shawn Langdon as his first-round opponent.
Brown and Langdon were the first two competitors to hit the track on Sunday morning and kicked off the show with an exciting side-by-side race. The two Toyota Racing teammates charged hard down the track but despite clocking a strong 3.702-second at 332.34-mph pass, which held up to be the second-quickest of the session, Langdon’s slightly quicker reaction time helped propel him to the finish line first, ending Brown’s day early.
“We made some strides here at Phoenix after a tough first few qualifying laps,” said Brown, who earned his Top Fuel license at Wild Horse Pass in 2008. “Our performance definitely stepped up, and we ran the second-quickest pass of the first round and lost a really, really close race to Shawn Langdon after winning a really, really close one against those guys at Gainesville two weeks ago.
