Antron Brown Motorsports
Tricky Track Stops Antron Brown in Second Round at NHRA Midwest Nationals
MADISON, IL – Antron Brown rolled into World Wide Technology Raceway for the NHRA Midwest Nationals as the winningest nitro-class 
driver at the St. Louis-area facility. All signs were pointing to another victory until Brown’s pink Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ Top Fuel dragster hazed the tires in a second-round loss on Sunday afternoon. He did maintain his No. 5 points position, though, as the NHRA Camping World Series heads into the final three races of the Countdown to the Championship.
The Midwest Nationals was the debut weekend for the new ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery, which will adorn Brown’s Matco Tools/Sirius XM/Toyota/Hangsterfer’s dragster throughout October to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). Since ‘Tools for the Cause’ began in 2012, Matco has donated over two million dollars to breast cancer research. Throughout October, 15% of the sales from select Tools for the Cause items sold will be donated directly to BCRF.
Brown, a five-time winner at St. Louis, started his weekend on the right foot by making the third-quickest pass of the first qualifying session, a 3.714-second run, to earn one bonus point on Friday. He came out in the second session on Saturday and laid down a 3.810 E.T., the quickest pass of the session, to score another three bonus points. A 3.769-second pass followed in the third and final session. Brown’s pass in the first session held up for the No. 3 spot on the final qualifying order.
Career-Best E.T. in Qualifying Highlights Antron Brown’s NHRA Carolina Nationals Weekend
CONCORD, NC – Though Antron Brown didn’t go back-to-back at the betway NHRA Carolina Nationals, the four-time event champion did 
celebrate multiple career milestones at the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship. Racing in his 500th professional event, Brown set a new career-best E.T. in his Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ Top Fuel dragster before bowing out in the second round of eliminations Sunday at zMAX Dragway.
Brown was the provisional No. 5 qualifier after Friday’s lone qualifying session, where he recorded a 3.703-second pass at 332.10 MPH. Dropped cylinders in the second session on Saturday forced Brown to let out early. His career-best 3.655 E.T. in the final session was the second-quickest pass of the session, giving Brown two bonus points. The pass also moved Brown up to the No. 2 spot, setting up a first-round match with Spencer Massey.
With the confidence boost from a career-best performance in the final session, Brown kept the momentum going in the first round of eliminations when he posted a 3.686 E.T. at a huge 337.24 MPH to defeat Massey and his 3.745-second effort. That was the quickest pass of the round, giving Brown lane choice in his second-round pairing with fellow championship contender Leah Pruett. Brown grabbed a starting-line advantage over Pruett before losing traction and coasting through the finish line behind Pruett.
Antron Brown Not Slowing Down Championship Chase Despite Quarterfinal Exit at Maple Grove
MOHNTON, PA – Antron Brown was looking for a third consecutive event win to start the NHRA Countdown to the Championship at the 
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, but a close second-round match with fellow multi-time world champion Steve Torrence didn’t go Brown’s way. The quarterfinal performance showed the potential in Brown’s Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ Top Fuel dragster, so he’s confident his AB Motorsports team is ready to continue the Countdown portion of the NHRA Camping World Series season.
Brown, who went into the weekend ranked third in points, opened Friday qualifying with the second-quickest pass of the session to pick up two bonus points. He was the fifth-quickest in the second session with a 3.716-second pass at 321.50 MPH, which held up for the No. 5 qualifying position on the final qualifying order after two more sessions on Saturday. Brown suffered a supercharger backfire on the third session and wounded an engine on the final attempt, though his Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ team led by Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald worked hard to get the car right for race day.
FRESH OFF INDY WIN BROWN READY FOR MAPLE GROVE AND THE COUNTDOWN
Reading, PA – Antron Brown is seeking his third consecutive event win this weekend after having powered to victory in Indianapolis and 
Brainerd, Minn., the two most recent events on tour. Brown’s Indianapolis triumph was his 74th national event win overall (16 Pro Stock Motorcycle wins). He will be seeking a milestone 75th victory this weekend in Reading.
Reading marks the start of the 2023 NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Brown begins the Countdown from the No. 3 seed. In 2022, Brown began the Countdown ranked fourth and closed out the season in second place with 12 Countdown round-wins (incl. a win at Charlotte 2 and runner-up finish at Pomona 2).
The second-year team owner is pursuing a fourth series title and the first for AB Motorsports. Brown is a 15-time Countdown event winner, the most of any Top Fuel or Funny Car driver. Brown raced to the Reading winner’s circle in 2015 and 2016, and both of those seasons ended with Brown and the Matco Tools team being crowned the series champions.
Antron Brown Goes Back-to-Back at NHRA U.S. Nationals
INDIANAPOLIS – Despite starting race day from the No. 15 spot at the 69th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway 
Park, Antron Brown and his Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ Top Fuel team never counted themselves out. The defending event champion bounced back from a rough start in qualifying by racing to victory yet again on Monday afternoon, winning the prestigious U.S. Nationals for the fifth time as a driver and the second time as a team owner.
Brown returned to Indy, the home of his AB Motorsports team, as the most recent winner on tour after winning the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. He didn’t make it down the track on Friday’s first qualifying attempt, but came back on Saturday to record a 3.858-second pass in the second session. In the process, he beat Mike Salinas on a holeshot in the first round of the final Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season. Brown improved in the third session, but it wasn’t quick enough to qualify, nor to beat technical alliance teammate Justin Ashley in the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. A cylinder out at the step of the throttle in the fourth qualifying session on Sunday prevented Brown from bumping into the field. With the pressure on, Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald laid down the fourth-quickest pass of the final session, a 3.806 E.T., to secure the No. 15 spot.
BROWN AND CREW LOOKING FOR WIN #5 AT THE US NATIONALS
Indianapolis, IN – Antron returns as the defending event champion. At the 2022 event, Brown powered his Matco Tools Toyota to the 
winner’s circle, earning the first U.S. Nationals triumph for his AB Motorsports team. It was a milestone 70th victory for Brown, and his fourth Indy title.
Brown enters the event as the most recent Top Fuel winner on tour after racing to victory at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
By advancing beyond the quarterfinals in Brainerd, Brown secured a spot to compete in the last Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge of the year.
Brown begins the final race of the NHRA’s ‘regular season’ ranked third in the Top Fuel standings.
The U.S. Nationals is a hometown event for AB Motorsports, which is headquartered three miles away from the famed Indy dragstrip in Brownsburg.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Icon Angelle Sampey Earns A/Fuel License as Part of Antron Brown’s New AB Motorsports Accelerate Program
Brown Launches Accelerate Program Aimed at Helping Racers Advance in their NHRA Careers
BROWNSBURG, IN – Three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey is trading two wheels for four, as she 
recently earned her Top Alcohol Dragster license. Sampey is the first athlete to join former teammate Antron Brown’s new AB Motorsports Accelerate Program, an all-encompassing driver development program. Sampey plans to run three events in an A/Fuel Dragster this season to prepare for a full season campaign in 2024. The long-term goal is for Sampey to move up to Top Fuel as an AB Motorsports teammate to Brown.
Sampey has performed the warmup procedures in Brown’s Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster several times this season to get comfortable in the seat of a nitro-burning dragster. After the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, Sampey strapped into Jasmine Salinas’ Scrappers Racing A/Fuel Dragster to start the licensing process, which she completed Wednesday, Aug. 23 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
“Today was one of the most exhilarating days I’ve ever had,” Sampey said after her first licensing passes. “I felt every emotion I can think of. My nerves were so bad, but I was determined to overcome them. After two runs I thought to myself, ‘this isn’t for me,’ but I kept going because I knew I was capable and it was just a matter of time until my brain would catch up. It’s been nine months since I’ve been down the track, and today I went faster at the eighth-mile mark than I’ve ever been at the quarter. After the third and fourth runs I knew that Antron was right, and I would enjoy it.”
Antron Brown Doubles Up at Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd
BRAINERD, MN – Just a day after winning his first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory 
Sunday afternoon at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The win gave Brown and his Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ team a boost of momentum – and a move up to third in points – as the NHRA Camping World Series heads to Indianapolis for the final race of the regular season before the Countdown to the Championship begins.
Brown’s stellar weekend at Brainerd began in the first qualifying session when he recorded his quickest pass in qualifying, a 3.780 E.T. at 327.27 MPH. While he didn’t improve in the next two sessions, he did secure his first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory in his fourth appearance in the race-within-a-race series. In the third qualifying session, which doubled as the first round of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Brown defeated points leader and technical alliance teammate Justin Ashley. He followed that up with another win light over defending world champion Brittany Force to secure the $10,000 check and three championship bonus points.
Racing out of the No. 6 spot on Sunday, Brown started the day with a 3.689-second pass to defeat Shawn Langdon and tie Clay Millican for the quickest pass of the round. Brown used a holeshot advantage over Steve Torrence to win with a 3.738 E.T. over Torrence’s quicker 3.716. Crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald stepped back up for the semifinals, tuning the Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ machine to a 3.708-second win over Mike Salinas and his 3.710 E.T., sending Brown to his fourth final round of the season.
Antron Brown and the Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ Top Fuel Dragster Team Head to Brainerd
Brainerd, MN – Brown enters the event ranked fourth following a semifinal appearance in Topeka, Kan. and a runner-up finish in Sonoma, 
Calif., the two most recent events on tour.
By advancing to the semifinals in Topeka, Brown secured a spot in Brainerd’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, slated for Saturday. Antron has been victorious in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories at Brainerd.
FMP and its FVP brand, a major partner of AB Motorsports, is based in Eagan, Minn.
Antron talks about Brainerd, “Brainerd has always been a really good race for us. I remember setting what was the national record at the time there – 3.680 and beating J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations (2015, E1). I’m going to keep my head down, just like my team, and we’re going to focus. We’ve always done well at Brainerd and it’s a Lucas Oil track, one of our major sponsors, so we’re looking to go out there and give it all we’ve got. We have FVP and Factory Motor Parts coming out in full force and we’re looking forward to doing what we do, like Ray Charles, and having some fun. We want to qualify well, compete at a high level and see if we can make it to that final round and make it happen.”
Antron Brown Moves Up to Fourth in Points with Semifinal Finish at Topeka
TOPEKA, KS – As the defending event champion, Antron Brown has fond memories of Heartland Motorsports Park, which hosted its final 
Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor this weekend. Brown scored his first win as a team owner at Topeka last year, and he came up just two win lights short of another victory during Sunday’s rain-delayed eliminations. Brown’s Matco Tools ‘Test Drive’ Top Fuel dragster made its quickest pass of the event in the semifinals, but it wasn’t enough to drive around technical alliance teammate Justin Ashley.
Brown started qualifying with a tire-hazing attempt on Friday. He improved in the second session, which doubled as the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, though he wasn’t quick enough to beat fellow Toyota driver Steve Torrence. Brown and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald came back for the final qualifying session and posted a 3.864 E.T. at 322.65 MPH to qualify No. 11.
After rain showers delayed Sunday’s first round of eliminations, Brown improved upon his qualifying effort with a 3.810-second pass at 326.79 MPH to get past Mike Salinas. In the second round, Brown and opponent Austin Prock left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times. Brown powered past a tire-smoking Prock with a consistent 3.811-second effort, earning a spot in the next Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in the process. Semifinal opponent Justin Ashley grabbed a starting line advantage that made a difference at the finish line, as Brown’s quickest pass of the weekend, a 3.711 E.T., lost to Ashley’s 3.726-second effort by just five-thousandths of a second.
