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.

The Reading event is a hometown race for Brown, a New Jersey native, and two of his longtime AB Motorsports supporters, Hangsterfer’s, which is headquartered in Mantua Township, N.J., and Streamlight of Eagleville, Pa.

“We’re excited. Excited for the start of the Countdown. Excited for fall weather. Excited to get back to the East Coast and race in front of a home crowd at Maple Grove Raceway, one of the race tracks I grew up going to near New Jersey. We’ll have a lot of family and friends from Jersey rooting us on, and great support from our great ABM partners. Matco Tools always has a strong group at Reading (Pa.), Streamlight, whose home office is less than an hour from the track in PA, our Hangsterfer’s friends who are headquartered in New Jersey, and Factory Motor Parts and the FVP brand will have a big presence as well. Our Pit-Side Experience hospitality tent will be the hot spot in the pits at Maple Grove. explain Brown.

As for our Matco Tools/Toyota/Lucas Oil dragster, excited is an understatement. We’re coming off those two great wins at Brainerd and Indy and we just want to keep that momentum going. Our main priority is to qualify well and take it one round at a time on race day. The team with Brian (Corradi), Mark Oswald and Brad (Mason) and all the Matco boys are doing such a great job. We’re gelling at the right time of the season and we’re hungry to chase another championship. It’s the first race of the Countdown, there’s a lot at stake. We finished second last year and we want to do one spot better this Countdown, but it’ll be tough. It’s a gauntlet of competition in this Top Fuel class. The competition has never been stronger and it’s going to be a major battle and whoever comes out on top at Pomona (Calif.) in November will have earned it.”

Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 3rd

Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Event Highlights: Two-time event champion (2015, 2016), Three-time runner-upTop Fuel (2012, 2013), Pro Stock Motorcycle (2004), Three-time No. 1 qualifierTop Fuel (2009, 2011), Pro Stock Motorcycle (2004)

2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Event Recap: Qualified eighth; Semifinal finish (defeated Josh Hart in E1, Brittany Force in E2; defeated by Austin Prock in E3)

Last Event (Indianapolis): Qualified 15th; Event champion (defeated Brittany Force in E1, Clay Millican in E2, Justin Ashley in E3, Steve Torrence in E4)

2023 Statistics: 15 races; three wins, two runner-up finishes, one No. 1 qualifier

Career Statistics: 498 races; 74 wins, 50 No. 1 qualifiers