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Route 66 NHRA Nationals Preview - Antron Brown
Antron Brown on Joliet
"It's great to get back to Joliet (Ill.). We ran great there last year by getting the pole and to the final round. We've performed well there the past few years and won twice on the bike. It's an awesome facility where we can run some really strong numbers and the way our Matco Tools dragster ran at Topeka, we're licking our chops to get back out on the race track and do some work."
Brian Corradi (crew chief) on Joliet
"We're very excited about getting back to Joliet for the Chicago race. We ran very well there last year with qualifying first and getting to the final round. We came up short and our goal is to get our first win of the season this weekend. We ran great at the last race at Topeka (Kan.) and we feel this Matco Tools team has the total package to get it done at Joliet."
Antron Brown Joliet NHRA Notebook
Two weeks ago in Topeka, Kan., Brown raced his Matco Tools/U.S. Army dragster to its third No. 1 qualifying position of the season. It was his 24th career pole. Brown's qualifying pass, 3.785 seconds at 321.96 mph, set both ends of the Heartland Park Topeka track records. It equaled a person-best speed for Brown. On race day, Brown defeated veteran racer Luigi Novelli before a foul start against points-leader Larry Dixon ended his day in round two.
Last June at Route 66 Raceway, Brown earned his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the 2009 season. He paced the field with a Friday-evening blast of 3.826 seconds at 317.94. It set both ends of the Route 66 Raceway track records. On race day, Brown knocked off Novelli, Rod Fuller and Clay Millican before falling in a close match against 2009 Rookie of the Year Spencer Massey, 3.856 to 3.870.
Brown is a two-time winner at the ultra-fast Joliet track. The 24-time NHRA winner won two of his 16 career Pro Stock Motorcycle races at Route 66 Raceway. The Chicagoland track is one of five where Brown has won multiple races. In 12 tries at the Joliet race, he has an average qualifying position of 5.1 at Route 66 Raceway.
Brown, who won a category-best six races last season, enters the 10th race on the 2010 NHRA schedule ranked fifth in the Top Fuel standings. He trails two-time champion Larry Dixon by 253 points. Brown has three final-round appearances this season (Gainesville, Charlotte 1 and Houston) and three No. 1 qualifiers (Gainesville, Las Vegas 1 and Topeka). Last year, Brown had 10 finals and seven poles. His average qualifying position in nine races this year is 5.4.
Antron Brown... Did You Know?
- Brown was a track star at Mercer College in New Jersey competing in the 100 and 200-meters, long jump, and 55-meter indoor. He ran quick enough to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trails in the 100-meters.
- Brown's first team owner was former NFL star cornerback Troy Vincent.
- Brown is the only racer in NHRA history to win races (8 TF/16 PSM) in and lead the standings both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
- Brown's co-crew chief Mark Oswald won the 1984 NHRA Winston Funny Car championship.
- Brown's father, Al, and uncle, Andre, race a Top Sportsman dragster in NHRA Division 1 competition.
