Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Event 6 of 21
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
May 19 – 21, 2023
Antron Brown Finds Positives Despite First-Round Loss at Route 66 Nationals
JOLIET, Ill. (May 21, 2023) – 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.
“The track threw us a curveball, like many (in the first round),” Brown said. “And for me, it's my fault. I just pedaled it too quick. If I had pedaled it right, I think that we would’ve had a good chance of winning that round. We tore some stuff up, but I'm going to learn and work on my end. We just need to keep it going and just figure out how we can get better. We're definitely going to be better, and I'm looking forward to going to Epping. We have these next couple of weeks to get our stuff back together. There’s still a lot of racing left, so I’m just going to suck it up and get after it.”
While it was an early end to eliminations, Brown is pleased with the momentum his AB Motorsports team built up in qualifying. It was the second time this season the multi-time world champion has qualified in the top five.
“We definitely made some strides and we got a positive out of this weekend where we qualified in the top five,” said Brown, who already has one win in his second season as a team owner. “We got four bonus points and we're learning how to run our car. We're coming into our combination. It's only a matter of time until we hit it off.”
Brown and the Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster will be back on track in two weeks at the NHRA New England Nationals, June 2-4, at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
Qualified: No. 5 (3.720 E.T. at 330.55 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.756 E.T. at 184.85 MPH defeated by Josh Hart 4.390 E.T. at 198.85 MPH
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
| 1 | Steve Torrence | 437 | |
| 2 | Brittany Force | 420 | |
| 3 | Austin Prock | 410 | |
| 4 | Justin Ashley | 406 | |
| 5 | Leah Pruett | 403 | |
| 6 | Antron Brown | 345 | |
| 7 | Josh Hart | 342 | |
| 8 | Mike Salinas | 340 | |
| 9 | Shawn Langdon | 296 | |
| 10 | Doug Kalitta | 293 | |
| 11 | Clay Millican | 273 | |
| 12 | Tony Schumacher | 213 |
About AB Motorsports
Established in 2019, AB Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Top Fuel team owned and operated by three-time world champion Antron Brown. The team competes on the 21-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Toyota, SiriusXM, Factory Motor Parts and its FVP brand, Hangsterfer’s Metal Working Lubricants, and Summit Racing Equipment.Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., AB Motorsports made its on-track debut in 2022, racing to three wins in four final rounds to finish second in the standings in its rookie season.
Brown, who serves as both the driver and owner of the AB Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, is the only competitor in NHRA history to have won races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories. Brown is a 72-time NHRA national event winner and became the first Black driver to win a major U.S. auto racing championship when he captured the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel series title.
