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Antron Brown Advances to Semifinals from No. 4 Seed at NHRA Winternationals
NHRA Winternationals
Event 3 of 21
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip
Pomona, Calif.
March 31 – April 2
POMONA, Calif. (April 2, 2023) – After a disappointing first-round exit during the NHRA Arizona Nationals a week prior, Antron Brown and his Matco Tools Top Fuel team came out swinging this weekend at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. to rebound in a big way.
Leaving Phoenix, Brown had a goal of securing a ‘top five’ starting position at the series’ third event of the year. Last year’s Top Fuel runner-up began his weekend at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip by unloading with a stout pass in the first round of qualifying. Brown launched hard and kept his Matco Tools dragster hooked up to clock the third-quickest run of the session. His 3.730 E.T. held up to be the fourth-quickest run of qualifying, pitting him against No. 11 qualifier Doug Kalitta in the first round of eliminations.
The round-three showdown with Brown’s technical alliance teammate was a nail-biter of a race. Brown and Ashley were machine-like on the tree, posting nearly identical reaction times, but Ashley’s slight starting line advantage (0.047 vs. Brown’s 0.049) coupled with his 3.743-second E.T. gave him the slight edge to cross the beams first, defeating Brown in a race that was won by a mere eight-thousandths of a second.
“It was a good weekend here at Pomona for our Matco Tools team with Lucas Oil and Toyota and FVP and our great partners,” said Brown. “We came out and qualified where we wanted to and that’s in the top five. We got the No. 4 spot and felt good about it. We wanted to go for that No. 1 spot on Saturday and had a few gremlins, but threw down first round with that 3.69 for low E.T. (tied) with Brittany (Force) and a big mile per hour. We ran big speeds all weekend.
“I’m super pumped and super happy with how this team is progressing. We made the semifinals after a tough first-round race a week ago at Phoenix and made it into the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at Joliet (Ill.) in May. We’re looking forward to Vegas in a few weeks. It’s a four-wide event, and we love those and so do the fans.”
Brown and his No. 9 ranked AB Motorsports team will hit The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 14-16, where Brown returns as a five-time Las Vegas winner.
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.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.
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 71-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.
