NHRA Reading Pre-Race Report
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals
Event 16 of 21
Countdown Event 1 of 6
Maple Grove Raceway
Reading, Pa.
Sept. 15 - 17, 2023
ANTRON BROWN: Driver of the Matco Tools 'Test Drive' Top Fuel Dragster
Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 3rd
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Event Highlights:
Two-time event champion (2015, 2016)
Three-time runner-up
Top Fuel (2012, 2013)
Pro Stock Motorcycle (2004)
Three-time No. 1 qualifier
Top 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
Noteworthy:Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 3rd
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Event Highlights:
Two-time event champion (2015, 2016)
Three-time runner-up
Top Fuel (2012, 2013)
Pro Stock Motorcycle (2004)
Three-time No. 1 qualifier
Top 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
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.
Quotable:
“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.
“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.”
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 74-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.
For more information, visit www.antronbrown.com or @antronbrown on Twitter, and @antronbrowntf on Instagram and Facebook.
