GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 10, 2024) – The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season got off to a strong start for Antron Brown, driver of the 45th anniversary Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster. Racing at the NHRA Gatornationals, Brown won the $80,000-to-win Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout specialty race on Saturday before reaching the Gatornationals semifinals Sunday afternoon at Gainesville Raceway.
Brown and his AB Motorsports team qualified for the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout based on their 2023 performance. He knocked out three fellow past world champions – Shawn Langdon, Steve Torrence, and Brittany Force – to win the special race within a race. Brown’s 3.709-second effort at 332.43 MPH in the Callout final against Force moved him from No. 14 to No. 4 on the final qualifying order.
Brown’s winning ways continued Sunday morning in the first round of eliminations when opponent Tripp Tatum went red, while Brown raced to a 3.730-second pass at 333.00 MPH to earn lane choice over Josh Hart in the second round. Brown and Hart left the line with nearly identical reaction times before Hart started to lose traction. Brown matched his first-round performance with a 3.730 E.T. at 332.84 MPH to finish ahead of Hart’s 3.866 E.T. In a semifinal rematch of the Callout first round, Brown drove into tire smoke next to Shawn Langdon’s winning 3.702-second pass.
“The main thing is that we came here and we just went to work,” Brown said. “Our guys were resilient. They just never stopped, so hats off to them. Representing Matco Tools, we come out to the Gatornationals, one of the most prestigious races, and win the Pep Boys Callout and qualify No. 4 in a stacked field and make it down to the final four on race day. You see all the positives. We’re just building and growing on everything that we’re doing, and we’re working to get better and better and better.”
Brown reiterated the pride he has in his AB Motorsports team, which is embarking on its third season in Top Fuel competition. That includes the team’s partners like Matco Tools, the tool brand that started its 17th season with the three-time Top Fuel world champion by debuting a special Matco Tools ‘45th anniversary’ livery in Gainesville.
“I love where we’re at right now,” said Brown, who made his NHRA debut at the 1998 Gatornationals in Pro Stock Motorcycle. “We have some momentum building up. The team is incredible right now, just seeing the synergy of all the guys working together and everybody pulling together. It was great seeing our Matco distributors and all the Hangsterfer’s folks that came out, along with our partners at FVP, Summit Racing, and Lucas Oil. Toyota was here, and to be in a semifinal round with all Toyota cars, that tells you how strong the team is.”
Brown, who leaves the Gatornationals fourth in the points standings, will compete next at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, March 22-24, at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.
Qualified: No. 4 (3.709 E.T. at 323.43 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.730 E.T. at 333.00 MPH defeated Tripp Tatum (foul, red light)
E2: 3.730 E.T. at 332.84 MPH defeated Josh Hart 3.866 E.T. at 298.14 MPH
E3: 5.731 E.T. at 122.40 MPH defeated by Shawn Langdon 3.702 E.T. at 336.74 MPH
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Point Standings (Unofficial):
1 Shawn Langdon 125
2 Billy Torrence 96
3 Steve Torrence 86
4 Antron Brown 76
5 Mike Salinas 60
6 Justin Ashley 53
6 Doug Kalitta 53
8 Josh Hart 52
9 Tony Schumacher 34
10 Tony Stewart 32
Twitter
Link
Facebook
Website
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 Mission Foods 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, Summit Racing Equipment, Streamlight, Western Technical College, Fire Dept. Coffee, GovX.com, and Genesis Attachments.
Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, AB Motorsports made its on-track debut in 2022 and has collected six wins in nine final rounds throughout its first two seasons.
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. In addition to his 50 No. 1 qualifier awards, 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 his first NHRA Top Fuel series title in 2012.
In 2023, Brown launched the AB Motorsports Accelerate Program, an all-encompassing driver development initiative aimed at helping racers advance in their careers. Three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey was the first athlete to join the Accelerate Program. She competed in three Top Alcohol Dragster events in 2023 with plans to run a full-season campaign in 2024 as she progresses toward the premier Top Fuel class.
Author
Discover more from The Racing Times Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
