Antron Brown Advances to Final Elimination Quad in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (April 3, 2022) – Antron Brown advanced to the final elimination quad on Sunday afternoon at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, effectively improving his standing on the Top Fuel leaderboard by three positions.
The newly minted team owner was looking to rebound after a frustrating outing at the most recent NHRA race in Gainesville, Fla. and this weekend’s event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway appeared to be the ‘get healthy’ weekend Brown had been seeking. The three-time Top Fuel world champ posted the third-quickest run of the final qualifying session to place the Matco Tools dragster in the top half of the field, starting from the eighth seed on Sunday morning. Brown was first out of the gate during the first elimination round, and used that holeshot advantage to help him cross the finish line first, setting up a meeting with Clay Millican, Austin Prock, and Tony Schumacher in the second elimination quad. Once again, Brown’s machine-like reaction time coupled with a solid 3.749 E.T. helped him claim one of two win lights and earn a bid to round three.
The final elimination quad featured a juggernaut of heavy hitters with each lane occupied by a current or former world champion. Against Schumacher, Brittany Force, and Steve Torrence, Brown was quick off of the starting line but lost traction shortly after and was forced to give up the round win to Force and Torrence. By recording a semifinal appearance, Brown advanced into the Top 10, but he’s most impressed with the way his team was able to rebound and put together consistent full pulls throughout the weekend.
Qualified: No. 8 (3.762 E.T. at 324.98 MPH)
Elimination Round Results:
E1: 3.754 E.T. at 328.86 MPH defeated Tony Schumacher 3.880 E.T. at 310.13 MPH, Mike Salinas 3.779 E.T. at 326.32 MPH, BYE
E2: 3.749 E.T. at 320.20 MPH defeated Austin Prock 3.783 E.T. at 327.59 MPH, Clay Millican 3.786 E.T. at 323.89 MPH
E3: 5.086 E.T. at 154.65 MPH defeated by Brittany Force 3.718 E.T. at 338.000 MPH, Steve Torrence 3.756 E.T. at 326.71 MPH
Brown and the Matco Tools/Lucas Oil/Toyota team compete next at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Baytown, Texas, April 22 – 24.
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Point Standings (unofficial):
1 | Steve Torrence | 304 | |
2 | Brittany Force | 300 | |
3 | Mike Salinas | 297 | |
4 | Justin Ashley | 270 | |
5 | Clay Millican | 229 | |
6 | Austin Prock | 198 | |
7 | Tony Schumacher | 192 | |
8 | Josh Hart | 189 | |
9 | Doug Kalitta | 168 | |
10 | Antron Brown | 164 |
About AB Motorsports
Established in 2019 and making its on-track debut in 2022, AB Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Top Fuel team owned and operated by three-time world champion Antron Brown. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., the team competes on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Toyota, SiriusXM, Hangsterfer’s Metal Working Lubricants, and Summit Racing Equipment.Brown, who serves as both the owner and driver 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 68-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.