Fresh off his victory at Bristol, Antron Brown could have spent the off weekend relaxing before returning to Top Fuel competition. Instead, the four-time world champion found himself doing something few expected: chasing dial-ins instead of elapsed times at a big-money bracket race.
Brown traded 330-mph, heads-up racing for the highly-competitive bracket racing competition at the Triple 20 Granders in Martin, Mich. The results weren’t what he’s accustomed to on the national stage, but the lessons were worth every early-round loss.
“Man, it was a blast,” Brown said. “We were in Martin, Michigan, and we ran the Triple 20 Granders up there.”
The event marked just the second time Brown had seriously immersed himself in bracket racing. His first experience came only weeks earlier at a TMB Promotions Twin 50s event in the St. Louis area, giving him another opportunity to sharpen a different set of driving skills.
For Brown, the appeal goes beyond prize money. It’s another way to challenge himself behind the wheel. And, he’s been challenged a lot lately racing both Pro Modified and small-tire doorslammers in the eighth-mile. He’s been up close and personal with bracket racing while traveling with his son Anson.
“I got my feet wet,” Brown said. “That was my second bracket race that I actually race-raced in.”
His schedule may include another stop if Mother Nature cooperates and he’s not talking about the wet stuff. Though Brown is conditioned as an athlete for the heat, it doesn’t mean the multi-tiume Top Fuel champion has a hankering to drag race on the surface of the sun if he doesn’t have to.
“I got another one coming up this weekend,” Brown said. “We’re going to head down to TMB 100K, the other beach [Beech Bend Raceway] event, as long as the weather is right. It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees. Over 100 degrees, AB ain’t going.”
Brown laughed before explaining why. And it was Brown, being his usual comedic self in delivering an explanation.
“That’s called pass-out stroke weather.”
Success, in the dial-in arena, however, didn’t come nearly as easily as it does in Top Fuel.
“I lost everywhere you could think about, brother,” Brown admitted.
Even so, Brown began piecing things together as the weekend progressed. By the final day, he advanced to the money round before narrowly coming up short.
“The good part, on the last day, I made it down to the money round,” Brown said. “I made it to the fifth round and I lost, and then God pulled me over and I broke out two more thou than he did.”
The margin was painfully small.
“We both had really good lights, and if I should just let him take the stripe, I could have came home three grand richer.”
Somehow the idea of letting another driver take the stripe is outside of Brown’s nature but he’s been spending time learning another of drag racing. He has been busy staring down the steep learning curve bracket racers face every round. One mistake on the starting line, one misjudged finish-line decision or one thousandth of a second can erase an otherwise perfect run.
“The first day, I think I made it to the third or fourth round,” Brown said. “Second day, I stunk it up. I lost my entries right in the third round.”
By Sunday, he finally felt the pieces beginning to come together.
“I got my act together, started putting together some really good packages,” Brown said. “I was giving the stripe away where I was red lighting by two thou, then I had a good tree. Then I took too much stripe, then I lost another one when I gave it back. I couldn’t shake the dog off me.”
The experience also reinforced something Brown never expected to say. After decades of mastering heads-up racing, he believes bracket competition demands an entirely different level of precision.
“Oh, it’s way easier doing heads-up racing,” Brown said. “Them bracket racing racers are no joke, man.”
The numbers backed up his newfound respect.
“I lost with a .014 package,” Brown said. “I lost with a .012 package in one round. too.”
For a driver accustomed to winning championships, the weekend wasn’t measured by round wins. It was measured by what he learned.
“So when you go out there, it’s cutthroat,” Brown said. “I’ll tell you what, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun trying to get the car to run on the money, and then when you get the car to run on the money, you got to be on the money, and everything’s got to line up for it to be right. Some rounds, you’re really good, and some rounds, you need a little luck.”
