Sometimes it appears that people forget how good a driver Antron Brown is.
This weekend at the Texas FallNationals near Dallas, Brown reminded competitors that he’s still fully capable of adding a fifth NHRA Top Fuel crown to his resume.
In the finals, Brown clocked a 3.706-second elapsed time at 335.75 mph to defeat Maddi Gordon, who two-stepped on the starting line Sunday in the fourth race of the six-race Countdown to the Championship.
“This class is just really intense right now. But the thing about it is, we knew we had our work cut out for us,” Brown said. “Qualifying No. 4 definitely got where we wanted to, but we went up in the second round, and we got up there and we went against Leah [Pruett]. Man, we went 301 mph at half-track that round and went 3.69. So, we’re definitely getting the combination figured out. Brian [Corradi] is getting comfortable, him and Brad [Mason], [John] Medlen – this whole nucleus of a team that we have. The guys have been flawless putting this car together, and our clutch program is definitely coming around. And we just got to keep working on it, you know? We’re there, but we know we still got some more to go because those Kalitta cars are definitely the cream of the crop right now, and they’re showing it.”
On Sunday, Brown ousted Dan Mercier, Leah Pruett, points leader Shawn Langdon, and Gordon.
“When you look at it right now, Tony Stewart’s car had an incredible lap this weekend, too, and Mike Green and them are no joke,” Brown said. “So when you look at all the stuff that we’re going through right now, I like where we’re at, like where we’re heading at, and we just gotta keep going. We got Vegas up next, and there’s two more of these Diamond Wallys out there, and we just got to take it one round at a time. But our main focus is that we get to go in those races with confidence, and we know that we can compete, and we know we can win. And once this team gets a little motivation and drive and gets some confidence, we’re a tough competitor to compete with.”
This was 83rd career national event win – 67th in Top Fuel. His other 16 came in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. He won Top Fuel titles in 2012, 2015-16, and 2024.
“Well, it’s definitely going to carry over because we’re just going to keep working on the program that we’re working on right now and try to make it better,” Brown said. “And for us, man, we just want to peak at the right time every year. We thought we were going to peak right before the Countdown, but it just didn’t work out that way. We’re peaking right now, halfway through the Countdown, so it feels really good to get that going. And with two races left in the season coming up, with a short turnaround next season – that’s what a lot of people forget about. It’s going to be a short turnaround. We’re going to be out running again by the end of January and racing in mid-February.
“I like where we’re at, and we’re going to keep on just trying to prove things out and get even stronger because this is what it’s going to take. And next year, the teams are going to get even better. We know what’s ahead of us, and we know where we need to be, and we just gotta keep pressing that envelope.”
With two races remaining – Las Vegas (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) and Pomona, Calif., (Nov. 12-15) – Brown moved into third place in the season standings, 224 points behind Langdon, who won the first three races of the Countdown.
Winning in Dallas is meaningful to Brown since it was the site of his first national event win in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
“It is very, very special, and that’s a good question. And I remember 1999 coming here, winning, but everybody red-lit against me because they feared what was coming on that train,” Brown said. “And I went through all of them, Matt Hines in the semis, Angelle [Sampey] in the final, and all of them said, you know, I got lucky that day, because everybody was red lighting. They were scared. They need to be scared. I’m just joking, but the thing about it was that’s how tough it is. You got to be on time.
“And the Top Fuel class is the same way right now. Going through the rounds, I got to be on time. Leah was on time. Then we raced Shawn Langdon. It was a long tree, and me and him were turning sideways because the light was taking so long. And I think that’s what made everybody a little antsy this weekend. You saw in other classes where people were double-stepping, going red, because you have to be on time to get a win because the cars are that close in competition. And in the final, Maddi was pushing it, and that tree was a long tree, and you want to be on time. Everybody wants to win because they know how critical it is to make it to a final round and to win is a lot of pressure. Hats off to my team. And for me, I got a lot of laps in the car, so I’m like, ‘I only did what I could do.’ And it panned out, and we got that win.”
Although Brown’s season has been a grind, he never lacked confidence in his team’s ability.
“But you have to remember something, is that we come in, and you stay poised, you stay humble, and you stay hungry,” Brown said. “And it’s not a surprise for us to win a race. It’s just one of those deals we have to be patient for it to happen because we have all the parts. We have the pedigree to win championships. We’ve beat the best of the best numerous times to win races. This ain’t nothing new.
“So when we go up against somebody like Shawn Langdon, you gotta throw it all out there. Me and Shawn had some monumental matchups. And a lot of people don’t even realize in Gainesville, when we came out the first race of the year – not this year, but the year before – we both went – I think we went 66 or 67 to his 68, and we were both dropping 0.30s and 0.40s on the tree. And we did the same thing in that semifinal matchup here. And then when he lined up against Leah, that’s a showstopper too. And Maddi with Rob Flynn, they’re no joke, either. So when you go up against them, to beat the best, you have to show up and try to be the best.”
