It is the elephant in the room. Or in this case, the new team in the pits.

Antron Brown is gearing up to leave Don Schumacher Racing after a long and storied run with the company, winning championships with the team in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Brown, who has 52 wins in Top Fuel, will be starting up his own operation in 2022 under the banner of the AB Motorsports Top Fuel team. Brown will be taking with him his entire operation and crew as the team ventures out into the wild, wild west of team ownership.

“I’ve always been excited. It has been a dream of mine for years. And not just me, but Brian Corradi, Brad Mason, Mark Oswald, this whole Matco Tools team that we have together,” Brown said. “Of course, it is not just excitement. We are nervous. It is a big deal to do this and it is going to take each and every one of us. It is going to take all of the guys on this team digging deep and pulling together to make this happen. Being out here with all of our partners and people from Matco, this is what we live for.

“They all own their own businesses and they have been pushing me for years to follow in their footsteps. And that is exactly what I am doing.”

While it is nothing new for a driver or crew to break away from a larger team to start their own operation, in each of those instances the results have been mixed. Some have found success, while others have not. But Brown is determined not to measure his successes or failures based on past precedent. He knows that his situation is unique and he is determined to see it work on and off the track.

“At the end of the day, everybody’s scenario and situation is totally different,” Brown said. “Ours is no different. We are on a whole different end of the realm and the main thing is having a team. Having those partners that stand behind you and are part of your brand. We’ve got a lot of great partnerships that are chipping in and a lot more that will be announced at the end of this year.

“We are very stoked and very blessed and honored to represent the people that we do right now. The partners that have been behind us for all of those years. They are carrying us to the next level.”

Of course, while it is fully out in the open that Brown is leaving DSR at the end of the season, it is far from the end of the relationship.

Brown will use Schumacher parts and pieces and lean heavily on his old team to make his new venture work in 2022 and beyond. And that has made it easier to treat the coming months as more of a branching out rather than a full breakup with the company.

“It is never going to be a farewell tour with this group. We are going to be leaning heavily on DSR to make this thing work,” Brown said. “We will still have our foot in the door. It is kind of like when a dad says, ‘son, you are on your own now,’ but at the same time I’m still leaning on them to get through and help us. It is truly a special relationship.”

And relationships are what make a race team.

While there is plenty on the mind of Brown as he balances his plans for 2022 while also campaigning a championship-contending ride this year, Brown could be seen in the pits taking the time to show a young intern the ins and outs of the car. It was just another example of how Brown doesn’t let the big things get in the way of what is most important - the team.

“At Don Schumacher Racing we have an internship with Western Tech. We have a new Western Tech puts all of these students in real life situations so they can be successful. They get to come out here and be on the road with us for three weekends and what you saw was a new intern who is learning what we do out here on a routine basis,” Brown said. “It is so cool to see them pick it up so quickly because they always send us the best of the best. I could see him being out here really soon on a race team working if that is what he chooses to do. We try to show them every aspect of the car and make them appreciate what it takes to make these things go. And when you train up good crew members, that is how you have a championship-caliber team.”

Brown put in a good showing for his DSR team this weekend, placing his Matco Tools dragster sixth on the ladder with a 3.790 at 317.87 mph. He will face Doug Kalitta in round one on Sunday.