How ironic it is in the same week that former U.S. Army-sponsored teammate Angelle Sampey landed a new Pro Stock Motorcycle ride, Antron Brown pulled within two passes of earning his crossoverTop Fuel license. Brown completed three days of testing at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway on Wednesday making eight tries at the historic Gainesville quarter mile behind the wheel of the Lee Beard-tuned Matco Tools dragster.

The team battled cooler than normal temperatures during the first two days in Florida, limiting Brown to just four tries at the quarter mile on Monday and Tuesday. The low 50-degree temperatures created tricky track conditions causing tire-shake during the run. Wednesday’s warmer temperatures allowed the team to make four passes.

How ironic it is in the same week that former U.S. Army-sponsored teammate Angelle Sampey landed a new Pro Stock Motorcycle ride, Antron Brown pulled within two passes of earning his crossoverTop Fuel license. Brown completed three days of testing at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway on Wednesday making eight tries at the historic Gainesville quarter mile behind the wheel of the Lee Beard-tuned Matco Tools dragster.

The team battled cooler than normal temperatures during the first two days in Florida, limiting Brown to just four tries at the quarter mile on Monday and Tuesday. The low 50-degree temperatures created tricky track conditions causing tire-shake during the run. Wednesday’s warmer temperatures allowed the team to make four passes.

“The experience was a mind-blowing experience,” Brown said. “When I got to about 100 feet, it felt like the car went into warp drive. I love it. Our team is meshing together exceptionally well. I am looking forward to our next test session in January and to get the Top Fuel license.”

Brown’s lightning quick reaction times carried over from the Pro Stock Motorcycle class as he posted consistent reaction times. On Wednesday’s second run, the 16-time PSM winner drove the Matco-backed rail to the 330-foot mark clocking solid incremental numbers that equated to a high 4.4-second burst. On the final attempt, Brown made a 1,000-foot effort at 4.90 seconds at 205 mph. He was traveling more than 273 mph at half track on the pass.

“Antron looked like a seasoned veteran as he cut consistent reaction times in the .040-.050 range,” Beard said. “He did an outstanding job of driving the car straight and keeping it in the groove. His moderate runs that were necessary for his competition license had a .841 60-foot time, 2.15 to the 330 (foot), and the other run was a .848 60-foot, 2.16 to the 330 (foot), 3.08 at half-track with a speed of 273 and he shut off at the 1,000-foot clock and it ran 4.90 at 205 mph. Had he had drove it to the end, the numbers indicate it would have been good enough to run 4.53 to 4.54. He only needs to make two full runs to complete the criteria for a Top Fuel license and we feel confident that he’s ready to run to the finish line from here on out.”