Back in the day, drag racing had its beer wars with Budweiser versus Miller vs Old Milwaukee vs. Stroh’s. Although the tool manufacturer sponsors have been over for over two decades, the field is as crowded as ever with Matco vs. Mac, Cornwell vs. Snap-on, and Powerbilt vs. Trick Tools.
In 2024, Tool Sponsors took home series championships with Antron Brown and Austin Prock. A year earlier, Doug Kalitta won the Top Fuel World Championship.
Friday night, the Matco Tools-sponsored driver since 2008, Brown was holding court with the media when a reporter asked him about the Tool Wars in comparison to the Beer Wars of the 1990s.
Brown was quick to point out that Matco Tools and Mac were once aligned.
“They were brother companies in the 1970s,” Brown counseled.
Mac Allied Tools Corporation, combined their name with the parent compay Mac Tools to form the company’s name, Matco, in 1946 and began selling direct to professional mechanics in 1979. Originally, Matco was the box manufacturing division of Mac Tools. However, they have not been associated with Mac since Matco Tools was formed in 1979.
And, as Brown sees it, that makes them rivals on and off the track.
“When I look at them, I see rival…” Brown explained. “Cornwell Tools, in another class, that’s a rival. You want to do all you can to shine. Our distributors go out and have that [World Champion] banner when they roll up at their stop. They are like, ‘We’re champs.”
Matco is the only Top Fuel sponsor Brown has known since he first came into the nitro ranks, driving a dragster purchased from David Powers by Mike Ashley. The then Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Brown replaced Whit Bazemore, and Ashley teamed him with former Funny Car tuners Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald.
Together, they have won four world championships and 65 national events and qualified No. 1 an impressive 51 times, making Brown the most successful of those sponsored by Tool Manufacturers and highly qualified to hold the floor.
“Yeah, [people] see Snap-on, and they say, ‘Who???? When’s the last time you won? The thing about is, that’s what [tool trucks] do.”
It is estimated there are about 25,000 independent tool distributors in the country.
“You got Austin out there with that Cornwell Tools deal winning everything saying, ‘I’m the man,” Brown explained. “Then you have Dougie with Mac throwing it down. We love it because when we keep signing those agreements and all four brands out there [in nitro], we are very proud.
“Are we confident? Yes, we are. We are out there changing people’s lives and, at the same time, competing on a high level. You are all high-performance tools. Time is money. That’s why we want to be quick down the track so my boys can be first to the site so they can collect that check. Sell those tools.”
Brown took it a step further, ad-libbing on a version of Bob Tasca Sr.’s iconic phrase.
“That’s why we win on Sunday, so they can sell those toolboxes on Monday,” Brown surmised.
