Antron Brown has 56 victories in NHRA Top Fuel competition, but there is one Wally in particular that gets to stand out over the rest — win No. 53 from Topeka, Kansas and Heartland Motorsports Park.
He celebrated the win as if it was his first, because, in a way, it was. It was the first for Brown as the owner of AB Motorsports.
“It’s on my trophy [case] loud and proud,” Brown told RACER this week before the NHRA makes its return to Topeka.
A lifelong dream of starting his own team was fulfilled last season. It wasn’t without challenges, of course, as Topeka was Brown’s first final-round appearance of the season.
“I never went through the stage where I went, ‘Man, I wish I didn’t do this,’” Brown said of any second-guessing his career decision. “I went through moments where I was like, ‘Man, how can I make this better?’ You go through those ups and downs but, as a whole, me being the leader…it was me going [to the shop] and keeping them upbeat.
“You have to remember, I have a team that is used to being successful all the time where we win [seven, eight, or 10 races a year]. But now the competition level is so high and when you’re struggling, it’s very easy for them to get down on themselves.”
Despite being a three-time Top Fuel world champion, Brown understands the rough stretches in life. He pulls from experience playing sports as a kid, and not doing well as a professional race car driver. In those tough times, though, he believes he shines.
“I don’t buckle; I don’t fall,” Brown said. “I actually work harder to step up to the occasion to make it happen, and I’m able to make people the best version of themselves to make them accomplish the goals they want to.”
Brown vividly remembers the headspace he was in going to Topeka last year.
“When we came off the [West Coast Swing] last year, we let some slip away,” Brown said. “We had the performance but we were making mistakes as a group. I remember distinctly last year, we found exactly what was plaguing us the whole year and had plagued us the year before, too, when we were at DSR. We figured out what it was and we went with confidence.
“I’ll never forget after Denver knowing what it was and we made it better for Sonoma, and we pushed too hard there. Then we went to Seattle and worked on it some more, and we got it right where it needed to be and I remember like it was yesterday. It was so funny because we performed well in Seattle but made one wrong move where we had a malfunction with our clutch when we had Leah [Pruett] beat.”
Brown and his team thought Seattle was going to be the breakout race, but it was the last race of the swing.
“I remember going to Topeka saying, ‘All right, we’ve got a good car.’ [Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald; crew cheifs] had a good game plan, so let’s get our car qualified well, which we did. Then we were off to the races, and I’ll never ever forget going through eliminations.”
Topeka ended up being the turning point in his season. Brown would be victorious two events later in Indianapolis and at Charlotte in the Countdown before winding up second in the championship standings.
“I always say, there are 10,000 ways to lose and a few ways to win,” Brown explained. “When we [went] to Topeka, that’s where it really changed for us, for sure.”
Brown returns to Heartland Motorsports Park in a much different position than a year ago. At fourth in the point standings, he already has a victory under his belt, and Topeka can further solidify his push toward the Countdown as he seeks a fourth championship as a driver, but first as an owner.
“I think, right now, for me as an owner, I’m getting a lot more comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Brown said. “I’m definitely a lot more comfortable than I was before I first started because there were so many unknowns I had to battle. That was the hardest part for me, getting used to being uncomfortable and doing things I wasn’t used to doing.
“So, in that aspect, that’s when you start getting dangerous because you’re ready to grow and push to go to other heights. One of the things I think I excel at is when I get uncomfortable, it’s not hard for me to keep going forward.”