Category: EPARTRADE Race Industry Week

Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, has joined the lineup of featured speakers for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week, taking place Monday through Thursday, December 2–5, 2024.

No charge to attend.  Click here to register. Race Industry Week is brought to you by EPARTRADE, RACER, and SPEED SPORT. For more information, please click here. 

Jimmie Johnson is one of the most accomplished professional athletes of his era. He is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, sharing the all-time record with stock car racing legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, and was inducted into the 2024 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. His run of five championship runs in a row is one of the greatest ever seen in sports, and he is only race car driver in history to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

Johnson recently spent two seasons racing in the IndyCar Series and was named the 2022 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Johnson entered the team ownership realm as he became a co-owner of Legacy Motor Club in 2022, which fields two full-time NASCAR Cup Series entries and Johnson’s part-time series entry. He and wife Chandra are co-founders of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, which focuses on K-12 public education and has raised over $13M to date. The Johnsons reside in Charlotte, N.C. with daughters Genevieve and Lydia.

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team, has joined the lineup of featured speakers for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week, taking place Monday through Thursday, December 2–5, 2024.

No charge to attend.  Click here to register. Race Industry Week is brought to you by EPARTRADE, RACER, and SPEED SPORT. For more information, please click here. 

Ayao Komatsu began a new role at MoneyGram Haas F1 Team for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Championship, leading the team forward in the role of Team Principal after having previously managed the engineering department as Chief Race Engineer and subsequently Director of Engineering.

Komatsu was born in Tokyo, Japan and from an early age had an interest in racing – albeit initially of the two- wheel variety – due to having Japanese MotoGP star Norick Abe growing up in the same town.

Interests turned to Formula 1 as races were being broadcast free-to-air across the country, with a core racing memory for Komatsu being created at his home race. The 1989 Japanese Grand Prix played host to one of the most controversial collisions in the history of the sport when McLaren-Honda teammates Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collided while fighting for the championship.

That interest and passion further consolidated Komatsu’s aspirations of becoming an engineer in Formula 1, and at 18 years old, he moved halfway across the world to the ‘home of motorsport’ – England. He chose to study Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, an institution renowned for both sport and engineering.

As part of the course, he began an industry placement at Lotus Engineering, based in Norfolk. His manager owned an old Formula 3 car and spent weekends at tracks up and down the country, something Komatsu was quick to offer support on, gaining his first insight into the practicalities of working within motorsport.

Once Komatsu graduated in 1999, he furthered his studies for a PhD in the same topic. Simultaneously, the post-graduate continued working for free in amateur categories, where he met Takuma Sato. This chance meeting would be pivotal in Komatsu’s early adulthood, and the pair worked together in British F3 at Carlin, where he was able to apply the theoretical work from his studies to the real-world environment of the race track.

As Komatsu was finishing his PhD and looking at entering the workplace, he accepted a position at TRW, but a change in management meant the role never came to fruition. Another ‘almost’ moment came following an interview with Colin Kolles for the role of Race Engineer in his Formula 3 team positioned in Germany. But once again, just as chance would have it, Komatsu received a phone call from Sato.

“How are you, Ayao?”

That phone call would be the stepping stone to Komatsu’s career in Formula 1, with Sato connecting him to Shoichi Tanaka from Honda Racing Development.

Komatsu’s first full-time job in motorsport started in 2003, working at BAR Honda as part of the test team, focusing on vehicle dynamics. In his third year at the Brackley team, he focused on tire analysis at a time when both Michelin and Bridgestone were suppliers in the sport, and it was one of the biggest differentiators in team performance.

In 2006 Renault came calling and he joined in a similar role during the team’s championship-winning season with Fernando Alonso. The following year he became a part of the race team as a performance engineer, where he would remain for three years working with drivers including Nelson Piquet Jr. and Romain Grosjean.

The move to become race engineer happened ahead of the 2011 season, where Komatsu worked alongside Vitaly Petrov, the pairing most notably getting a podium at their first race together in Melbourne.

For 2012, he reunited with Romain Grosjean following the Frenchman’s return to the sport and the newly-named Lotus F1 Team.

A professional and personal friendship formed between the two, scoring nine podium finishes and fighting for race wins in 2013. Two years later, Komatsu was promoted to chief race engineer, and the final highlight of their partnership came at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix, where Grosjean secured the team’s only podium of the season.

In 2016 a new team entered Formula 1 under the name of Haas F1 Team. The only sole-American owned team on the grid was an exciting prospect to many, and Romain Grosjean signed to the team where he would eventually race for five years.

It was also an opportunity too good to pass up for Komatsu, who ended his 10-year tenure at Renault to join Grosjean as chief race engineer. Komatsu was integral to the team’s early credibility in the sport, managing all trackside engineering activities on-site, and a vehicle performance group, vehicle science group and electrical engineering at the team’s UK facilities.

During the team’s first eight seasons, he engineered Haas to an unforgettable points-finishing debut in Melbourne, a best-ever finish of fourth and fifth, and navigated a frantic wualifying session where a rained- drenched session in Brazil in 2022 saw Kevin Magnussen and MoneyGram Haas F1 Team secure their first pole position.

Komatsu now oversees all competition elements of the business as team principal. Responsibilities include the team’s overall strategy, and ultimately on-track performance, with a brief to maximize the team’s potential through employee empowerment and structural process and efficiency.

Antron Brown, three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion and owner of AB Motorsports, has joined the lineup of featured speakers for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week, taking place Monday through Thursday, December 2–5, 2024.

No charge to attend.  Click here to register. Race Industry Week is brought to you by EPARTRADE, RACER, and SPEED SPORT. For more information, please click here. 

About Antron Brown:

Antron Brown dreamed of driving one of the world’s most iconic racecars, but never truly believed that one day he would, let alone win three world championships.

His vibrant personality, perseverance, intelligence, athleticism, and deeply held religious convictions helped plot the course to getting a job driving in NHRA drag racing’s ultimate category of Top Fuel in 2008. And just four years later, the New Jersey native was crowned the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel world champion along with his Matco Tools teammates while driving for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR).

Achieving that championship milestone enabled Brown to become the first Black driver to win a major U.S. auto racing season championship. That accomplishment, coupled with his commitment to helping young Americans, earned him two prestigious honors in 2013.

In January 2012, he was selected to NBC’s 2013 edition of ‘theGrio’s 100’ list that features Black industry, sports and community leaders. He was featured on a segment of NBC’s Today show to help celebrate Black History Month. Eight months later, he was at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City along with Terry Bradshaw, James Worthy, Dave Winfield, Nick Faldo, Shawn Johnson and other renowned athletes at the 28th annual Great Sports Legends Dinner to benefit The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

“I never sat back and thought about it, but if I can be an inspiration for kids out there – not just African-Americans, just Americans period – and give them somebody they can look up to that’s positive who actually never settled in life for things that people told them they may not ever achieve then it makes this accomplishment even more special.

“Even some of my own family members told me that I could never be a professional racer. I even doubted myself that I would someday be a Top Fuel or Funny Car racer because it just seemed to be so far out of reach.”

Brown lives in Pittsboro, Ind., with his family. He is active in several community activities including church, NHRA Jr. Drag Racing, and various youth-related programs.

Brown grew up at dragstrips when he tagged along with his father, Albert, and uncle, Andre, who were – and continue to be – avid NHRA Sportsman racers. They followed the lead of their late grandfather, Albert Brown, who began drag racing in the 1960s and passed the passion to Brown’s father and uncle.

In 2013, Brown passed the sport to his oldest son, Anson, and daughter, Arianna, by introducing them to NHRA Jr. Drag Racing, which is for children as young as five driving one-half scale dragsters.

Anson became the first fourth-generation Brown to compete in drag racing when he began driving an NHRA Jr. Dragster. He proved to be a fast learner by winning six race titles as a rookie in 2013. In 2023, he graduated to the Super Comp category and won a big-money $75,000 payout race in St. Louis in only his second event. Arianna is the first Brown woman to compete in drag racing, while youngest son Adler joined his brother and sister and is now an avid competitor.

Prior to making his debut in the Top Fuel category in 2008, Brown found success in Pro Stock Motorcycle from 1998 to 2007.

Brown first operated a motorcycle at age four shortly after learning how to ride a bicycle with training wheels. When he was 12, he began competing on 80-cc bikes in motocross.

His first competitive action on the dragstrip came during his senior year of high school aboard a Suzuki GSXR 1100 that Brown routinely guided to quarter-mile runs in 9.20 seconds at nearly 160 mph.

His passion for motorcycles never waned.

While in his college dorm, he fielded a phone call from star NFL cornerback Troy Vincent, who asked if Brown was capable of riding a Pro Stock Motorcycle. Vincent, who was married to one of Brown’s cousins, started Team 23 Racing a year later and Brown’s dream of racing professionally became a reality. Another member of the team was famed NHRA rider Dave Schultz, who mentored the animated rookie. In 10 seasons on his Suzuki, Brown amassed 16 PSM victories in 33 final rounds, 11 No. 1 qualifying awards, and twice finished second in the points standings (2001 and 2006).

After a decade as one of the premier riders in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category, Brown signed with David Powers Motorsports to drive the Matco Tools dragster in 2008.

Brown made a seamless transition to the Top Fuel class, earning the pole in his first career Top Fuel race at the 2008 Winternationals at Pomona with a blast of 4.495 seconds when racing was at a distance of 1,320 feet. He won in just his fourth Top Fuel start by edging three-time series champion Larry Dixon in the final round at Houston Raceway Park becoming the first driver in NHRA history to win races in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories.

In 2009, Brown drove for three different Top Fuel team owners, including Mike Ashley who sold his operation to DSR late in the season. That was a pivotal year for Brown because it was his first with crew chief Mark Oswald, the 1984 NHRA Funny Car champion.

That year, Brown won seven No. 1 qualifying positions and six event titles after advancing to the championship round 10 times.

Brown, who had ridden a Pro Stock Motorcycle for DSR from July of 2002 through the completion of the 2007 NHRA season, was back in the DSR stable driving for the organization’s newest Top Fuel team. He continued to drive for DSR until the end of the 2021 season. During that time, Brown won two more series championships (2015, 20216), and racked up dozens of race wins, including becoming the fourth driver in NHRA history to achieve 50 Top Fuel victories in 2018. Brown’s successes while at DSR led to him being named Autoweek magazine’s ‘Top Fuel Driver of the Decade’ for his dominant performance throughout the 2010s.

In early 2020, Brown announced the formation of AB Motorsports, a single-car Top Fuel operation with Brown at the helm calling the shots. He intended to make his team owner-debut at the start of 2021, and planned to spend the 2020 NHRA season transitioning from his role as ‘hired driver’ for DSR to the role of driver-owner for his new team. His plans suffered a bit of a roadblock when COVID-19 hit, delaying his 2021 team launch to 2022.

Brown’s core crew from DSR joined him on his new endeavor. Co-crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald continued to assume the tuning responsibilities on his 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster, with car chief Brad Mason leading the crew.

The 2022 Menards NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Kansas went down in the books as victory No. 1 for the new team. Two races later, the Matco dragster was back in the winner’s circle when Brown won the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals at his home track in Indianapolis, winning NHRA’s biggest race for the fourth time in his career. He went on to win a third event in Charlotte before ultimately earning the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard to close out AB Motorsports’ rookie season.

In 2023, the second-year team owner-driver secured his 50th No. 1 qualifier award in Epping, N.H., won his 800th competition round in Bristol, Tennessee, and competed in his 500th event during the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.H. where he also reset his career-best E.T. (3.655 seconds). The AB Motorsports team won three wins in five final rounds, including a fifth U.S. Nationals triumph. His 74 overall triumphs (16 in Pro Stock Motorcycle) rank seventh most among NHRA’s four professional categories.

Also in 2023, Brown launched the AB Motorsports Accelerate Program, an all-encompassing driver development initiative aimed at helping racers advance in their careers. Three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey was the first athlete to join the Accelerate Program. She competed in three Top Alcohol Dragster events in 2023 with plans to run a full-season campaign in 2024 as she progresses toward the premier Top Fuel class where she will become a teammate of Brown’s.

When the 2024 NHRA season kicks off in Gainesville, Florida in March, Brown will begin the pursuit of his fourth series title with the support of longtime partners Matco Tools, Toyota, Hangsterfer’s, SiriusXM, Streamlight, and Western Tech. Lucas Oil, Summit Racing Equipment and Fire Dept. Coffee return for their third year with the AB Motorsports team, while Factory Motor Parts and its FVP brand will be along for the ride for a second season. GovX.com and Genesis Attachments join the team for the first time in 2024.

Brown has spoken to thousands of students as part of NHRA’s Y.E.S. (Youth Education Services) program as a representative of the U.S. Army, and regularly speaks with students at Western Technical College in El Paso, Texas. He also hosts groups of Western Tech interns, who join the AB Motorsports team on the NHRA circuit, throughout the year. Brown always makes it a point to stress the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them.

Brown excelled in football, basketball, and track and field at Northern Burlington County Regional High School in Columbus, N.J.

He earned an Associate of Arts degree in business administration from Mercer Junior College. While at Mercer, he competed on indoor and outdoor track circuits in multiple events including the long jump and 100-meter dash. He was quick enough in the 100 to receive an invitation to the 1998 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Brown was offered an athletic scholarship by Long Island University in 1997 but opted instead to pursue his professional drag racing dream.

Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance, has joined the lineup of featured speakers for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week, taking place Monday through Thursday, December 2–5, 2024.

No charge to attend.  Click here to register. Race Industry Week is brought to you by EPARTRADE, RACER, and SPEED SPORT. For more information, please click here. 

About Mark Rushbrook:

Mark Rushbrook joined Ford Performance in 2014 as an engineering manager and became global director in December 2017. He oversees all of Ford’s racing initiatives globally in NASCAR with Mustang and F-150, Ford’s return to F1 with Oracle Red Bull Racing, Dakar, IMSA with Mustang GT3, WEC with Mustang GT3, SRO with Mustang GT3 and GT4, NHRA with Mustang Funny Car, SCORE with Bronco and F-150, Ultra4 with Bronco, Formula Drift with Mustang, World of Outlaws, WRC with Puma Rally1, Repco Supercars Championship with Mustang and more.

He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University in 1989 and got his mechanical engineering Master’s degree a year later at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He eventually gained his MBA from Michigan in 1999 and started at Ford in June of that year in the product development leadership program.

Rushbrook came to Ford Performance after spending nearly 14 years in leadership positions within Ford’s product development organization. The leadership program included assignments in vehicle engineering, program management, chassis engineering, and plant manufacturing that provided a thorough understanding of the product development process and deep technical resources inside Ford.

Rushbrook played a major role in the history of Mustang as vehicle development manager from 2002-04 to deliver all engineering attributes on the 2005 iconic Mustang. He then had a five-year run (2005-10) as the North America vehicle dynamics manager, working on every major product in the company portfolio, followed by two years (2011-12) as the Lincoln MKC vehicle engineering manager. For 2013 Rushbrook was the Noise and Vibration Harshness Manager for all North America programs.

This experience within the Ford engineering and program management organizations allows Mark to fully leverage the resources of Ford Motor Company to ensure success of Ford Performance on track, and to then share relevant innovation and technical learning back to the road car programs to make Ford’s road legal cars even better.

Rushbrook is married and has one son.

Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines, has joined the lineup of featured speakers for the 5th Annual Race Industry Week, taking place Monday through Thursday, December 2–5, 2024.

No charge to attend.  Click here to register. Race Industry Week is brought to you by EPARTRADE, RACER, and SPEED SPORT. For more information, please click here. 

About Doug Yates:

Doug Yates has been around the sound of revving engines his entire life. You could say it’s in his DNA. This comes as no surprise when you happen to be the son of legendary NASCAR Hall of Fame engine builder and team owner Robert Yates.

With a passion for stock car racing and making horsepower, Yates not only carries on a deep-rooted father-and-son heritage of winning with his dad, but he continues to build a reputation in motorsports as both a world-class engine builder and respected businessman.

Born and raised in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, Yates attended North Carolina State University and received a degree in mechanical engineering, and in 2015 was inducted into the MAE Hall of Fame. With his education in hand, coupled with a keen fascination with making horsepower and his desire to push innovation, Yates soon became head engine builder at Robert Yates Racing.

In 2003, legendary engine builders Jack Roush and Robert Yates joined forces to form Roush Yates Engines and became the exclusive Ford engine builder for NASCAR, led by President & CEO Doug Yates. This partnership experienced immediate success with winning the 2004 Nextel Cup Championship (now NASCAR Cup Series).

Since 2004, Roush Yates Engines has achieved over 470 combined overall wins (points and non-points) in NASCAR, IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) and FIA (Federation Internationale De L’Automobile) series. In addition, RYE has accumulated 39 championship titles, including the 2018, 2022, 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Drivers and Owners Championships with Team Penske.

In 2009, Yates purchased his father’s half of Roush Yates Engines to become a co-owner in the company. Today as CEO, Yates leads a staff of 210 employees at Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions in three state-of-the art facilities.

He has grown Roush Yates Engines from a NASCAR Cup engine shop into a global engine company that designs, develops, builds, and tests world-class engines for multiple series. In addition, Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions, is an AS9100 Rev D/ ISO 13485 certified advanced CNC manufacturing solutions company that machines and assembles precision components for the aerospace, defense, space, medical, and motorsports industries.

Yates has worked in the motorsports industry for over 35 years. He challenges himself and his team each and every day to be better, unique, and different. With Yates’ dynamic career as a premier engine builder and businessman, his passion for the business is contagious.