Hello again Nitroholics. I’m sure you’re all gearing up for this Memorial Day weekend. I know I’m ready for a few days to relax and just chill. After the Atlanta and Topeka races, the brothaman is worn out, let me tell you. I’ve been working hard on the garage and trying to get that project finished. I know my wife will be happy when I’m finally done.

Well, we just finished our first consecutive events on the schedule with Atlanta and Topeka. We started out great and finished up just ok, at least in the standings. We got our second win of the season, by putting our Matco Tools dragster in the winner’s circle for the second time at Atlanta Dragway. We also beat the Sarge in the final round in my rookie Top Fuel season in 2008. It was my fourth win at Atlanta. I guess you just do well at certain tracks. It’s one of those things that make you go hmm… That vaulted us to second in the standings behind Del (Worsham) and the Al-Anabi gold boys. My Matco Tools team was flawless on race day and I have to give it up to my team. They’re fantastic. It was cool to double-up with Fast Jack (Beckman) and the Aaron’s/Valvoline team at Aaron’s home track. They’re headquartered in Atlanta, and it’s always fun to celebrate with our Matco Tools distributors in the winner’s circle. After last season, it’s a lot more fun being the bride and not the bridesmaid, let me tell you.

Speaking of Matco, they’re running an awesome promo called Tool Up and Win with Matco and Antron. It’s a scratch off card promotion where when you make a purchase of $150, you can win a varsity jacket, tool box or even a trip to the Pomona Finals. It’s a really cool promo and if you want a chance to come watch us race for the championship at Pomona in November, go see your local Matco Tools distributor.

Last weekend at Topeka, we qualified well with our consistency, dodged a tornado, and then got edged in a pedaler to Tony (Schumacher) and the Army team in round two. I guess the Army boys owed us one. Our DSR teammate Spencer Massey got his first win here at DSR with the FRAM car, and I have to give it up to Spencer and the FRAM guys. Todd (Okuhara) and Phil (Shuler) and the FRAM guys did a great job and Spence is lights out on the tree. It’s great to see our DSR cars winning races, and the top five in Top Fuel is getting pretty jumbled in the points. Tony is in second and we’re only 10 point behind him and we’re fifth. It’s crazy.

For those of you who like our Getting Down With Brown segments on ESPN2, they ran a 2010 season review last week during the Topeka broadcast. I hope you all enjoyed that because we have a lot of fun with the Down With Brown events. We’re going to shoot some pieces next Thursday at my Grandma’s house and at my high school, Northern Burlington County Regional High School in New Jersey. It’ll be a homecoming. I’m excited to get back and see some of my old teachers, and you guys have no idea what’s in store when you see Grandma’s house. It should be a lot of fun.

Speaking of the bridesmaid, that’s what we’ve been the last two years at Englishtown to Larry Dixon and that Al-Anabi juggernaut. I’ve won twice on the bikes at Raceway Park, my home track, but it would be amazing to win there in Top Fuel. I’m not going even lie about it. We want to win next weekend and we’re going to keep our heads down and work hard.

I have to end this blog with my shamless plugs. First, DSR Open House, tomorrow, Saturday, May 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. If you’re near Indy, stop by and check us out. Our race shop is an awesome place. Second, the third annual Bowling for Riley charity bowling event to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in Indy will take place on July 7 at 6 p.m. at Brownsburg Bowl. There will be a ton of NHRA stars there, so come bowl with us and support a great cause. Finally, if you’re a collector, check out the DSR eBay store online at www.ebay.com under shoe_racing. We’ll put up some really cool items each week for you NHRA die hards. There’s a signed panel from The Sarge’s 2010 Army dragster up there right now
.
With that, it’s time for some love, peace and hair grease, and I’m out like shout. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and remember to thank a soldier and veteran.

God bless.

Test Drive with the kids! The attendant ask me If I'm scared. LOL.

At Disney's Hollywood studios. Anson said, "Watch out Hollywood here I come!"

Mickey Mouse gang!

Got my racing eyes. All he needs is a helmet! What do you think?

Greetings from Orlando, Fla. That’s right, the brothaman is not in Indy. I’m taking a few minutes away from the Brown family vacation to say What’s Up! to my NHRA.com blog readers. It’s been a few weeks and for that I apologize.

We flew to Florida on Tuesday and will get home to Indy tomorrow afternoon. Our two oldest, Arianna and Anson, have been to Disney World, but this is the first trip for our youngest, Adler, who just turned three. He’s a Spiderman fanatic, but he may be a Disney convert after this trip.

It’s nice to get away from the racing world for a few days because the next two weeks will be very busy. Atlanta is a strong market for our Matco Tools distributors and customers, so we’re hoping to repeat our 2008 Atlanta win and celebrate with our Matco distributors in Commerce on May 15. Atlanta is also the home of Aaron’s, so there will be a lot of Aaron’s execs and employees at the track, and Aaron’s is going to have a big midway display at Atlanta Dragway, so if you’re coming make sure you check that out. It’s NAPA’s home market too, so it will be hopping at DSR hospitality all weekend long at Atlanta Dragway. Speaking of our hospitality, I have to give it up to our new head chef Greg Steller. Greg, along with both Adam and Malcolm, have done an awesome job with our food service this year. I can tell you, nobody eats better at the race track then the DSR hospitality guests.

After Atlanta, we have a Matco Tools TechEd school visit at OSU Okmulgee on May 18, which is about an hour east of Tulsa. It will be the third straight year that we’ve visited the students at OSU before the Topeka race. Then it’s the Topeka race where we qualified on the pole last year before I had a brain-fart in the second round.

We’re focusing on improving the consistency of our Matco Tools dragster. We need to develop that consistency in the bellhousing and that will make us a stronger race car. We’re still in third place and those Al-Anabi boys are on a roll. Del (Worsham) is doing awesome with Alan (Johnson) and Brian (Husen) and he’s been great in the dragster. He hasn’t missed a beat and both Del and Larry (Dixon) will be tough to beat all season long. We’re focused on being consistent and not beating ourselves and the goal is to make four good qualifying laps at Atlanta next weekend.

Before I go back to riding some rides at the Magic Kingdom, here’s my shameless plug for this blog: http://nextgen.valvoline.com/nextgen_domore.html. Click this link and sign up to take the Valvoline NextGen pledge to do more. Valvoline NextGen oil is a great product. It’s 50-percent recycled oil and I think you’ll like Spencer’s (Massey) new colors next weekend at Atlanta Dragway. It looks hot! Recycling your used oil is something we all need to commit to doing. It’s simple and easy and helps lower our dependence on foreign oil. So, please, take the NextGen pledge and join me and all the DSR drivers and crew chiefs.

With that, it’s time for some love, peace and Valvoline grease. God bless, and I’m out like shout. Oh, and don’t forget to call your mom on Sunday. I love you Momma Judy!

Take care.
 

Hello again all my NHRA Nitroholics. It’s a gloomy, overcast, drizzly Friday morning here in Indy as I continue to work on my new detached garage. It should be completed here in the next month or so. I’m doing my best Bob Vila and putting my tool box full of Matco Tools to work. The brothaman is a pretty good handyman to have around the house; electrical, flooring, plumbing, I can get it done.

After a week on the road, it was good to get home to the family. How about my daughter made the school play for Oklahoma. My Arianna might just be the next Shirley Temple. LOL It’s been good to spend some time with the family and catch up with the kids.

We had a fun trip out west and it started on March 28 with a flight to El Paso, Texas. The fun began when I got to the Indianapolis airport and my flight to Atlanta was delayed, which would have caused me to miss my connection to El Paso. They ended up switching me to American Airlines and I made it to El Paso to meet Matco’s Mike Zappia. Mike is the man in Matco’s TechEd program. If you’re a vocational student and you want the best tools in the business, Mike will hook you up and get your started out on the right path.

On March 29, we spent the morning at Western Technical College to speak with the students at WTC for the third straight year. They do an awesome job at WTC and are very organized. I have to thank Allan Sharpe and the staff at Western Tech for the great treatment they show me and our Matco Tools team each year. When we finished up, I went to the airport to catch a Southwest flight to Vegas and my boys, Brad and LJ, hopped on I-10 West towards Nevada.

I won the race to Vegas as it took me less than two hours compared to their 12-hour drive, but they made it safely and that’s all that matters. After a few relaxing days with my wife in Vegas, it was time to get down to business. We shed our normal Matco Tools colors for the first time this year and put the Aaron’s Dream Machine paint on our dragster. We’ll also run the Aaron’s car at Bristol and the second Charlotte race. I hope we’re “Lucky Dogs” again at Charlotte because that’s a Countdown race.

Qualifying was hit and miss for us again. It was a repeat of Gainesville as we made a full run on our second qualifying lap and finished fifth in the order at 3.939-seconds. It was really warm in Vegas. Actually, it was hot. In the low 90s on Friday and the track temperature hit 131-degrees. It was definitely a challenge maneuvering the LVMS strip for the crew chiefs. Brian and Mark learned a lot and we made the right changes for race day. Vegas is at elevation, so we did some of the things we do at Denver, just not to that extreme and it worked like magic.

Race day was great for our team. We edged Morgan Lucas in a close race in the first round as we both ran 3.91. Then we got buy our DSR teammate “The Sarge” and that U.S. Army team in round two thanks two that strong 3.84 that Brian and Mark put in the car cause Tony whooped me on the tree. Then we got by Doug Kalitta with another great 3.84, before we scored our first win of the season over Brandon Bernstein with another run in the 3.80s at 3.88. We didn’t beat that Copart team last year, so it was good to finally get around them to get our 10th Top Fuel win and 26th career win. We got our hands on that pewter Wally trophy for NHRA’s 60th anniversary and it’s awesome. I feel like the “Lucky Dog” to have one of those limited edition Wally’s. It was great to get that win for Aaron’s in their first race on our car. Aaron’s CEO Ken Butler was at the track, along with Rich Lamprey who got to celebrate the win with us. With the win, we’re now just eight points from first place behind Del Worsham and that Al-Anabi team.

I have to give a shout out to our newest crew member Jason Thomas. Jason is from Riverside, Calif., and joined our team this off season. He’s been a great addition to the team and has a great future in our sport. Jason got his first win in racing last Sunday. He raced in motorcross the last few years and had never won a race, so he was pretty emotional after the win. We got him, and me, good in the winner’s circle as Brad and LJ drenched us with ice cold water from a cooler in the winner’s circle. I’m sure glad I had my Impact! Racing firesuit on because that thing was like a wetsuit. Jason was cold, but it was a good cold. Congrats Jason!

Our Matco Tools/Aaron’s crew won the Full Throttle Hard Working Crew award at Las Vegas as did the Service Central Funny Car crew on Johnny Gray’s team. And let me tell you, Lee Beard, Rob Wendland, Rip Reynolds and those boys worked it hard over there on that Funny Car. They hurt some motors and bodies and those boys worked their tails off just missing it in the final round against Robert Hight. Great job by Johnny and his team! Those boys will win a race soon enough.

Also, I have to give a good Matco shout out to our Distributor and Customer of the Race Jason Powell and Gary Swope. Jason is a new distributor and doing a great job in Kingman, AZ and Gary Swope, his customer, is a loyal Matco user. Gary bought a limited edition box that features our Matco Tools dragster on it. It’s a great looking box and he got the demo box from Matco’s Tool Expo in Orlando. We’ll he brought a drawer from the tool box to the Vegas race for me to sign. Now, that’s a loyal Matco customer and we love it. He says he’s bringing the matching hutch to the fall Vegas race. I just hope I don’t have to carry that hutch.

Our boys serviced the race car on Monday and drove home early Tuesday morning and I flew home Monday afternoon and got home late Monday night to find out that Butler had lost to UCONN in the NCAA title game. It was another exciting Final Four run for the boys from Butler. They did a great job again and us in Indy are proud of them.

With that, it’s time for some love, peace and hair grease, and I’m out like shout. Have a great weekend.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook (Antron Brown – Top Fuel Pilot) and Twitter (AntronBrownTF), and if you’re going to enjoy the springtime weather this weekend and change the oil in your car, check out the new Valvoline NextGen oil. It’s an awesome new product from Valvoline.

God bless.
 

Hey everyone. The brothaman with a quick Friday blog update before the weekend. It’s been a busy week, so I wanted to say hello and let you all know what’s been going on.

We played basketball on Monday night as we normally do and the brothaman played well. AB got game. LOL Tuesday we flew to Orlando to hang at the Gaylord Palms with all the folks from Aaron’s for the Aaron’s managers meeting. It was Don Schumacher, Fast Jack and me with more than 2,000 of our closest friends from Aaron’s. We had a great time and it was a great way to introduce DSR and NHRA drag racing to Aaron’s. Here are a few photos from the Aaron’s event: Aaron’s CEO Robin Loudermilk and me, and Julie Song, from Aaron’s, Fast Jack and me.

After breakfast in Orlando, it was off to MCO to fly to LAX. I took me a four-hour nap and woke up in Cali where I met up with TY and Jayme Lawson from Toyota. Whoever said it never rains in Southern California lied because I’ve been to So Cal twice in a month and it’s rained both times. It was actually warmer in Indy then it was Cali on Wednesday. Can’t say that’s true today though; it feels like winter here again. We checked into the hotel and had dinner at P.F. Chang’s, which is probably my favorite restaurant. You want to suck up to the brothaman, bring him a P.F. Chang’s gift card. LOL

Tuesday we met up with all the boys from the 2011 Toyota Racing team. The NASCAR guys are in So Cal for the Fontana race, so we were in Torrance, Calif., for Toyota Motorsports Day at Toyota HQ. It was me, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Morgan Lucas and Cruz Pedregon and the rest of the Toyota Racing drivers. We signed autographs for all the Toyota associates and then had lunch at the Toyota Motorsports Museum. Here’s a group photo from the event and a shot of me and Kyle Busch coming off his double-up at Bristol last weekend.

Then it was time to come home for a few days. We got a ride in the Toyota “Swagger Wagon” Sienna minivan, along with Truck Series legend Mike Skinner. Before our flight, TY and I had a treat since we worked hard, so we had some frozen yogurt at Pinkberry. We flew from LAX to Phoenix and watched the ends of the UCONN/SDSU and Florida/BYU games and then it was a quick three-hour flight home to Indy. The games were good, but TY is bumming cause SDSU got bounced by Kemba Walker and UCONN. Kemba is a bad boy. From LAX, TY, Morgan Lucas and I all were in middle seats, but I worked my charm and got us all window seats on the flight to Indy. Middle seats are no fun, let me tell you. I finally got home about 2 a.m., so I’m taking it easy today.

The adventure starts again on Monday as we kick-off Vegas week early with a visit to Western Technical College in El Paso, Texas next Tuesday as part of the Matco Tools TechEd program. I’m hoping to be a “Lucky Dog” next weekend and win big at LVMS. It’s time for another trip to the winner’s circle.

With that, it’s time for a little love, peace and Valvoline grease, and I’m out like shout.

God bless.