INDIANAPOLIS – Antron Brown will freely tell anyone that asks that his MATCO Tools/U.S. Army team didn’t have the start to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season that they would have hoped for.
However, Brown is also quick to point out that he feels like his team is peaking at the right time, something that’s a big positive heading into this weekend’s Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway.
The Indianapolis event is revered as the crown jewel of the NHRA drag racing season and one that Brown has tasted victory at in both Pro Stock Motorcycle and Top Fuel, the class in which he’s competed in since 2008.
But regardless of his past success at the world’s biggest drag race, the U.S. Nationals continues to remain special to Brown, in large part due to his childhood memories of family members making the pilgrimage to Lucas Oil Raceway.
“What makes the U.S. Nationals so special to me is that I distinctly remember growing up how my dad and uncle would make trips to Indy,” noted Brown. “I never knew what this place was, and every year they were like ‘we’re going to Indy, we’re going to Indy.’ We lived in New Jersey. They would just make that trek west straight across the Pennsylvania turnpike and straight out 70 right here to Indy. They would come home with their Indianapolis and U.S. Nationals shirts. That right there was a memory that always stuck in my mind, and now to actually be a part of it is unbelievable.
“It’s the heritage and history that makes it unique,” Brown added. “This race means so much worldwide, not just here in the U.S. Competitors come from around the world because they know if they win Indy, they’ll have won on the biggest stage in drag racing history.”
Much of Brown’s early-season struggles were ones that he attributed to the adjustment of having many changes in the Don Schumacher Racing crew surrounding him this season.
Long-time co-crew chief Brian Corradi left Brown’s team before the start of the 2018 season to join John Force Racing as a tuner on Courtney Force’s Advance Auto Parts Funny Car, sparking a domino chain of adjustments within the MATCO Tools team that has won three Top Fuel championships since 2012.
“A lot of our team did stay intact, but many of them moved to different positions,” said Brown. “It was tough losing (co-crew chief) Brian Corradi, but Mark Oswald stayed here and Brad Mason moved up to join him as a crew chief as well. Our cylinder head guy became the car chief and then our clutch assistant moved into the cylinder head role, so it’s been a lot of internal changes. We still knew most of everyone, but we needed time to sync and figure out how we work together as this new group.
“Brad and Mark are doing well now … it’s just been a little time adjusting and gelling as the team we are today, compared to the team we were last year. That’s the great thing about the NHRA Countdown, is that if you can make that and get comfortable … then you’re ready for the last six races, and that’s what really counts in the fight for a championship,” Brown added. “The first 18 races are nice to win, but we want to make sure we’re peaking at the right time and ready to go for these last six in the Countdown.”
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