INDIANAPOLIS — Imagine making a living by going over 300 miles an hour on the weekends. That's exactly what drag racing champion Antron Brown is doing.
He has reached the top in the sport with three Top Fuel titles. He's the first African American to win an NHRA championship.
Brown has already carved out his place in history, but he still wants more.
"If you have a dream — a dream is only a dream unless you actually do the things that get you toward that goal. And for me, I never stop working. I always put the work in," Brown said.
Brown is stepping out of his comfort zone to chase his next dream: owning his own team. AB Motorsports is now operating in Brownsburg.
Brown and his team are busy getting ready for the new season and a much bigger challenge.
"I was like, 'What's the next thing, the next evolution of Antron Brown and family?' With my wife, myself, and our family, we took a hard look at it, and said, 'You know what, it's time to do it on our own.'"
Brown loves being a pioneer in this sport. Now, he wants to help push diversity by encouraging and supporting the next generation in a family-like atmosphere.
"That's what this whole team is all about. Bringing new people into the sport of drag racing and giving them opportunities they never saw," Brown said. "If it's an inner city kid; if it's a kid that's way out in the cornfields, how I grew up in Chesterfield, New Jersey. It doesn't make a difference where you came at. I want to be that one that actually opens up and says, 'Hey, what about this?' and give them the opportunity to come do something like what we got to do."
Winning and losing in drag racing comes down to a fraction of a second. Brown knows winning won't come easy this year, but it's worth the sacrifice.
"We are going to party like its 1999 all over again, trust me. To win a championship, too, it's definitely going to be one of those deals where I am going to have to close my eyes and be just like at all my guys, look at my family, take everybody in and just take a deep breath. And just say, 'We've done it.' Not me, we."
The new NHRA racing season starts Feb. 20 in California.
