Is A Drag-And-Drive Adventure Next For NHRA Top Fuel Star Antron Brown?
Despite never making a pass in the Pro 275 class Mustang of Manny Buginga before December 1, former NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown delivered the team a Snowbird Outlaw Nationals victory Sunday night at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida.
Could a drag-and-drive event be next on his bucket list?
“I’m very aware of it, follow it, read about it, and look at all the social media about it,” said Brown of the growing scene. “Our schedules can make it hard to complete an entire event.”
Fellow Top Fuel drivers Larry Dixon and Richie Crampton, who have competed at Hot Rod’s Drag Week event, have experienced the same conflicts. But it doesn’t mean it’s out of the question for Brown.
“We’re for sure working on it,” he said.
Cartoon by Garrett Olsen.
Brown’s switch from the Top Fuel class, where a 300-inch dragster chassis regularly clocks elapsed times of less than four seconds at over 300mph on a 1000 foot strip, to a drag radial-equipped Pro 275 Mustang that spans less than half the wheelbase and clocks speeds in the 200 miles per hour range on the shorter 660 foot distance, didn’t come without a few lessons.
Brown made two test runs on last Thursday, his only chance to get familiar with the Mustang he would attempt to qualify just one day later. The car was a proven winner with multiple victories in the 2022 season, including the No Prep Kings circuit and the recent No Mercy event at South Georgia Motorsports Park, but Brown struggled early. He spun on the first test run, and then the car moved out of the groove at 200 feet on his second and final run on Thursday. Some would’ve been concerned, but Brown knew the crew would make the right calls.
“We knew we had a great race car, as it has won before,” said Brown. “The crew made some changes, and after our two test passes, with Jamie Miller and the rest of the crew, it was an all-star effort.”
Those efforts were rewarded on his very first qualifying shot, as Brown rocketed the top of the pack with a 3.75-second run.
“The Pro 275 car did remind me of a NHRA Funny Car (shorter wheelbase than a Top Fuel car), where you can’t steer it until the front end touches the ground,” Brown noted. “Both (the Funny Car and the Pro 275 car) can have the front end off the ground early, and then at the top of second gear in Manny’s car, the front end comes back down. I learned to let the car do what it does, and I’d look for the 330 foot marker cone. Once I passed that, I could give the car steering input.”
Antron Brown and the Manny Buginga-led crew enjoy the winner’s circle after winning the Pro 275 class at the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals.
Antron Brown’s professional ride is a NHRA Top Fuel dragster capable of 330mph speeds.
Eventually clocking a 3.745-second pass at 201 mph that qualified second in the field, Brown knew the pressure wasn’t off as he headed into eliminations.
“What impressed me the most about the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals, was everybody has a great package and there’s a ton of competitive rides,” he said. “Ten years ago, in a field of 32 cars, the top eight were a good bit ahead of the field. Now, the number 32 qualifier can take out the number one qualifier.”
Between Brown’s efforts behind the wheel and Team Buginga making the right calls in the pits, the Pro 275 Mustang known as Fred advanced to the final to sit opposite the number one qualifier Marcus Birt. In one of the closest runs of the day, Brown would edge out Birt by mere inches for the win and the storybook ending to his debut in the Pro 275 class.
“It was one of those races where I was looking at him all the way down the track,” Brown said of the final round, as the drivers were separated by a mere four thousandths of-a-second at the finish line. “It was a heck of the race in the final; how much better can you get?”
Less than 48 hours after the event win, Brown was still soaking in a weekend of racing he won’t soon forget.
“No way did we think it would get all the attention it has, or win the race,” Brown said. “We figured we would qualify well, go a couple rounds, even go to a final, and that would be great.”
And despite a packed schedule of 21 national events for the NHRA series in 2023, could we see Antron Brown in a small tire radial car again?
“If I have time in the schedule, you could definitely see me at more events like this,” he hinted.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photo by Mike Pryka.