Antron Brown (born March 1, 1976) is an American

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...

driver, currently driving the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster for AB Motorsports in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Brown is the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

champion in drag racing and motorsports history, winning the Top Fuel dragster championship in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2024.

Early life

Brown lived in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

until age six, when his family moved to his grandmother's 10-acre farm in rural

Chesterfield Township, New Jersey Chesterfield Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 9,422, its highest decennial cens ...

following the death of his grandfather.Caldwell, Dave
"Sprinter Turned Driver Is a Quick Study in Acceleration"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 30, 2009. Accessed November 26, 2013. "Brown, a 33-year-old native of Chesterfield, N.J., could become the first African-American to win a major N.H.R.A. championship.... Brown lived in Trenton until he was 6. When his grandfather died, his family moved to his grandmother's 10-acre farm in Chesterfield, in the rural part of Burlington County." His father Albert ran a

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment ...

service, and was a drag racer at the sportsman level. Antron maintained the cars as a child and began racing motorcycles at age six and

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

at age 12, practicing on a course he built on the farm. He ran his first competitive drag race as a high school senior. Brown studied at Northern Burlington County Regional High School before becoming a track star at

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a Public university, public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Esta ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

as a sprinter and long jumper, graduating in 1997 with an

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

in business administration. After being offered a full scholarship to run track for

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

, he was contacted by football player Troy Vincent (married to Brown's cousin) who was starting a racing team.

Racing career

Brown raced in the NHRA's

Pro Stock Motorcycle Pro Stock Motorcycle, formerly known as Pro Stock Bike, is a motorcycle drag racing class that is the two-wheeled equivalent of Pro Stock. It has been a feature of NHRA drag racing since the 1980s when it was added to the professional class s ...

division from 1998 to 2007, running his first three years with Vincent's Team 23 Racing. Brown won 16 events in the motorcycle division, and had a best finish of 2nd in points in 2001 and 2006. In 2008 he switched to Top Fuel dragsters. Brown won the Top Fuel championship in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2024. As of the end of the 2022 season, Brown has 71 NHRA wins.

Personal life

Brown currently resides in Pittsboro,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

with his wife Billie Jo and three children, Anson, Adler, and Arianna. He is also an extremely devout Christian. Notable: Ran quick enough in the 100-meter dash to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1997.

In popular culture

Brown had an appearance as an appraiser in episode 8 ("The Fast and The Curious") of the third season of the A&E reality show ''

Storage Wars ''Storage Wars'' (stylized as ''STORAGE WAR$'') is an American reality television competition series that airs on the A&E network. It premiered on December 1, 2010. A 16th season is scheduled to premiere on June 7, 2025. When rent is not p ...

''.Antron Brown (official site), ''BARRY WEISS, A&E'S 'STORAGE WARS' HEAD TO LAS VEGAS SEEKING HELP FROM ANTRON BROWN DURING NHRA EVENT'', March 28, 2012
Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019.Don Schumacher Racing, 2012 Shoe's News (newsletter)
Retrieved Sep. 4, 2019. He also appeared in episode 3 of Idris Elba: No Limits as Elba's drag racing instructor. He now co-hosts

Top Gear America ''Top Gear America'' is a motoring television series based on the Top Gear (2002 TV series), UK version. The program was announced in April 2017. The eight-episode first season premiered on BBC America on July 30, 2017 with William Fichtner, Tom ...

with

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

and

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. Born in New York, he started his career with supporting appearances in '' Virtuosity'' (1994), ''Heat'' and '' Strange Days'' (both 1995). A prolific character actor in film, ...

. Brown featured in the fifteenth season of Discovery's Wheeler Dealers, where he faced off against a 1965 Barracuda driven by Ant Antstead.

Crypto currency

On October 7, 2022, the NHRA Coin Antron Brown Edition NFT became available on the OpenSea

NFT A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

Marketplace.

References

External links

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NHRA COIN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Antron Racing drivers from New Jersey Living people Dragster drivers NHRA drivers African-American racing drivers People from Chesterfield Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Trenton, New Jersey 1976 births African-American Christians Mercer County Community College alumni 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Sportspeople from Burlington County, New Jersey