ANTRON
BROWN
of races and sponsor-related appearances before
weeks upon weeks of filming were added. Filming
took place in locations across North America
during the first half of the 2017 NHRA Mello
Yello Series season.
“A lot of people thought that when I joined the
TV show that it would hurt my racing because I
was literally not going home. My wife would fly
with me to wherever I was filming so I could see
my family. I’d come home for a day and fly right
back out to a race. I did that for two-and-a-half
months, where I was home for two or three days
out of that two-and-a-half months. The people
here at the shop would bring a suitcase full of
clean clothes for me to the races and I’d send
them back with a suitcase full of dirty clothes so
my wife could take them home, wash them and
send them back to the next race.”
Somehow, Brown finds the time to fulfill his
duties as a professional drag racer, a Top Gear
America co-host, and most importantly, a hus-
band to his wife of 17 years, Billie Jo, and father
ICING ON THE CAKE
From an unforgettable Pro Stock Motorcycle
career to an increasingly successful
residency in Top Fuel, Brown has far
surpassed the modest goals he set as a
young boy in Chesterfield, New Jersey.
to his three children, daughter Arianna and sons
Anson and Adler. “I can tell you one thing, my
motto I always keep with me: God, family, work.
When you keep it in that order, everything falls
into perspective for me,” Brown says.
Along with his motto, Brown credits his sup-
port system for allowing him to pursue his dreams
to the fullest.
“I could not do it without my wife and kids,
and also my whole family, my mom, my dad
and everyone else,” he emphasizes. “Through-
out my whole career they always gave me their
all. Whether I’m on the road racing or whatever
it is, my mom and my mother-in-law help us out
with the kids. My dad and my uncle always have
my back anytime I need something. But my wife
has been my backbone throughout my career in
racing. She’s been there every step of the way.
We’ve done everything together.”
Finally, one simple approach helps the ev-
er-positive Brown tackle his responsibilities.
“I’m telling you, the way you get through it is
you focus on one day, one hour, one minute at a
time. I never look at what I must do the whole
week because it’d kill me. What I do is I focus on
one deal and I make sure I have fun with each
and everything I do along the way.”
To be clear, hard work brought Brown to this
point in his career, and it’s hard work that will
keep him at the top, but he is most definitely
having fun along the way.
“I already made my dream come true by being
out here and driving a Top Fuel car with the team
that I’m a part of,” he says. “All the wins and cham-
pionships—that’s all been icing on the cake.”
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August 2017
DragIllustrated.com
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