Rev Racing will partner
with Toyota to put 2012 NHRA Mello
Yellow Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Champion Antron Brown behind the wheel of a NASCAR
K&N Series Toyota Camry Tuesday at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va.
Brown, the first
African-American to win a major auto racing championship, will test alongside
NASCAR Drive for Diversity drivers Bryan Ortiz, Daniel Suarez, Mackena Bell and
Ryan Gifford.
Brown said he has been
interested in stock car racing for many years, but has never been offered the
opportunity to test a quality car.
“I know I can go
straight,” said Brown. “Now I’ve got to see if I can throw a left-hand turn in
there. You know, I drive for four seconds at a time right now. So this is a lot
different. I know there is a big learning curve. We are just trying to take
that step to see if I can do it.”
Brown would not admit to
a desire to run NASCAR full-time, or much of anything else beyond Tuesday’s
test session. But he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be doing the test if it
weren’t with a top team that he felt had the ability to take him to the next
level.
“Rev Racing helps train
drivers, not just go out there in great race cars,” Brown said. “They involve
them in all aspects. That’s what really intrigued me. That if I want to get the
chance to go oval-track racing, I was going to have a good shot at going out
there and learning from this experience. I have positioned myself with a great
team.”
Rev Racing CEO Max
Siegel was excited to have Brown on board with his team, which is well known
for its diversity efforts.
“We have the opportunity
to work with one of the great talents in motorsports,” said Siegel. “We have
worked for three years now with Antron, and now is the right time for this. We
have been part of NASCAR for the last five years with the Drive for Diversity
program. We are very proud of what we have built. We have a pretty robust
driver development program. We have the opportunity to work with a great
ambassador to motorsports, and we have the opportunity to help him with his
pursuit of NASCAR.”
“I have never been one
of those people who just want to jump to (the top level),” said Brown. “I just
want to get through the test session, take it one step at a time, be really
focused on it and get everything I can get out of it. It would be great to
actually race in a race one time.
“We are going to test a K&N car and then
eventually do some Late Model stuff down the road.
Antron would make an excellent driver on all levels. Skill, marketability, he's very personable and a fan favorite. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? If he gave it a shot that would be great for our sport. He's an athlete, a competitive athlete, thats all that matters
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