Truex, Brown Learn How The Other Half Lives



Truex: "It all happened so fast!"

Martin Truex Jr., and Antron Brown did a little ride-swapping yesterday in Concord, NC.

Truex, who drives the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and Antron Brown, driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, met yesterday at zMAX Dragway and Charlotte Motor Speedway to get a taste of the other guy’s motorsport.

The two New Jersey natives began their day at zMAX Dragway, the only four-lane all-concrete drag strip in the country and the site of the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15. Brown, the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel point leader, took the wheel of a special, a two-seat dragster provided by Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School, with Truex strapped in securely behind him for a pair of passes down the quarter-mile dragstrip.

“The first time, I wasn’t really ready for it,” said Truex of his ride along. “It all happened kind of fast, so I didn’t get to look around or see anything. The second time, it was a lot cooler. You really feel that pressure and you’re really accelerating, but at the same time it almost feels like it takes a long time to get down there. It’s like your mind puts it in slow motion because you’re scared… It’s crazy.”


Antron: "We ain't slowing down for that corner!"

After tackling zMAX Dragway, the pair moved across the street to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Truex took the wheel of a two-seat stock car provided by the Richard Petty Driving Experience for  some laps around the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

“That is incredible. Incredible,” said Brown of riding shotgun with Truex. “When that ride started, I was like, ‘Alright, we’re going to go out on the track and we’re going to break it in, easy.’ (Martin) was mat-to-the-floor right to the first turn. I was like, ‘We ain’t slowing down for this corner.’ It was one of the rides of all rides. It was incredible. Side-by-side, trading paint, I tell you what, I’ve always had respect, but I have a whole new meaning for NASCAR.”