Hello all of my NHRA.com Nitroholics! The brothaman is back on the blog and I’m still in Florida. We finished up testing in South Florida on Saturday evening and the brothaman is staying in the “Sunshine State” for a few extra days. You all know I race RC boats, and that’s what I’m doing here. It’s a good way to rewind and relax after our week of testing. And, I get to stay competitive at the RC boat Winternationals near Tampa. My wife, Billie, flies in today and she’s going to do the Disney World thing with some friends while I race boats.
Testing went really well. I have to say I’m proud of my Matco Tools boys for all of their hard work, and it was a lot of work. We made at least 20 runs in five days. We had a great Matco Tools dinner while I was there, but I was way late for it because we made a night run on Thursday. But, I stayed late to make up for it and spend the time with our Matco distributors and customers. We don’t get to South Florida very often, so it’s cool to spend some time with some of the distributors that I only see at Tool Expo.
Our best lap was a 3.794 at 324 mph on Friday night when we had the Aaron’s Lucky Dog colors on the car. We got stronger as the week went on and I think we have a great idea of how to start off strong in 2012 at Pomona in a few weeks. We did a lot of testing and learned a lot in the bell housing and with the fuel system.
Testing was not only busy because of all the test runs and work at the track but I had a Toyota Racing photo shoot too. Those shoots are always fun and I got to hang with my boys Morgan Lucas and Brandon Bernstein that morning. Mark Rebilas, who shoots for Toyota, did the photo shoot. If you haven’t seen Mark’s work, check him out on Facebook. Mark is an amazing artist and I know you’ll enjoy his work. Speaking of Toyota Racing drivers, I need to get back to Indy so I can hit the court and hoop it up against Shawn Langdon. Don’t let “Boo Bear” fool you, he’s tricky quick on the court with his backdoor cuts.
The last time I blogged was right around the holidays, which was great for us. We went to Louisiana for Christmas with my wife’s family. My co-crew chief Mark Oswald has a place in Louisiana too, so we were able to get together and hang out. We had remote control airplanes that we got out and started flying. It went well for a little bit but it ended up like a demolition derby. Hopefully, my RC boats don’t get all wrecked up this weekend.
The bad thing about hanging with the family in Louisiana is that they are really good cooks. The brothaman loves some Cajun food. I love food in general. I gained just a few extra pounds but had it all worked off before I got in the car last week. My plan is to get stronger as our car gets stronger. I’ve got a trainer I’m going to start working with and see if I can get some of my boys to come along too.
Before testing, we had a group of Matco Tools product managers visit the shop. Most had never seen DSR and what we’re all about, so it was great for them to see how we utilize the Matco Tools and tool boxes at the shop. They also got to see our fab and CNC machine shops and what goes on there on a daily basis. It was cool for them to use their Matco Tools on our Matco Tools dragster too. We let them put together a motor.
After the boat races, I’m going to head home and see what happens with all the Super Bowl hype here in Indy. My wife and I have our anniversary next Friday, so I’m not sure if I can take “baby” to dinner downtown just two days before the Super Bowl. Shoot, with what they’re saying you won’t even be able to afford parking downtown. Maybe those NASCAR drivers, but not us drag racers. It should be a lot of fun to have one of the biggest events in the world in our city.
Keep up with me on Facebook (Antron Brown – Top Fuel Pilot) and on Twitter @AntronBrownTF. Don Schumacher’s daughter, Megan, also started a blog about DSR. She’s getting more and more involved at DSR and it’s a good blog. Check it out at www.shoeracing.com/blog.
That’s all I’ve got for now. It’s time for some love, peace and Valvoline NextGen grease. I’m out like a shout!