NHRA Nevada Nationals
Event 20 of 21
Countdown Event 5 of 6
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas
Oct. 27-29, 2023
Note:
- Three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Angelle Sampey will compete in her second Top Alcohol Dragster event this weekend as part of Antron Brown’s new AB Motorsports Accelerate Program
- Sampey will campaign the Mission Foods A/Fuel Dragster, owned and operated by Samsel Racing
Countdown to the Championship Ranking: 5th (-110)
NHRA Nevada Nationals Event Highlights:
- Two-time event champion (2013, 2020)
- 2001 runner-up (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
- 2015 No. 1 qualifier
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Overall Highlights:
- Six-time winner
- Four-time runner-up (one PSM)
- Five-time No. 1 qualifier
2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals Event Recap:
Qualified ninth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Doug Kalitta in E1; defeated by Brittany Force in E2)
Last Event (Dallas):
Qualified ninth; Quarterfinal finish (defeated Austin Prock in E1; defeated by Steve Torrence in E2)
2023 Statistics:
19 races; three wins, two runner-up finishes, one No. 1 qualifier
Career Statistics:
502 races; 74 wins, 50 No. 1 qualifiers
Noteworthy:
- Powered to victory at the Las Vegas four-wide event earlier this year, earning his first of three wins in 2023
- For the final time this year, Brown will campaign the bright pink ‘Tools for the Cause’ livery. This October paint scheme helps to support Matco’s ‘Tools for the Cause’ initiative with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF):
- Throughout October, 15% of the sales from select TFC items sold will be donated directly to BCRF
- Since ‘Tools for the Cause’ began in 2012, Matco has donated over two million dollars to breast cancer research
- The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to achieving prevention and a cure for breast cancer. They provide critical funding for cancer research worldwide to fuel advances in tumor biology, genetics, prevention, treatment, metastasis, and survivorship.
- After racing to back-to-back wins in Brainerd, Minn. and Indianapolis to close out the NHRA’s regular-season, Brown brought his total win count up to 74 national event victories. He will be seeking a milestone 75th victory this weekend in Las Vegas
- The No. 5 ranked second-year team owner is pursuing a fourth series title and the first for AB Motorsports. He begins the series’ penultimate event 110 points behind the No. 1 ranked driver
- Brown is a 15-time Countdown event winner, the most of any Top Fuel or Funny Car driver
Fan Events:
- Thursday, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., NHRA Nevada Nationals Fanfest driver autograph session, Fremont Street Experience
- Saturday, 10:30 -11:30 a.m., Team Toyota autograph session at Toyota midway display
Quotable:
“I’m super excited, we know this race is our make-or-break point in our championship chase. We’re going to go out there with our heads down and the first step is to qualify well and get a good baseline heading into race day. Our Matco dragster has been running really strong. We’ve had a couple of gremlins bite us here and there, but we’re looking forward to a really good race day in Vegas. We had some really good success at this track back in the Spring and we’re looking to lean on that. Not to mention, this will be the last race for our pink Matco ‘Tools for the Cause’ Breast Cancer Awareness month car, so we definitely want to go out and end that campaign on a good note and put ourselves back into this championship hunt.”