The PRI show is a big event for people in the racing world where they can see new tools and technology. It's like a special shopping event just for race car professionals.
Drag racing is a sport where cars race in a straight line to see who can go the fastest. It's usually done on a track that's a quarter mile long, and the goal is to reach the finish line first.
The cylinder head is part of an engine that sits on top of the cylinders. It helps control the flow of air and fuel into the engine and the exhaust out, which is important for how well the engine runs.
'Blow' usually means using a device that helps an engine get more air, which makes it more powerful. This is done with things like superchargers or turbochargers.
LIVE
Welcome to another in-wheel-time podcast. Grant Tron is with us. Your life. In front, brown, oh my goodness gracious alive. Well, you know, miracles do happen. Anttron, good morning to you. Good morning, how you guys doing? Well, we're doing pretty good. How are you? I'm doing good, doing good. We're just getting it all together here. I saw an interview that you did with Mr. Pedragon about the R.I. show that was pretty interesting.
Oh yeah, it was, it was good stuff over there. Let me go out here in my other room here. Okay. Yeah, the R.I. show. Explain to everybody what the P.R.I. show is and what it does for you race car guys. Well, the P.R.I. show, what it actually does is, is like a performance race industry show. So, when we, when we get to go there and everything else is that we get to go see all the new latest technology
out and everything and to see what's going on into today's performance world is what we do. Yeah. And you put many of the rumors to where not just going there. It's not fired. It's not fired. All the latest equipment. It's a big farm fan. It's like a shopping street for the lady. Yes. Yes. I don't know what this is. Yeah. So that's not, that's a show that's not open to the public, is it?
I believe they opened it up. And I assure they opened it up on Saturday where the public had come in. And I think they still do that. But it's is a race industry where you have to be part of some company. But let me tell you some everybody makes it in there. All you got to do is fill out all the stuff. Yeah. Everybody that's in racing is, is a, is affiliate with some performance shop or some performance place. You can, you can sign up and come right in. And I mean, it's open everybody. You'll see a whole bunch of people.
In racing, you'll see people from dirt track racing, bracket, like in a tray bracket racing, drag racing, pro mod cars, like the no prep stuff. You'll see everybody and anybody that's in any form of racing there. You know what I mean? So I think that's what makes the PRI show so special. So when you go to PRI, you being owner, you go there. I want to go to those. I want to buy the knees and some of that. Yeah. Like we, we already know what we are.
Ordered, but you just go under because you never know what's new. That's coming out. You'll see something new and special. And when you see it, you're like, Hey, check that out. And some mile bring them, like, you know, a new intake out, or you have like a new valve with a special coating that they're bringing out at PRI. So they're introducing it and talking about it.
Or you'll walk down, you can go to machinery row, and you'll see some new machines that are out, like on, like on the aisles like centroid came out with their new CNC and a 560 XL, which we got one of those last years, but they got new bells and whistles out in a link in electrical have some new things out.
Like you always go down the aisle and you'll see so many different things. There's somebody got a new diamond cut blade out that you could use for fabricating or cutting stuff.
And it's pretty awesome when you go through the show and you see all the new innovation that's coming out to make your job easier.
You know, to do what you need to do out there on the racetrack or in the shop to make things better. And, and some people bring out big discounts. It's kind of like Christmas shopping for Christmas.
This is a black, this is a black Friday sale. We can help you up.
Yeah, so you buy the wife a new blower or something like that for Christmas.
Yeah, well, let's talk about you in the 2025 season first. How do you feel about what happened last year?
Oh, last year we started off really good and I believe that we stepped up the performance of our car.
And we got more consistent. We just, man, it seems like we were always in the wrong place at the wrong time last year.
Because that's a lot of the racing love to where we'll come out and will be like one of the three fastest cars on race day first round, except for the person we race picked us where they like they lead with us like off the reaction time.
And then they ran with us or out ran us by 100th and then we could be anybody else up for the person we race and we were just like sitting like, what do we have to do?
Like, we won some rounds, but we lost some rounds that could easily went the other way and we just got to capitalize on that and just be better.
It doesn't make a difference who you race when you race them. We just got to work on being the best we can every round to be better for this next season coming up.
And we count down we came in in the top five like we wanted to.
And we just had some bad races to count down when we qualified this year, we did a lot better qualifying effort where we qualified in the top five.
The average qualifying in the top five all year long, you know what I mean?
So we set that goal out and normally when you do that, you set yourself up better for on elimination day, but it didn't go our way this year.
We won those years where we zigged when we should has agged and we push sometimes when we spun the tires, we could easily won the round.
And then we went out there and and we spun the tires where all we had to do is go down the racetrack and went around.
So it's one of those deals where you got to learn to do the right things at the right time, but this was the year it didn't go that way.
And the year before we made all the right moves to win a championship in 2024.
That's your song. That's life. That's what I'll say. That's it.
I hear that you got a new member of the team coming on for 2026.
Yes. We're pretty excited about it in a Brian Karate and Brad Mason who's always been leading their helm.
And like you know, Mark Oswald was always in that role for us.
And it felt really good when like we we teed it up with John Mettlin to come over, especially on the R&D side and the process side.
And John Mettlin knows how to race also too, but Brian and Brian and Brad have that type of mind on them.
And the other thing that we've been looking at is just all a little small details.
Like right now people understand and drag racing that you can't make big gains anymore.
There's no more. Oh, we're going to redesign the cylinder head or we're going to change this.
And we're going to make this. We're going to do this and do that.
Or we're going to change the blow. We're going to brand new blow or we're going to do this to the car.
There's no more big gains on power wise and development of the cars like that anymore.
So you really have to start looking at every milking pranny on how to make it better and not just show up and race.
And I think that's one thing that John Mettlin will bring to the party where he's that guy that looks at all the little things.
And when he talks about it, people listen. You follow me.
You got a lot of people with great ideas, but you also have to have somebody that everybody respects ago.
Hey, this is what we got to do to make it better or we got to try this.
And I know one thing is that Brian, he tries anything.
He could take anything and manipulate it and make it work.
And Brad does really good at like whatever we need done at the shop, he puts it all together and puts the car together.
He's kind of the elf in Santa's shop. Hey, we need this gift.
He makes it happen. You know?
And now you got Mettlin, who's the creator and a guy that is really down on all the little milts and crannies where
if you want to get really good lemonade, he's going to get everything in that lemonade, including the lemon peel and make a taste right.
So that's what we're trying to form late and put together.
And I think that's what you have to do to race against Alan Johnson, Brian Houston and all those guys and gals over to Atlanta Motorsports.
Because they're definitely going to be a team that the championship goes through.
And I said it last year when we were racing last year, even after we won the championship because we just squeezed out and got the championship from just nationally.
Sean Langdon and Doug Coletta, it was a four race battle in 2024.
And in 2025, it included a lot of other people running for that championship, but Doug pretty much shut everybody out.
But before even the last rate before the last two races came.
We're going to make it a little bit more challenging in 2026 and we're going to give it all we got.
You know, you talked about power.
And as you mentioned, power is there now.
And there's not too many big games that you can make in power, but you can.
Oh, absolutely.
And the one thing that we have going for us too, and it be more sports, we have another business you see on my hat.
And it's got fab on the side of my hat.
And in the cool part, it says the AV on it.
That's our machining part division of our of our business.
And we can make and do anything that we that we need.
You know what I mean?
So.
So that's what that's what makes it really, really cool for me right now is that we have all this all the stuff there.
We just got to keep, keep working and keep pending and make it happen.
You know, I also heard you say that we're looking maybe at about a team to AB Motorsports and maybe not in 26, but 27.
You talking about Angel?
Yeah.
We're working on it.
We were working on the hard and we got her in the car and she took to it man.
We prepared her right.
We did all the right things.
And I got her to see time she needed that a fuel car.
And we just been building on it.
You know what I mean?
So it's been, it's been pretty special with all that stuff with her.
And it's been, it's been really, really good.
And to see her develop to come in.
And she still has a lover drag racing.
But the main thing of it is is that we want a second car so bad.
But we have to crawl before we walk.
We, you know, we got to keep on working on our partnerships and stuff like that where.
You know, it's been hard out there.
And, and all the more sports around that's fine those partnerships.
And we just got to put our effort in this next year and really go after it.
When you were driving motorcycles, did you ever race her?
I'll race through a lot.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Like, like, like, on.
Look at my shop here.
You can see all the old school pictures up top.
And then I'll show you one.
This will make you laugh.
So you'll see it.
Look, that's us when we race together right there for the US Army.
Guys, picture right there.
Yeah.
And then that was probably in 2000.
I want to say 2004.
And then you can see another picture right there.
That's back in the power eight days.
And then look, you can see a picture right there where she's actually holding my little girl.
Ariana on the pros that bike too.
We all race on the US Army together.
So we've been teammates for a very, very, very long time.
Very long time.
Yeah.
We'll know each other very well.
And, you know, there's got to be a lot to be said for that because, you know, partnerships like that don't last for a long time.
Typically, but this one here seems to work real well with you.
Right.
Partnerships and relationships.
Yeah, both the same.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And we've been together for a long time and racing with each other.
And that's what happens when you are like best friends, you know what I mean?
So it's one of those deals where you race together, you resonate with each other,
and you make great things happen.
Just think about when we race the pros like motorcycle team.
I never get she won the championship that year and just net edge me out.
I believe it was in 20 and 2002.
And I got second place and then she lost the Winston deal.
And then Troy was focusing on football.
We had our own team.
So then I took over the team and I had to start working on it and figure out how we were going to keep racing.
And I'm sorry about that.
What's up?
What's up?
What's up?
Yeah.
Yeah, they were outside.
So they all came in and they're barking at me, but it's all part of it.
The whole gang.
I got the three studious.
Well, hey, do you have your Christmas presents bought yet?
Can you sit down for a couple of days and maybe enjoy the moment?
Make a breath.
Yeah.
No, I'm actually, as soon as I get off this interview right now, I'm about to go meet my mom.
And we're going to go shopping a little bit.
We've got a couple of minutes to talk about.
That's what I'm saying.
You got to do things like that.
Yeah, we've got to get a couple of nicknacks.
I love it.
Antron, it's always a pleasure.
And we're very honored to have you join us every once in a while.
And thank you so much.
We'll let you go do your Christmas shopping.
Best of luck in 2026.
And hopefully we're going to be talking with you soon with lots of more to tell us.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Well, hey, I always appreciate you all having us on the show.
And we always love being on the show.
And you too.
All you guys have a blessed Christmas.
And everybody's listening to have a blessed Christmas.
And have a wonderful new year.
You do the same, friend.
Thank you, Antron.
Thank you, Antron.
Thank you.
Thank you, Antron.
Thank you, Antron.
Thank you, Antron Motorsports NHRA Top Fuel Champion.
It's always great to talk to him.
All right.
Time now for a quick break here on the in-wheel time car talk show.
That's it for this podcast episode of the in-wheel time car show.
I'm Don Armstrong.
Inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning,
8 to 11 a.m. Central on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch,
and our in-wheeltime.com website.
Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
Stitcher, I Heart Podcasts, Podcast Addict,
Tune in, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
Keep listening and we'll see you soon.
About this episode
Antron Brown shares insights from his racing career and the upcoming 2025 season, discussing the importance of technology and teamwork in drag racing. He highlights the significance of the PRI show for discovering the latest innovations in performance racing. Brown reflects on last year's challenges and the team's efforts to improve for the next season, including new team members and strategies. He also touches on his long-standing partnership with fellow racer Angel and the dynamics of their successful collaboration.
Want to know what actually moves the needle in modern Top Fuel? We bring Antron Brown into the shop and pull the tarp back on the Performance Racing Industry show, the small edges that decide Sunday, and the strategy behind building a champion when the big power gains are gone. This is a story about tools, people, and timing.
We start where the real work happens: aisles of new coatings, valves, intakes, CNC upgrades, and welders that shave hours in the shop and deliver repeatable performance at the track. Antron explains how PRI helps teams compare innovations, strike deals, and spot the one tweak that becomes a tenth. From Machinery Row to limited-time discounts, it’s the tech pipeline that fuels a season.
Then we dig into 2025. The car was fast and qualified near the front, but razor-thin margins swung the wrong way. Antron talks candidly about matchup luck, when to roll the dice, and when spinning the tires is a self-inflicted wound. With the field locked on power, he outlines the next frontier: process. Enter John Medlen, joining Brian Corradi and Brad Mason to sharpen R&D, discipline, and the tiny checks that make a setup repeatable. With AB Fab, the team can machine, iterate, and respond faster than the calendar.
We also explore a second AB Motorsports car with Angelle Sampey. The plan is careful, built on seat time, system comfort, and sponsor partnerships that make growth sustainable. Antron’s history with Angelle—back to U.S. Army Pro Stock Motorcycle—shows why trust compounds speed. And yes, the rival to beat is clear: Coletta Motorsports. The path forward is equally clear—do the small things right, every round.
If you love racing tech, team-building, and the mindset that wins when everyone is fast, this one’s for you. Tap play, subscribe for more deep dives, and leave a review with the sharpest insight you picked up—what detail do you think decides a title run?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
---- ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time?
In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy!
Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are. ----- ----- Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.
In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:
Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.
Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTime
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/
https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltime
https://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTime
For more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at
