Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127993
Round 2: Texas Motorplex NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES DALLAS, IX, APR. 23-25 ou didn't need a crystal ball to see this one coming. When all-pro cornerback Troy Vincent of the Philadelphia Eagles dedded to go drag racing with a .Pro Stock Motorcycle team, he didn't cut corners. Vincent, who raced street bikes in his native New Jersey before entering the NFL, bought the best equipment available, consulted with the brightest minds in the sport, and hired the best people he could find to run his Team 23 operation. Vincent's crew chief Mark Peiser, spent two years at Star Racing working on Angelle Seeling's Suzuki GSX-R, and when it came time to choose a rider, Vincent looked no further than his cousin, Antron Brown, a former college tr~ck-and-field star and part-time motocross racer: In his rookie season in 1998, Brown ad vanced to the semifinals four times and finished a respectable seventh in the points standings, despite missing the opening race of the season after the team was disqualified for a fuel viola- tion. Last month, at the season-opening. Mac Tools Gatornationals, Brown turned in one of tile best performances of his brief career with a personal-best 7.24 and a semifinal finish. In Gainesville, he also became just the second rider to top 190 mph on a Pro Stock Bike. Two weeks later, Brown won his first race at the ProS tar Superdrags event in Atlanta, setting the stage for his first NHRA victory at the Castro] Nationals in Dallas. With Vi:hcent in Philadelphia, attending the Eagles' spring minicamp, Brown rewarded his team with a final-round victory over Seeling, who red-lighted on her Team Winston Suzuki. "This is back-to-back wins for us, and I'm stoked," Brown said. "I almost cried at the other end. It feels that good. I just wish Troy could nave been here to see it. "As soon as I popped the clutch," Brown related, "I knew she'd left on me, and I thought, 'Man, she must have really cut me down.' Then I saw my win light on. I just went through the gears to get down the track. It probably had a little more in it, - but I was just so happy. Angelle and . I both hit the tree hard, and every time I race her, she knows I'm going to push it. I have to push that tree or the race is over, especially the way her bike is performing. (Star team owner) George Bryce has her bike running fast, and Angelle is doing an excellent job getting it down the track." 0 . Brown qualified third in the fiel 'J with a 7.34, behind Seeling and Matt Hines, and ffiaae four solid runs in eliminations, but, ironically, he would have won no ma tter w ha t he ran, as all four of his opponents left before the green light and fouled, including Hines, who continued to struggle on his Vance & Hines Eagle One Suzuki. The reigning Winston champion didn't produce the record numbers that many have come to expect from him, and he failed to reach the final for the second straight race, after winning 10 of 14 even ts in 1998. Hines qualified second with a 7.29 and reached the semifinals, but he and his father/crew chief, Byron, have yet to find the right setup for their (Top) Just one year after making his Pro Stock Bike debut, former college track star Antron Brown rode NFL star Troy Vincent's Team 23 Suzuki to his first NHRA victory at the Castrol Nationals in Dallas. (Left) Points leader Angelle Seeling (near 'lane) appeared to be on her way to a second straight victory, but a redlight start by the Team Winston rider in the final round enabled Brown (far lane) to score the first win of his career.