Cross training

 

With Kurt Busch turning laps in an IndyCar and AJ Allmendinger competing in both Sprint Cup racing and the Indianapolis 500 this year, Antron Brown is the latest driver to provide evidence that the need for speed isn’t confined to a single form of motorsports.

Brown, the reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion, will test a stock car at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va., on Tuesday. Brown’s first experience in a K&N Pro Series Toyota is the product of a partnership between Rev Racing and Toyota.

Brown is the first African-American driver to win a major auto racing championship in the United States.

“He’s a great ambassador for the motorsports world, and his commitment to diversity is something that makes this partnership really work,” said Max Siegel, CEO of Rev Racing, which fields cars for participants in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program.

Brown is interested to see if he can make left turns on an oval as successfully as he runs a straight line in NHRA competition.

“My deal is that I’m very competitive in whatever I do, and I just want to compete,” Brown said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “When I go out there, I just want to learn the right way.  I know I’ve positioned myself with the right organization to do that with Rev Racing through Toyota.  

“We’re going to take it one step at a time, and I just want to take steps to learn everything and actually develop my driving ability to drive ovals. I know I can go straight, but now I have to put a left-hand turn in there, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”