Antron Brown Becomes First African American To Win Major Auto Racing Title

Brown became the NHRA Top Fuel champion this weekend.

Antron Brown made history this past weekend when he won the NHRA Top Fuel title, making him the first African American champion in a major racing league.

He won the race despite suffering burns to his hands when his car caught on fire in a race on Saturday. He got a little extra help when his teammate and seven-time champion Tony Schumacher lost his match up against Brandon Bernstein in the Auto Club Finals.

"You don't wish nothing bad on anybody," Brown said to ESPN. "Tony has been my biggest supporter since Day 1. He has helped me leaps and bounds along the way. Tony's a class act. I'm just beside myself. I feel so blessed to be in this moment."

Brown is the latest minority to win in the league. Shirley Muldowney was the first woman to earn a license from NHRA to drive a Top Fuel dragster and won three championships, and brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon, who are of Hispanic descent, both won Funny Car championships.

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