Coffee, cars, and first responders are central characteristics of Americana, as are the need for speed and the craving for that morning cup of coffee. NHRA champion Antron Brown and his AB Motorsports (ABM) team will continue to enjoy their daily mug of Fire Dept. Coffee (FDC) as the Rockford, Illinois-based coffee provider returns as the Official Coffee of ABM and the NHRA.
The ABM and FDC relationship stems from Matco Tools’ Matco Plus program, which led to FDC joining the three-time champion in his first season as a team owner/driver in 2022. A year later, FDC increased its involvement with ABM, becoming the presenting partner of ABM’s Pit-Side Experience trackside hospitality program, which hosts more than 5,000 guests annually across the 21 NHRA races and was named the Official Coffee of the NHRA. In addition to branding on the Matco dragster’s catch can, FDC branding will also be present near the GOVX logo on the canopy lid of Brown’s ride.
“FDC joined us in year one of ABM and has continued to be such a strong supporter and grow with us each year and that’s awesome,” Brown said. “We started with a coffee bar area in our hospitality tent in 2022 and expanded to FDC having presenting rights on the Pit-Side Experience hospitality area last season where we got to share the amazing FDC coffee line with our more than 5,000 guests who support us at the NHRA races. It’s such a great fit for the sport of NHRA Drag Racing because we need to be fueled up all day long, especially on race day when we’re going rounds, and those FDC coffees and canned coffees keep our guys and my reaction times on point.
“Our partnership is another NHRA business-to-business success story. We met Luke Schneider and the FDC team through Matco, and now FDC coffees can be found on grocery store shelves across the country. We’ll work hard to continue to help them flourish in the coffee space, and as they do, I’m very confident they’ll continue to increase their involvement with NHRA Drag Racing.”
Last June, Brown and Jason Patton, the face of FDC’s clever social media videos and Vice President of Fire Dept. Coffee, filmed a popular commercial at Matco Tools’ corporate office in Stow, Ohio titled ‘Epic High Five.’ The spot featured Brown’s 12,000-horsepower Matco rail and FDC’s popular Rosenbauer fire truck and aired trackside in addition to the NHRA on FOX broadcast. The creative duo recently filmed a second advert for the 2024 season at the Illinois Fire Service Institute at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.
“When we first met Antron in the fall of 2021, we knew this would be a great fit for our growing brand,” Luke Schneider, Fire Dept. Coffee Founder and CEO, said. “We are a veteran-owned business and the NHRA community is so very supportive of veterans and first responders. It’s just a perfect match as we continue to grow our brand presence within the high-speed sport.”
In its first two seasons, ABM has won six races in nine final-round appearances. Brown, who captured his 50th No. 1 qualifier in 2023, enters the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season one win shy of a milestone 75 career NHRA triumphs. Brown and team hope to achieve that goal with a second career win at historic Gainesville Raceway when the ’24 season begins, March 8-10, with the 55th running of the historic Gatornationals.
This story was originally published on February 20, 2024. 
