Cerritos College News Release, February 2010

Photo of Matco dragster and driver Antron Brown WHAT: The Cerritos College Automotive Technology Department will be hosting the Matco Race Day on Tuesday, February 9. Featured guest will be the 24-time NHRA winner and driver of the Matco Tools dragster Antron Brown. The former college track star at Mercer (N.J.) Community College will speak to students at Cerritos College about education and career choices.

“I really enjoy these school visits we do for Matco (Tools),” Brown said. “I was just like many of these students not too long ago when I was a student at Mercer (Community) College in New Jersey. It’s nice to give back and speak to the kids about career paths and the importance of focusing on education. These kids at the vocational schools are the technicians of tomorrow and it’s great to have the chance to meet them and hopefully deliver the right message. It’s great that Matco makes the vocational program a top initiative for the company.”

The Cerritos College visit is the first of seven technical school visits this season for Brown and the Matco Tools dragster as part of the Matco Tools Racing TechEd program.

Brown is the defending event champion of the Phoenix NHRA race. Brown will appear at Cerritos College from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. before competing at the 50th annual Winternationals, Feb. 11-14, at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Brown will visit with groups of students who also will have the opportunity to get an up-close look at the 7,000 horsepower Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster that Brown raced to a category-best six wins last season.

Matco Tools pit crew members John Benshoof and Caleb Williams, who graduated from Wyotech and Southern Illinois University, respectively, also will be on hand to speak with the Cerritos College students.

Brown is the only racer to win races and lead the standings in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle. He has 24 career wins and 21 No. 1 qualifying awards. He enters his third season behind the wheel of the Matco Tools dragster after finishing third in the Top Fuel standings last season. Brown has a career-best speed of 319.60 mph. Last fall at Pomona, Brown won the 2009 NHRA season-finale.

Brown’s 7,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster also will be on display.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Cerritos College C-10 Parking Lot
11110 Alondra Blvd.
Norwalk, CA 90650

CONTACT: For more information, please contact the Automotive Technology Department, ajara@cerritos.edu or ext.3084

Cerritos College serves as a comprehensive community college for southeastern Los Angeles County. Communities within the college’s district include Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Norwalk, and portions of Bell Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate. Cerritos College offers degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas of study in nine divisions. Annually, more than 1,200 students successfully complete their course of studies, and enrollment currently averages nearly 23,000 students. Visit Cerritos College online at http://www.cerritos.edu/.

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Cerritos College

Releases 2010