Two seasons ago Antron Brown experienced what could be described as one of his highest of highs as a drag racer.

The former Pro Stock Bike rider drove his way to a clean sweep of the NHRA’s famed Western Swing in just his second season as a driver.

On February 21, 2010, the usually upbeat Brown experienced his lowest of lows.

Brown’s dragster lost a tire and crashed into the wall during the NHRA Full Throttle Series event in Phoenix, Ariz. He was uninjured but the errant tire hurtled through the pits and fatally injured a first-time drag race attendee.

“The accident part didn’t hurt me,” Brown said. “I understand that we put on a show for entertainment, we’re out there racing, and we always have our mindset focused on winning. Never once do you think about endangering somebody’s life in the stands.”

Brown has talked little in the media about the days following the accident -- days, he believes, were the darkest he’s faced in his life.

Two seasons ago Antron Brown experienced what could be described as one of his highest of highs as a drag racer.

The former Pro Stock Bike rider drove his way to a clean sweep of the NHRA’s famed Western Swing in just his second season as a driver.

On February 21, 2010, the usually upbeat Brown experienced his lowest of lows.

Brown’s dragster lost a tire and crashed into the wall during the NHRA Full Throttle Series event in Phoenix, Ariz. He was uninjured but the errant tire hurtled through the pits and fatally injured a first-time drag race attendee.

“The accident part didn’t hurt me,” Brown said. “I understand that we put on a show for entertainment, we’re out there racing, and we always have our mindset focused on winning. Never once do you think about endangering somebody’s life in the stands.”

Brown has talked little in the media about the days following the accident -- days, he believes, were the darkest he’s faced in his life.

Sometimes Brown can’t help but think about the day. Human nature replays the tragedy over in his mind. Brown’s nature seeks answers and any way he could have prevented the fatal accident.

Brown even analyzes his attitude following his check-out at the local hospital. He returned to Firebird Raceway with no indication anything had transpired outside of his racing accident.

“I got to the track, I’m like ‘I’m okay, yeah, we wrecked a racecar, but it saved my life,' ” Brown said.

"But then, you find out that the tire that broke off the car bounced over and took somebody’s life away. Then, it impacts you in a whole other way. Like, ‘Why did it happen?' "

“How could I have changed that? Why did it have to happen? Why DID it happen?”

Brown did his best to fight off the natural human reaction of depression in the days following the accident. Lucky for him, he was blessed with a strong support system.

“During this time is when you lean on the people you love,” Brown said. “My wife was very instrumental [in the healing process] and I don’t know what I would do without her. I was able to lean on her and my brother who is a pastor.

“Besides being a pastor, he is just one of the closest persons in my life that I trust with everything. And, to have him in my life, along with my mom, and Mark [Oswald] and Brian [Corradi] helped a lot. Our whole team is incredible.”

Brown believes his faith was the difference in re-engaging his outgoing personality. His was outgoing around others but alone, he fought a personal battle inside. This was no small skirmish.

“I was like, “God, Why?”

“But, you’re not supposed to ask why. You have to trust and believe that everything happens for a reason,” said Brown, tears flowing freely at this point.

Brown believes he’s finally come to grips with the reality there was nothing he or his team could have done to prevent the tragedy. This is of little solace to him.

“Well, one thing about it is, our whole team, we’re very emotional,” Brown explained. “We came back in this trailer and we broke down. I broke down. I couldn’t stop crying. It was one of those deals where it hit me hard that someone had lost their life.

“And you say, well, I was doing what I do, and the team was doing what they do, but it doesn’t change the fact. You can’t reverse the deal. Somebody lost their mom. Somebody lost a sister. Somebody lost an aunt, somebody lost a cousin. And you never want that for anybody. And the guy lost his girlfriend. I mean, he brought his girlfriend to her first drag race. Her first race and that happened to her.

“You can say, yeah, well you couldn’t do anything, it still doesn’t change the fact of everything that happened. It hits home hard.”

A larger part of the healing process outside of friends and family has been in bonding with “Jim”, the victim’s boyfriend. The two of them have used faith as the centerpiece to move forward.

“I never got to talk to her sons or her family but through emails through Jim,” Brown said. “I was able to communicate with them because they were going through some hard times. Different stuff like that is what really changed my life when I look back on it. Just taking it one day at a time, it’s something that never goes away. It never, NEVER goes away. It’s not like, ‘That was 2010, and this is 2011.”

The accident, if anything, has reaffirmed Brown’s understanding that his occupation can have dire consequences without a warning.

“We do this because we have a passion for this sport,” Brown said. “We do it because we love it. We do it because we have fun doing it. And you know your life is in harm’s way by driving a car. I know. I put my life there. I accept that responsibility. But you also take it for granted, too. You think, ‘Okay, we have safe race cars.”

“But when every fail-safe breaks down, your life is in danger. Every time I step on that gas. And never once do you think that you’re putting anyone in the stands in harm’s way. But we do.”

A remorseful Brown offers a bit of advice for anyone who has been in a similar situation.

“You have to have faith in God and know that His purpose is always for the right reasons,” Brown said. “He is our light. In a time of darkness, when we go through our toughest times, our toughest times in life, is that He is an able God. And you’ve got to believe that He never gives you anything that you can’t handle. And that He pushes you. He pushes you into a direction to actually grow you and mold you.

“This accident, I think prepared not just me, but our whole team for multiple different situations where somebody goes through a situation like that they can come over here and actually find a support system.

“Nothing makes anything better. Nothing makes it go away. It’s just one of those deals that will stick with you for the rest of your life. And it’s not a deal that you learn how to cope with it, or live with it. It becomes a part of you, where it helps you grow. And I think that one thing that God wants is that He wants all our relationships to become stronger with Him.”

And today, because of a tragedy, Brown has never leaned on Him more.