Empire Iron Works               

UPDATES: 

2011-Beginner's Luck:

2010 was a tough year.   Burl crashed in Chicago in June, then the team scrambled to get the new car on the track in just 6 weeks.  Added to all the extra work was the stress of a new driver, Bryan Brown.  There was a much needed break over the winter, and the team started 2011 excited about the potential the car and driver had shown.  The first race was a Lucas Oil divisional race in Baytown, TX.  It was not a let down, with Bryan grabbing the #1 qualifying position with a 5.67 second run and advancing to the semi finals.  Three weeks later at the second division 4 race in Ennis, Tx, things did not go as well and resulted in a first round loss.  Not to be kept down, the team bounced back at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Baytown.  A tough track plagued qualifying, but Bryan still managed a #10 qualifying spot.  A hole-shot win in the first round showed the potential this team and driver have.  From there it was on to the third division 4 race of the year in Belle Rose, LA.  A runner up finish vaulted Bryan into the top 20 in national points.  A rough weekend followed a couple of weeks later at a divisional race in Tulsa, OK.  The wheelie bar somehow got bent, and when the car launched, it made hard right turns right out of the gate.  On top of that, there was a small electrical fire on the first qualifying run.  A first round loss didn't help heal the pain.  Next up for the team is a test session at North Star dragway in Denton, TX to test the new wheelie bars, then the team will head to the "Big Go" in Indianapolis, IN.  For those that don't follow drag racing, Indy is the biggest race of the year, always held over Labor Day. 

 Check out our pictures or our Youtube channel for some great on-board videos:

YouTube Videos

 HISTORY:

Empire President Burl Brown has been drag racing since high school.  He took a few years off during college and law school, but quickly got back into competitive racing in the late 1970's.  He started bracket racing a front engine dragster at Wall dragway, and after some success, bought a rear engine dragster and began racing in the Super Comp Class of the NHRA.  That lasted a couple of years before the bug to go faster bit, and he purchased his first Top Alcohol Funny Car.  That was over 25 years and six cars ago.  Times have definitely changed.  That first year in the funny car, Burl's best elapsed time and  speed were 7.00sec at just over 200mph.  Technology has come a long way in the last quarter century, and Burl now has a personal best of 5.692sec at 252.19mph.  For more information on this type of racing and results, visit:

InsideTopAlcohol.com

DragRaceCentral.com

NHRA.com

Performance Engines, Inc.