Ron Brown Discovers One Race That’s Too Fast for Him

Ron Brown, who the Rams bill as “the fastest man in professional football,” was in no hurry to take a spin around the Long Beach Grand Prix race course during a recent publicity session.

“It’s a different world,” he said.

Brown was scheduled to drive one of the modified cars in the Pro/Celebrity Race Saturday, and he had the look of a man wondering to himself, how’d I get myself into this?

“They just called me up and asked if I’d like to drive in it. I thought it would be a lot of fun. I thought they’d be driving go-karts or maybe some modified little cars that would go 30 or 40 miles an hour, max. I didn’t know it was gonna a real, full-on race. I didn’t know they were actual cars,” Brown said.

“I know my limitations, and this is definitely out of my league. Anything that I don’t have control over scares me, and I don’t have control over that car spinning, because I can’t stop it.”

All of that considered, late last week Brown dropped out: football’s fastest man, racing’s most reluctant driver.

More Brown’s speed is the Sprint/NFL’s Fastest Man competition at Palm Desert April 26. He’ll lay his reputation on the line against seven other players in a series of 60-yard match races.

“No big deal,” Brown said.

The winner will receive $15,000.

“No big deal.”

Brown, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay in 1984, will be challenged by Willie Gault of the Bears; Dokie Williams, Raiders; Darrell Green, Redskins; Phil Epps, Packers; Eddie Brown, Bengals; Anthony Carter, Vikings, and Vance Johnson, Broncos.

“I think all our speeds are pretty close,” Brown said. “It’s gonna depend on who feels what that particular day.

“I haven’t been training real hard because my ankle’s messed up. I twisted it in the Pro Bowl and I don’t have the spring in it like I need. I’ll give it my best shot.”