Brown claimed his second straight Top Fuel world championship in 2016 , displaying another dominant performance in the Countdown to the Championship . Designed to create a dramatic finish between 10 possible drivers , the six-race playoff has instead become a showcase for Brown , who simply gets hungrier with each taste of victory .

“ Our main focus is to come out and be able to compete for a championship and that ’ s our goal each and every year ,” Brown said . “ Our goal is not changing , and we ’ re driven even more because once you have a taste of it , it ’ s like somebody gave you this juicy steak dinner that you ain ’ t never had before . They gave you a bite of it and we ’ ve had three bites of it . There ’ s still a lot of bites left on that steak and now they ’ re pulling that plate away , and that ’ s what

they do every year at the end of the year . But we want another bite , so we ’ re going to go after it just as hard as we did the last three that we ’ ve won .”

It ’ s an apt comparison for the fun-loving Brown ,

who always seems to have a smile on his face . But behind the wheel , it ’ s all business . The Don Schumacher Racing outfit has seven victories in each of the past two seasons , an incredible number considering the standouts in the class .

More impressively , six of those 14 wins have come in the Countdown with Brown sealing the championship before the season finale each year . The team ’ s ability to reach another level doesn ’ t go unnoticed by Brown , who now has 61 career wins and three Top Fuel titles in five years .

“ It ’ s that everything is on the line , and the pressure is at an all-time high ,” Brown said . “ We know the stakes are intense and that you can ’ t mess up . We take it seriously .”

It also means Brown is not content , which is why he worked just as hard this off-season and why he ’ ll continue to push for more in 2017 . More championships – and more bites of steak – await .

“ When we ’ re out here racing , our mindset is that we love the challenge and the thrill of competition , and that ’ s what drives us ,” Brown said . “ The competition gets better , it makes us better and that ’ s what we thrive off of . We ’ re not going to come out next year and say , we ’ re the champs from 2016 , so it ’ s ours . No , we know it ’ s going to be rougher for us next year and we ’ re looking forward to that challenge , and we ’ re about to step that bar up again .” - JOSH HACHAT DI

PHOTOS : NHRA / NATIONAL DRAGSTER