September 99 - WKA Grand Nationals - South Bend IN.

WKA GRAND NATIONALS

SOUTH BEND IN - SEPTEMBER - 1999

Sunday 9-5-99 - South Bend IN

            Colin Braun and the Tracc 5 kart racing team won the US Grand National kart racing championship in the Yamaha Jr. Sportsman class today in South Bend IN.  This is the most important and difficult single race in the WKA Manufactures Cup Championship.  It would decide the best driver for the 1999 season (like the Indy 500 of kart racing).  The award for first place is the coveted "Eagle" trophy.  That trophy will be sitting in the Tracc 5 work shop in Ovalo TX. 

            With 22 entrants from around the country shooting for the "Eagle" the competition was intense.  The qualifying heats produced a 16th place starting position for Colin.  A fouled spark plug in the second heat resulted in having to start the final race deep in the pack.  I told Colin that he had no chance to win the race, so just try to pick them off 1 at a time and see where he ended up after the 12 lap race. 

            At he start Colin made a few spots and when it strung out was in 13th at the end of lap 1.  He kept moving forward through the pack.  The 1998 Grand National champ, Lee Boss from Ohio was leading the race with many time Grand National champ Mike Geissen of New York in second and stretching out.  Buy mid race Colin had moved to 8th.  A red flag stopped the race when tires from a tire wall wound up on the track after a crash.  The restart was flagged off with 4 laps to go.  Colin passed 2 drivers on lap 9, and 2 more on lap 10, putting him in 4th place with 2 laps to go.  By this time the crowd lining the pit straight were cheering each pass Colin made.  Mechanics and crew members from other teams loved some of the passes he made in spots that passing was thought to be almost impossible.  With 2 laps to go Colin caught Lee Boss and passed him for 3rd, then passed Mike Geissen to move to second.  Coming down the front straight on the white flag lap Nick Sommerfeld the race leader made a move to protect the inside line.  Colin was right on his bumper through the next 3 turns and looking for a spot to get by.  That spot was the inside of the tight left turn 5.  Colin dived to the inside and made the pass stick.  Sommerfeld would have 1/2 lap to respond.  He tried to pass Colin in the last 2 turns but did not have enough.  Colin came across the line with 2 hands high in the air and the people on the wall cheering him.