12-12-2005 - Team 16 reach ultimate goal

Team16 Drivers Reach Ultimate Goal

HOUSTON, Tx. (December 12, 2005) -- Last year at this time, 16-year-old drivers Brad Coleman and Colin Braun were training hard for their record setting run in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. A year later, the two drivers have announced the ultimate success of the Team16 concept as they have both received opportunities to take their professional careers to the top levels of Motorsports.

Coleman, who had a remarkable 2005 racing season in both the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series and the Rolex Grand American Series, has been signed to a driver development contract by perennial Top 5 NASCAR Busch team, BREWCO Motorsports. He will start his season off in ARCA races with plans to put him in his first Busch Series race this summer.

Braun was invited to keep his focus on running a Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Grand American Series. His performance in 2005 was rewarded with a full-time ride in one of Krohn Racing's DP's. His first race will be at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where it all started last year for the two youngsters.

When asked how it would feel not running together as Team16, Coleman said "It has been a great ride, but we knew what our ultimate goal was, and we achieved it. We knew we would have to go our separate ways when the opportunities came, and that time is now. Colin and I will always be good friends and have great respect for each other on and off the race track.

Braun echoed his teammates' sentiments, stating "We worked really hard to prepare for this day. We have both committed every aspect of our lives to racing for a living and we paid the price. While we would always like to run together, we are both really happy for each other."

The Team16 concept was the brainchild of the two drivers' fathers, Brandon Coleman and Jeff Braun. Both brought different disciplines to the effort; Coleman was the former CEO of a highly successful marketing firm and Braun is recognized as one of the top engineers in all of racing. They admit it was a perfect match.

"Our professional roles and responsibilities were very clear", stated Coleman. I didn't ever tell Jeff what to do with the car and he left me alone to lead the branding and public relations efforts. It is amazing how well we worked together, and both boys benefited from it in a big way."

Braun added, "You would be hard pressed to find two young drivers with this much disciplined training in the total package approach to professional motorsports. We all worked really hard to make this dream come true and it is very gratifying to watch it happen."

While Team16 won't be running the Rolex 24 at Daytona together, they have set sterling examples and cleared the way for a host of young drivers that are now eyeing the Grand American series as their opportunity for the future.