ELMIRA — The last time 17-year-old Colin Braun attempted to race
at Watkins Glen International, he was denied from doing so and the
Sahlen's Six Hours at the Glen was almost canceled in the process.
Friday, when the Grand Am series returns to the Glen, Braun,
still 17, will be behind the wheel. And the talk will be about
racing, not about lawyers, contracts and judges.
Braun's Krohn Racing team enters Friday's Crown Royal 200 at
Watkins Glen International first in the Grand American Rolex Series
points standings, just ahead of Sun Trust Racing.
On June 3, the Krohn team won the six-hour race at WGI without
Braun, as veteran driver Boris Said filled in, along with regular
Krohn driver Jorg Bergmeister.Braun had been pulled from his ride
following a legal battle that ended up in the hands of a New York
State Supreme Court judge.
A contract between WGI, the Indy Racing League (which was
competing at the Glen that weekend) and sponsor Philip Morris
Tobacco Co. called for a ban of drivers under age 18 from competing.
The judge ruled Braun could compete, but because of the contract
the track called off Rolex practice and qualifying and threatened to
cancel the race. That drastic move was avoided when team owner Tracy
Krohn replaced Braun with Said.
Two months later, Braun is now an emancipated adult, though still
a month shy of his 18th birthday. Krohn explains that Braun worked
out an agreement with WGI allowing him to drive this weekend, and
there is no tobacco sponsorship for the Crown Royal 200.
Bergmeister and Braun have won the series' last two races,
including the Brumos Porche 250 on June 29 at Daytona International
Speedway.
