FONTANA, CA – What a
difference a week made for Colin Braun and the No. 6 Con-way Freight
team. After a disappointing 31st-place finish at Daytona, Braun
rebounded with a top-10 finish and Raybestos Rookie of the Race
award at California.
Braun started the San Bernardino County 200 sixth based on last
season’s owners’ point standings since rain washed out qualifying on
Friday. The Con-way Freight Ford F-150 was tight early in the race,
but Braun maintained his place in the top 10.
The second caution of the day came on lap 15 for debris. Braun
brought his truck down pit road for four tires, fuel, track bar and
air pressure adjustments to loosen-up the handling. After a little
trouble on the stop, he returned to the track in 17th place for the
restart on lap 18.
After a few green-flag laps, Braun told the team the truck was
better but a bit free off the corners. He patiently worked his way
forward to regain his track position. He moved up to 15th by lap 33
and was running down his competitors.
Another caution for debris came on
lap 46, and crew chief Mike Beam told Braun to bring his truck down
pit road for service. The Con-way Freight team had a great pit stop,
and picked up four positions in the pits. Braun returned to the
track with fresh tires and a track bar adjustment after a quick
15.8-second stop.
The race resumed on lap 49 with Braun in 11th place. A few laps into
the run he fell back to 13th and told Beam the truck did not have
enough grip. That did not seem to slow him down. With 25 laps to go,
Braun was battling veteran David Starr for 11th place and took the
position on lap 79.
By lap 81 the teams began to cycle through the pits for green-flag
stops. Braun moved all the way up to second place by lap 85 before
he came to the pits for right-side tires and enough fuel to go the
distance. When all the teams had pitted, Braun was in 11th place
with 11 laps to go. He moved into the top 10 on lap 92, but that was
not enough for him. As the laps wound down, he set his sights on
fellow rookie Philip McGilton who was in ninth place. On the final
lap Braun made his move and passed McGilton at the finish line for
ninth place and rookie of the race.
“It was a lot of fun today,” Braun
said. “The Con-way Freight Ford F-150 started off pretty strong. I
got a chance to race with some of the veteran guys and learn a lot
from them. Towards the end, we had a pretty quick truck. It was just
tough in traffic, when we got behind somebody we got real tight and
once we kind of got into clean air, we could run some pretty quick
lap times and catch the next pack. We struggled a little bit to get
through the pack but that's just my lack of experience. I'm starting
to get more and more experience and I'm having a lot of fun racing
out there with these veteran guys. The last couple of laps with that
No. 22 truck (Philip McGilton) were a lot of fun. I didn't think I
was going to get him there. Right at the end, I think he got a
little bit tight up in turn four. We got up under him and got by
him. It was a lot of fun on the last couple of laps. It was a great
day for the whole Con-way team.”
The No. 6 Con-way Freight team moved up to 18th in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series point standings. The next race will be on
Friday, March 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It will be televised live
on SPEED at 9:00 p.m. (EST).
Where the Raybestos Rookies finished at Auto Club
Speedway:
Braun 9th
McGilton 10th
Mitchell 20th
Scott 23rd
Lia 26th
Lally 29th
Marks 33rd
UNOFFICIAL Raybestos Rookie standings:
Scott 20
McGilton 19
Braun 19
Marks 19
Mitchell 16
Lally 15
Lia 7
