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Colin up to 7th in points after 12th at Bristol
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BRISTOL, Tenn. – The half-mile bull ring of Bristol Motor Speedway is one of the toughest on the NASCAR circuit, which Colin Braun learned quickly last year. After an accident on lap 41 left him with a 32nd-place finish in his first start there in 2008, he was eager to improve on that this time around. He used the experience he has gained in the past year to drive a smart race, and bring the truck home in one piece with a 12th-place finish.

Braun started the 200-lap event in fourth place. Early on he told crew chief Mike Beam that the Con-way Freight True LTL F-150 was loose in, but tight through the center and off the corners. The first caution of the race came on lap 37 which brought Braun to pit road for four tires, fuel, wedge and track bar adjustments.
He had fallen back to 10th place by lap 50 but said the truck felt a bit better. The handling was still not what he wanted, saying the truck needed to turn better in the center. He was 14th at halfway and was smart to ride it out until he could pit for more adjustments.

The chance to pit came again on lap 152 under caution for debris. Since the team could make it to the end of the race on fuel, they only had to pit once for four tires, wedge and air pressure adjustments. Braun was 14th when the race resumed on lap 159, with only 15 trucks on the lead lap.

After the last adjustments and new tires the truck seemed to come alive. Braun was on the move and up to eighth place with 30 laps to go. He was still eighth with 19 laps to go when he radioed to the team that he felt like he had a tire going down. With so few laps remaining, Braun had to stay on track and ride it out. He fell back to 12th, but was able to finish the race there. Kyle Busch won the race, breaking the streak of consecutive wins by Ron Hornaday.

“Well I’m a bit disappointed because I really thought we were going to come out of here with a top-10 finish, but it is way better than last year,” Braun said. “The truck was really fast there at the end after the last pit stop, but then I was sure we had a tire going down. The guys checked it after the race and didn’t find anything wrong with the tires, so we’ll have to take a look at everything when we get back to the shop tomorrow.

“Regardless, it was a great night for us in the points and I’m pleased that we were able to take a truck home from here in one piece. That will make it much easier if we decide to take this truck to Iowa in a few weeks.”

The No. 6 Con-way Freight True LTL team gained two positions and is now seventh in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings. The next race will be on Friday, August 28 at Chicagoland Speedway. It will be live on SPEED at 9:00 p.m. (ET).