back to News

Rpad America Review

Elkhart Lake, Wis. (June 19, 2010) – Colin Braun qualified a season-high of third for the Bucyrus 200 at Road America, the first road course race of the season. Even after getting caught in a sand-trap and falling victim to a mid-race accident which involved a red flag period, Braun and the No. 16 team fought back to finish in the 11th spot, the driver gaining three spots on the final four-mile lap. For the second week in a row, Braun was named the Raybestos Rookie of the Race.

By the first pit stop on lap 11, Braun was in the fourth spot and had been running in the top-five through that point. He radioed to crew chief Rick Viers that his car was loose into the corners and free off. Braun brought the car down pit road for service. Even though the No. 16 performed a quick pit stop, returning him to the field in the same spot, a handful of cars stayed out and Braun restarted ninth.

The rookie began to move forward and was scored fifth on lap 16. Unfortunately, he began to express apprehension about his brakes and began to drop back in the field. On lap 26, the caution was waved again as the rear brakes had locked up, putting Braun in the sand trap. Fortunately, there was no damage to the car, and the team was able to keep Braun on the lead lap. He restarted in 28th on lap 29. During that very same lap, trouble would find the No. 16 again as Braun was caught in a multiple-car accident.

Braun was able to drive the car back to pit road but had sustained rear and front end damage. The team quickly went to work on repairs, but was interrupted by NASCAR displaying the red flag for clean-up. This gave Viers and the team some time to come up with a plan to get the car repaired and keep Braun on the lead lap. When the red flag was retracted, the team did just that. Before the green was displayed again, Braun came back down pit road to top off with fuel, in case the race became one of fuel strategy. He restarted in 16th on lap 33.

While Braun still remained troubled about his brakes, he started to move forward. The field would endure three more caution periods, and some very tense racing in the final laps as drivers jockeyed for every position possible. At the drop of the checkers, Braun would cross the line in 11th.

"I really hate that we got into that mess there in the middle of the race," Braun said after the race. "But I can't say enough about Rick (Viers) and these guys and the hard work they did on pit road to get me fixed up and back out there. I really enjoyed racing at this track and I know we will continue to have fast cars as we get to the other road courses here in a few months. I learned a lot from Rick (Viers) this week and I look forward to what we can do next weekend in New Hampshire."

Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards won the event in dominant fashion, leading all but 15 laps of the 50-lap event. Ron Fellows, Brendan Gaughan, Brad Keselowski and newcomer Owen Kelly rounded out the top-five. Braun was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race and remains in third in the rookie of the year standings. The Nationwide Series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend.