#B1 Restricted Micro 600 - Brantley Queeney
After his fireball blow-up at his last race which sent a connecting rod through the block, over a month ago due to hurricanes and rain-outs, Brantley was anxious to get to the track! We got a new engine installed and the car ready just in time. He was a little nervous to race with the wing, as the past several races have been non-wing. The last time he ran a wing was when he was VERY new, first time racing...and he wasn't pushing the car hard yet so he didn't realize that the car handles better when you push it. He figured it out tonight!
The night started out with a parade lap for the National Anthem. He and his brother were chosen to display the colors!
The track was in ROUGH shape on arrival...and I have to give credit to the track prep crew. I would've never guessed they would've cleaned it up as well as they did in short time. The track went from treacherous enough to cause spin-outs in 'pack the track', to becoming a pretty 'racy' surface for most of the night. Hats off to the guys/gals who helped get the track ready in short notice. It looked grim when we got there and turned out great with all things considered.
Hot laps had Brantley pretty tight, hooked up well, but most importantly he was pushing the car! He dropped over 2 seconds off of his laps from the last wing race and was within a few tenths of the drivers who are usually at the front. He got a good draw, and started outside front row in his heat, P2. He went around the outside of the pole sitter in turn 2 for the lead and continued to distance the field throughout the whole heat race. He was PUMPED to bring home his first checkered flag and his first heat race win!!
We didn't change anything for the feature...and continued where we left off. Brantley started P1 and stayed there until the very last lap when his buddy David caught him slipping and passed him. Brantley was super bummed that he didn't finish off the race with a win, but finally realized that he has a lot to be proud of. He looked like he got tired/fatigued and made a few mistakes late in the race which ultimately cost him the race. Regardless, he has a lot to be proud of and hopefully he can keep learning and carry his momentum into the next race! He'll get his first feature win before long!
Thank you to David Spencer Racing, Lucas SpeedFactory, Kaydee Howard and family, Scott Maust, Paul Spake and Spake Sisters Racing, Sharkey / PipelineMD, and everyone else who helps him/us out. Whether it's working on the car, answering the 'crew chief's' questions, or chatting with Brantley to give him motivation, instruction, pointers and atta-boys. It helps more than you know!
- Shawn Queeney on Aug 18, 2024
- Article Date: 8/18/2024