(Bill W) May 28, 2010 – Two nights with the World of Outlaws turned into one in Michigan for Brandon Wimmer and sprint car owner, Rick Ferkel. The Fairmount, Indiana driver is getting back in the groove after a three-month layoff from piloting the #0. This weekend, the team is planning on running a doubleheader at Fremont Speedway in Ohio.
Brandon’s thoughts this week were preoccupied with the tragic death of fellow sprint car driver, Jesse Hockett. “It’s still unbelievable,” he says. “My thoughts and prayers are with the Hockett family.”
Decisions about racing on Saturday came down to two choices. In the end, the team decided on racing with the WoO. “We were trying to decide between I-96 and K-C Raceway until noon on Saturday,” says Brandon. “We decided to go to Michigan.”
Brandon’s first action since Florida came almost two weeks ago with events at Attica Raceway Park, and Fremont. A rough draw at Attica made for a long night, but in the feature, he would charge from 17th to 8th. At Fremont on May 15, he was 13th.
On Saturday, Brandon timed in 21st in the 33-car field. “It had been a long layoff for me before Attica and Fremont the previous week, and we only got a few shows in Florida,” he says. “We didn’t qualify the best.”
The effort put Brandon outside row three in the first heat. The track was still in the process of coming in. “There just wasn’t much passing in the heat,” he says. “We started sixth and finished sixth. The track was still pretty narrow.”
Things started to click in the B main, where Brandon won going away. “We started second there, and got the jump on Toni Lutar,” he shares. “The track had widened quite a bit. From what I was told, we won by a pretty good ways.”
The setup was a good one, and Brandon started moving forward. However, multiple cautions hampered him. “We got going pretty good and got up to around twelfth or thirteenth,” he says. “The double-file restarts are something else. You like them if you are on the right half of the track. Unfortunately, when we needed to be restarting on the high side, we were starting down on the bottom.”
The amount of cautions affected tire pressure. “We were good until about ¾ of the way in,” says Brandon. “Under a yellow, we started getting really tight. There were so many cautions, that I don’t think we had the air building up in the tires that we needed. We just got way too tight, and fell backwards at the end.”
Brandon would register 17th at the checkers. This weekend, Brandon and the Ferkel #0 team will race with the All Star Circuit of Champions on Saturday at Fremont, and return to the “Track that Action Built” for a special Sunday show.
Team Mannatech
Brandon has realized that a driver not only needs good equipment on the racetrack, but needs to also be in the best physical shape to be a success. That's why Brandon has added a wellness program to his daily routine, which includes adding a line of scientifically validated nutritional products from Mannatech. Mannatech, Incorporation is a leading developer and provider of proprietary nutritional supplements, weight management products and skin care solutions. Athletes around the world rely on Mannatech products because they are formulated from high quality, natural plant sources and are formulated without any substances banned by major worldwide anti-doping agencies.
Brandon has been invited to serve on an elite team of athletes called Team Mannatech because of the results he has had with the products and will be working to share his experience with drivers, crews and fans. With more than 200 athletes representing countries around the globe, Team Mannatech members have been drawn from the exclusive ranks of sports legends, the everyday athlete and young enthusiasts destined to become superstars. They inspire action and attract passionate wellness champions and are all role models for their sport, committed to helping people of all ages lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
- Bill Wright on May 28, 2010
- Article Date: 5/28/2010