(Photo by Mike Howard Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – SAPULPA, Okla. (May 13, 2020) – Brenham Crouch produced his most successful weekend of the young season last Friday and Saturday during the TUHB, Quality Threads Small-Town Showdown at Creek County Speedway.
Crouch posted top-10 performances in both Lucas Oil National Open Wheel 600 Series presented by Hi-Plains Building Division Stock Non-Wing and Winged ‘A’ Class divisions on Friday before improving to a fourth-place outing in both classes on Saturday. It was even more impressive considering the field for each division featured more than 45 drivers both nights.
“It was good to get back with the NOW600 Series,” Crouch said. “Four top 10s is something good to start off with coming back from the break.”
A charge from sixth to third place in a Stock Non-Wing heat race lined Crouch up on the outside of the fourth row for the main event on Friday. Unfortunately, he was caught up in an early incident and had to rally from the rear of the field to post a 10th-place result.
“We got caught up a few laps into the race and had to go to the work area,” Crouch said. “Something was jamming the right rear and we had to take it out. We came from the back. It made me comfortable passing cars in tight spaces and running it off into the cushion really hard because that’s what we had to do to pass cars.”
Crouch took advantage of drawing the pole position to win a Winged ‘A’ Class heat race that evening, which he capped with an eighth-place finish in the A Main.
“We had to run the bottom and there wasn’t anything there,” he noted on the start of the main event. “We fell back to 11th or 12th. It was follow the leader on the top. The way to pass was if someone went to the bottom or made a mistake so we had to be patient and take what we could get.”
Crouch showed progress in both divisions on Saturday. He powered from third to win a Stock Non-Wing heat race before battling for a top five throughout the main event. His fourth-place finish was his second top five of the season.
“Early in the race we got over the cushion and let two fast guys by,” he said. “We got back to third and then the car biked, which let one guy by us. Once everything settled in we were there. It definitely gave us confidence. Knowing we could stay with them and compete felt good.”
The event concluded with the Winged ‘A’ Class main event, which Crouch started on the pole thanks to a successful heat race outing of fifth to second place. Unfortunately, the bottom lane wasn’t preferred and Crouch dropped to fifth place within the first couple of laps. He regained one position and spent the remainder of the race within striking distance of a podium before setting for fourth.
“I didn’t have a good enough start being on the bottom,” he said. “The other cars took off and we were stuck on the bottom. Once we got up into the racing lane the track was too narrow to slide anyone and I didn’t want to wad anything up so I stayed right on the third-place driver hoping he’d make a mistake.”
Crouch plans to rejoin the Lucas Oil National Open Wheel 600 Series presented by Hi-Plains Building Division May 22-23 at KC Raceway in Independence, Mo., and May 24 at Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan.
“Last weekend was the best, most consistent weekend we’ve had so far with not getting to race much this year,” Crouch’s Team Manager Joey Starnes said. “Brenham got better each time he hit the track. He’s only ran two non-wing races before so for him to get in a non-wing car and have the confidence to drive it deep enough in the corner and have his timing down is a big thing. Being able to go back and forth between winged and non-wing is a big factor in what we’re trying to do night to night.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 8 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. (Stock Non-Wing) – Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 10 (8).
May 8 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. (Winged ‘A’ Class) – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 8 (9).
May 9 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. (Stock Non-Wing) – Heat race: 1 (3); Feature: 4 (3).
May 9 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. (Winged ‘A’ Class) – Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 4 (1).
SEASON STATS –
11 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 7 top 10s, 9 top 15s, 10 top 20s
UP NEXT –
May 22-23 at KC Raceway in Independence, Mo., and May 24 at Caney Valley Speedway in Caney, Kan., with the Lucas Oil National Open Wheel 600 Series presented by Hi-Plains Building Division
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.brenhamcrouch.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brenhamcrouch/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brenhamcrouch1
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Bell Helmets
Bell Racing USA LLC is the world's leading auto racing and karting helmet company since 1954. For more information, visit http://www.BellRacing.com.
“We’ve always used Bell Helmets because they are the best in the business,” Crouch said. “There is no other helmet company that compares to the safety and comfort of Bell Helmets.”
Crouch would also like to thank Hi-Plains Building Division, Hi-Plains Electric, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Wilson Wrecker Service, Lineman Motorsports, Mychron-Tom, Lubbock Wrecker Service, CMS Promotions, Simpson Race Products, Driven Performance, Driven Midwest, CSI Shocks, Swindell Bleeders, Outlaw Wings, Smith Titanium and Joey Starnes Racing for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on May 13, 2020
- Article Date: 5/13/2020 by Inside Line Promotions