Travis Braden Maintains Points Lead After Podium Finish At Kalamazoo Speedway; Flat Rock Speedway Is Up
Defending Series Champion sits P1 in points heading to second Michigan race in four days
(Special from Travis Braden Motorsports)
August 15, 2014
Wheeling, West Virginia (August 15, 2014) – All Travis Braden needed to overcome the
horrible start to the 2014 racing season was to prove that his 2013 ARCA/CRA Super
Series Championship was no fluke. After three starts that were not up to his standards,
the 20-year-old has been one of the hottest drivers in the country rattling off six
consecutive top five finishes, including an emotional victory in the Inaugural JEGS Bud St.
Amant Memorial 174 Presented by CoughlinCars.com on August 2nd at Columbus Motor
Speedway (OH).
The Wheeling, West Virginia driver then backed up his pivotal win, which saw him take
over the ARCA/CRA points lead, with a stellar third place finish in the Boyne Machine
Company 100 on Wednesday, August 13th at Kalamazoo Speedway (MI). While second
place in points, Ross Kenseth actually gained ground on Braden due to earning Qualifying
bonus points after timing in second while Braden qualified 13th. Kenseth finished one spot
behind Braden in fourth as the two standouts have emerged as the top two drivers going
after the 2014 Championship with five races remaining.
"Had a blast at the Kalamazoo. It was my first trip there to race, and to be quite honest, I
struggled in practice to figure out what driving line and technique I needed to use. We
weren't terribly slow, but would have liked to find another tenth in practice." Braden
explained. "We made some big changes right before qualifying and they really woke the car up. The guys then did a great job deciding what exactly we needed to change for the race. After about 15 laps I could tell we hit something right. I was finally getting comfortable and we could make a lot of green flag passes." He added.
After starting on the inside of the seventh row, Braden began picking cars off while advancing through the field. "My biggest struggle was a slight disadvantage down the straight-aways as we had a crate engine in while most others had bigger powerhouses. Nonetheless, I had an absolute blast coming from the back and racing my way to third. There was a lot of great, hard, CLEAN racing going on and it made passes difficult but rewarding. My only sorrow was that we didn't get a chance to get up there and race with Kyle and JVD. I really think we had a little something for them."
There's little time to reflect on the Kalamazoo race as he and his Travis Braden Motorsports team will make the trip East across the state of Michigan to the 1/4 (0.250) mile semi-banked paved oval of Flat Rock Speedway, located south of Detroit in Flat Rock, Michigan for the 7-Up 150 on Saturday, August 16th. Braden holds down the ARCA/CRA Super Series track record at the Southeast Michigan speed plant and is looking forward to returning.
"I think this could be a great race for us. It is very similar to the last few tracks we have been to, which we have had great speed at. I'm looking for a little redemption after last year's heartbreaking finish after chasing down and passing the leader with less than 10 to go only to get spun." The West Virginia University Engineering Student continued. "Flat Rock is another great little bullring where there should be many hard-fought side-by-side battles throughout the evening. I have to believe that someone will have a car that comes to life on the long run and steal the show, so hopefully it is us." He ended.
Braden will carry that eight-point advantage over Kenseth heading to Flat Rock as he has one victory to go with an impressive six top five finishes which also account for his six top 10 showings. There are four races left in the season after Flat Rock including Winchester Speedway (IN) on Labor Day Weekend followed by Kil-Kare Speedway (OH), Lucas Oil Raceway (IN) and back to Winchester for the 43rd Running of the Winchester 400 on October 12th. Minus Flat Rock, the remaining schedule features tracks that Braden has won at in ARCA/CRA Super Series competition.
For the rest of the 2014 season, Braden’s popular #01 West Virginia University / Chevrolet will also carry additional sponsorship support and decals from; Braden’s A-1 Towing & Collision as well as RememberTheMiners.org, Matheson Valley Gases, Stoney Hollow Tire, Elms Grove Eagles #1891, A.D. Baker Construction, M.P.H. Promotions, and Travis Braden Motorsports.
For more information about Travis Braden and the entire Travis Braden Motorsports operation, call Car Owner, Don Braden at: (304) 215-5026. You can also go to the new and improved Travis Braden Motorsports Website located at: www.travisbraden.com You can also go to the Facebook Fan Page at: www.facebook.com/TravisDBraden and finally on Twitter by clicking on: www.twitter.com/TrBRaden
