2008 Racing Results:
The first race of the season was on May 28, 2008 at the Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, IN. Branden started the first race of the season in a new car, a new track and the pole. He finished the race in 4th place. The feature race got off to an exciting start with three wide in the first turn. Branden quickly checked-up to make sure he did not get caught up in the over aggressive driving for the first lap of the race. By the 12th lap of the race Branden took over the sixth position, but unfortuately lost his brakes in the 15th lap of the race . Luckily he was able to get off the track without incident. |
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The second race of the season was held on May 31, 2008 at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. Branden was having a great day. He was the fastest qualifier and set the rookie time track record of 15.51 seconds. He started in the back of the pack in his heat race and finished in 2nd place. In the feature, he started in the 8th position and quickly moved to 4th. On the 9th lap of the race a Branden was taken out of the race by a driver, who failed to check-up after a third place driver spun out. It was a very disappointing night. |
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The third race of the season was held on June 14, 2008 at the Grundy County Speedway. This race was co-sanctioned by USAC and UMARA, which draws many of the best racers in the country. Branden started in the 5th row on the outside. The race started out rough with a spin in the first turn. Two racers where immediately eliminated and one driver was sent to the back of the pack. The race was restarted and by the 10 lap, Branden moved into 3rd place and was keeping up the best USAC teams in the country. He finished the race 3rd, which was a huge accomplishment for this early in the season. |
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The fourth race of the season was held on June 18, 2008, at Plymouth Speedway, Plymouth IN. Branden won the heat race but was docked several positions in the feature because the racer in front him would not take off and Branden passed him before start /finish line. This pushed Branden to the 10th position in the feature. The feature race got off to rough a start with a spin out in the first lap. This happened twice more before the race really took off. By the 10th lap of the race, he had moved into the 4th position and had already lapped 2 cars. By the 15th lap, Branden tires were giving out and he was leaving rubber behind him. In the 17th lap, Branden was passed by one car which moved him into 5th place where he finished. |
Branden was the only rookie to finish in the top five! | ||
The fifth race of the season was held at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on June 21, 2008. This was the Carter/Anderson Memorial race. This night started off great and just kept getting better. Our team had put together the right setup to dominate the night. Branden had his first clean sweep of the season. He was the fastest qualifier (15.573 sec) and won both heat and feature races. Branden started the feature in the 2nd row on the inside. In the 4th lap of the race he took the lead and dominated the field through the remaining 10 laps to win his first feature of the season. Our team mate Nick Grommes also had a great night by placing 2nd in the heat and feature races. Marc Watcher owner of “Watcher Racing” is the person behind the scenes that is pulling this team together. Marc has spent endless hours in the garage working on these cars to make them run at peak performance and it looks like his hard work is starting to pay off. We would like to dedicate this win to Marc and we would like to thank our entire pit crew and all our sponsors for making this possible. |
Click on this link to check out the article posted on the UMARA website! | ||
The sixth race of the season was held at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on June 28, 2008. Branden started the days event by being the fastest qualifier. They inverted the field for his heat race, so he started last in the heat race. By the sixth lap of the race Branden moved to the lead to win the heat race. In the feature Branden started in the sixth position. By the third lap of the race he moved into fourth place. By the 10 lap of the race he moved into third place and finished the feature second in the Ford Focus division. Check out this feature finish, he was just inches away from taking the lead. Wow, this was an exciting racing! |
Click on this link to check out the video! | ||
The seventh race of the season was held at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on August 2, 2008. Branden started the day being the fastest qualifer (15.433). This was his fastest time yet. The field was inverted and Branden started the race at the back and he finished the quick 8 lap heat in 2nd place. In the feature, Branden started the race in the 5th position and quickly moved into the 2nd place position by the 4th lap of the race. He started to loose ground due to fuel filter issue and then re-gained ground to finish 2nd place in the 15 lap feature. This race put Branden just 3 points behind the point leader and he is looking forward to see what the next race will bring. |
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The eighth race of the season was held at the at the Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, IN on August 6, 2008 Branden started the heat race in the 5th position and quickly moved into the 3rd place position by the 4th lap of the race. He continued to turn the heat gaining a position every lap to win the heat race. Branden started the 30 lap feature in the fourth position. By the 5th lap of the race, he was already in lapped traffic and was gaining ground on the 3rd place driver. By the 17 lap of the race he was still holding his own 4th place but his brakes where starting to fade. Branden finished the race in 5th place and became the point leader for the UMARA Ford Focus Series. He gained a 19 point lead in this race! |
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Click on this link to see another article in the Morris Herald, called "Allen Adjusts Admirably" | ||
The tenth race of the season was held at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on August 16, 2008. This race was co-sanctioned by USAC and UMARA, which draws many of the best racers in the country. Branden started this 8 lap heat in the 2 place position and lost ground to place 3rd after experiencing a problem with his car. The pit crew made several adjustsment to the car and Branden started the feature in the 2nd position. The race was off and Branden quickly took the lead position for the first six laps, when a caution came out because a competitor lost a tire. On the restart of the race Branden lost ground and slide to the fourth position, where he later finished. Overall this was a great night. Branden finished in front of all the local UMARA competitors and continued to gain ground in point lead spread. Branden now is leading by 44 points. |
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The eleventh race of the season was held at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on August 23, 2008. Branden started the day as the fastest qualifier (15.655). In the 8 lap heat race the field was inverted and he started on the inside of the second row. In the first lap of the race he was in the fourth position. He quickly moved into second and then went on to win the race in the ford focus division. In the 15 lap feature race the field was again inverted. Branden started the race in third row on the inside. In the second lap of the race he took the third position. He struggled in third until the 10th lap of the race when another competitor turned into the front of his car making him spin. The caution came out and Branden was now at the end of the field in tenth place. With only 5 laps remaining he quickly moved back to take 3rd place in his division. This was very disappointing for Branden but it was awesome for the fans to watch his comeback.This was another good points night for Branden; he locked up the UMARA Ford Focus Championship leading in the points by 109. |
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The twelveth and final race of the season was the very prestigious "Bob Lockard Memorial Race", which was held at the Grundy County Speedway on August 30, 2008. Earlier in the day three former drivers (Dennis Devea, Duane Pierson and Dick Pole) were inducted to the hall of fame. This race is a special honor to win and Branden won it last year running in the INEX legend series, so he really wanted to do it again in the Ford Docus Midget series. The race day started earlier than usual with the cars on display for public to view and the hall of fame ceremony. Branden started the 8-lap heat race on the second row inside. He quickly took the second place position where he finished. In the 20 lap feature he started on the outside of row one and led the field into turn one on the second attempt of the green flag. In the 10th lap of the race another rookie took over the second position and attempted to take the lead. Branden continued to hold him off and led the entire 20 lap race winning his second "Bob Lockard Memorial Race" and he also won the UMARA Ford Focus Championship! This was a terrific way to end the season especially since Branden was a rookie, who did not have any experience setting up or racing this type of car before. This is a huge accomplishment for the entire team. We would like to again thank all of the Sponsors for their continued support! Yorkville NAPA, Wholesale Tire, Seymour Paint, Fifth Third Bank, Landrum Springs, Simpson, K&N Filters, Bell and last but not least Marc Watcher for helping Branden learn how to build, setup and maintain his car. We would also like to thank all the fans that came out to cheer for Branden and support us throughout the season! |
Branden's interview after winning the "Bob Lockard Memorial" and the "2008 Ford Focus Championship".
Branden celebrating his victory in the pits following the race with Mark and Dan from Yorkville NAPA. Click on this link to read the UMARA press release. |
