Story by: Andy Marquis ~ [email protected]

Copper Hill, VA(October 11, 2012) – 2012 did not go according to plan for Brandon Brown.  He saw his lone victory of the season snatched from him at Southern National Motorsports Park after failing post-race inspection.  But Brandon Brown is ready to put that behind him and focus on qualifying for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Martinsville is late model stock car racing’s Daytona 500, Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby all rolled in to one.  Surviving the qualifying races to make the main event for a young driver like Brown would be the equivalent to winning the American League Championship Series and advancing to the World Series.  And Brown believes he has the car to get the job done.

“The car is looking way better than it ever had and I believe we can put this Brandonbilt Motorsports/The Sign Shop #68 possibly in victory lane,” Brown said.  “Our team has been going through every scenario to prepare for anything.”

Brown attempted to make the field last year but multiple incidents in his heat race sent Brown packing.  This year, the format’s different.  Single-car qualifying runs are out and the field will be determined by heat races.  And Brandon Brown can be added to the list of drivers who do not like that change.

“I’m not a fan of the heat races to get in,” Brown said.  “I feel like it’s going to be more damage to start with rather than qualifying and sticking with tradition.”

But the heat race format might be more favorable to Brown.  During open testing on October 3rd, Brown’s fastest time was a 20.8 second lap.  Martinsville will be all about performance.  Brown will depend heavily on former Old Dominion Speedway track champion Adam Brenner, who is turning the wrenches.

Brown picked up three wins at Old Dominion Speedway in 2011.  When Michael Diaz reopened Southern National Motorsports Park, Brandon’s father Jerry made the decision to run at the short track in Kenly, North Carolina.  The season was disappointing for Brown as he saw his lone victory on the season ultimately denied as the result of a disqualification.

Making the field and putting up a strong performance could quell the disappointment of the 2012 regular season and could turn a lot of heads to the attention of the young underdog driver from Northern Virginia.