Some say it’s better to be lucky than good. But Tim Brown has been both.
Brown, a resident of Tobaccoville, got a lucky draw for position in Saturday’s Camping World 100 at Bowman Gray Stadium. He powered ahead to claim his fourth victory of the season in the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series.
Joe Ryan Osborne of Kannapolis started on the pole and jumped out into the lead when the green flag fell. However, his time at the top was short lived: Brown, who started second, darted to the inside to take the lead away on the first lap.
Chris Fleming of Mount Airy tried to challenge Brown for the lead but couldn’t make anything happen. Cale Gale of Winston-Salem also tried to apply some pressure to the rear bumper of Brown’s number 83 car, but nothing could shake him.
“These three last 100-lap races have been luck,” said Brown about some good fortune in the last three races where starting position is determined by random draw. “We’ve got a great racecar – don’t get me wrong. But we’ve drawn up front and then we’ve just capitalized on that,” said Brown. “This race team is on it right now. The racecar is just hooked up and running great.”
But while Brown coasted at the head of the field, he was anything but relaxed. “When I was younger and first started racing, I’d get the lead in some races and think I was going to win – and then something would happen. As I’ve aged and got a little wiser, it’s not over until you take that checkered flag,” said Brown. “Always in the back of your mind anything can go wrong. So you just hit your marks, take care of it, and do the best you can.”
Chris Fleming finished second behind Tim Brown, while Joe Ryan Osborne claimed third.
Jason Myers of Walnut Cove turned the fastest lap of the evening, while brother Burt Myers qualified fourth fastest. They both elected to take the Colors Edge Challenge, starting in the rear for a chance to earn $3,000.
Burt climbed up to eighth early on in the race and seemed in a promising position to finish in the top four and grab the bonus. But bad luck struck Burt Myers again and again: wrecks in front of him, cluttered traffic, and mechanical problems all added up to Burt finishing 12th.
Jason Myers steadily made his way through the field but couldn’t go far enough. A mad dash during the last few laps had him advancing up to sixth, but he didn’t break into the top four. The prize pool now rolls over to the next 100-lapper where $6,000 will be on the line.
In the Farm Bureau Insurance Sportsman Series, Robbie Brewer of Winston-Salem won in the first 20-lapper, his third win of the season. The “Madhouse Scramble” draw put him back to 14th in the second race, and he fought his way through the field to sit at second place with a few laps to go.
Brewer was close to pulling off the rare feat of winning both ends of a double-header, but hard racing dropped him back as he was caught on the outside row. Tommy Neal of Walkertown and Justin Taylor of King had an intense battle along with Brewer for the lead. Neal bumped Taylor out of the way and Taylor retaliated.
The wild incident paved the way for Chase Hunt of Lexington to move in and steal the lead and the win away in the second race.
Doug Wall of Pfafftown won in the 20-lapper for the Q104.1 New Country Street Stock Series. In the McDowell Heating & Air Stadium Stock Series, Daniel Yates of Lexington and Mark Smith of Advance each won a 15-lap race.
