Commentary by: Rob Staley ~ [email protected]

Danville, VA(July 25, 2012) — With the 2012 Orange County Speedway season at the halfway point, a familiar name is in the thick of things for a title, near the top of the track’s late model select points. Brian Cole sits in third place, just 16 markers behind championship leader Tripp Massengill.

Cole has yet to taste victory in 2012, despite consistent runs at the front. He came closest in the first of twin 35 lap races on June 2, leading until the final lap when he was tapped by second running Massengill . Cole saw triumph slip away as he spun down the backstretch and was relegated to a seventh place finish. Cole exibited the strength of the teams short race program by rebounding for a second place finish in the nightcap.

“We’ve always been very strong at qualifying, so shorter races have always appealed to me,” states the Roxboro, N.C. driver. “I’m guessing the twin 35’s are not as popular among most competitors, but as I stated earlier, I like shorter races because we tend to qualify well.”

Brian’s brother , Adam, is the team’s crew chief and spotter. Dad Larry is the team owner and gets a unique perspective of the action as he is in the broadcast tower, reporting the race on local radio.

“My family has been involved in the race team for as long as we’ve been racing – since 1997.  My mom , Kathy, films the races and makes sure we’re all eating and drinking enough on race days.”

The high banked three-eighths mile oval lends itself to some exciting racing , especially in the featured late model select class. ” I think the biggest thing that helps racing at OCS is the double-file restarts,” Cole explains.  “At OCS there are two fast grooves not giving either the inside or outside lane an advantage during the double file restarts.”

The track has been criticized for creating a rules package in the class that  strives to equalize built and crate motors, but Cole is philisophical about that aspect of the competition.  “I’m still not a fan of running different engine/carb combinations in one division.  But it allows teams to come race from  other tracks without having to make wholesale changes.”

With the second half of the season on the horizon, Cole hopes to garner that elusive first victory and make a serious run at the track title. The tracks regular season resumes August 11.