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| Drew Brannon Qualifies & Finishes Fifth At DeSoto | by Bill green, From Behind The MIC
Brannon Racing had taken a little time off for some well earned recreation here near the end of the summer. A visit to Bush Gardens in Tampa on Friday before the latest Turner Tree & Landscape 100-Lap event at DeSoto's high banked 3/8 mile paved oval was just what the team needed.
Arriving at DeSoto before noon would give the Brannon Specialties Team time to consider the options for the evenings event. The 2PM practice was washed out by Mother Nature, as the heavens opened up and rain set in for a while. The afternoon showers made for a busy cleanup and drying operation, but bombers and pure stocks were on the track by 5:25 for the first of two rounds of practice.
Joining the team for the evening would be one of the most recognizable names in Florida late model racing history. "Big Daddy" Dave Pletcher, now semi-retired from local action, was a rookie on the NASCAR circuit in 1988. Racing only a hand full of races in the 1987-1988 seasons due to sponsorship issues, but enjoying some success at Daytona.
Pletcher's last NASCAR race saw him start 38 in the field of 41 and bring the then Wild Turkey sponsored Ford home a respectable 29th as the late Neil Bonnet won the event. Looking at the finish sheet, Dave beat names like Terry Labonte, Benny Parsons, Rick Wilson, Jimmy Means and even the King, Richard Petty himself, whom feel out early tangled in an accident.
Visiting with Drew and the team gave the veteran Dave an opportunity to look over the #08 Brannon Specialties car and give a few tips on set-up and chassis changes. Drew has still remained unsure of the car at times and hoped a new perspective on the car and under the hood, would improve his results.
Qualifying was a little tricky. Drew left the infield as drivers normally would and suddenly felt he had no clutch. "It just would not go into second as I went through turn one to get up to speed." he stated.
Thinking quickly he re-entered the infield qualifying line and troubleshot the situation. Finding he could get the car into 4th gear ok, he would only need to get a push, to get in a qualifying run. With a little help from fellow competitor Joe Winchell, the push truck was positioned and Drew went out last, thinking he'd get only one lap to qualify.
The car dropped into 4th with no problem and he was off on the run. The first lap was a tense one hoping no major damage had been done to the transmission in the previous try. Drew streaked around the DeSoto high banks in a run of 15.209, fast enough for 5th starting spot and a post qualifying visit to tech.
Qualifying tech saw the removal of carburetors for inspection. The #08 team elected to wait out a short rain shower that had returned to the speedway, before removing their's and then it breezed through the process.
Back at the hauler, Drew's father and team leader Bob, met with his driver, friend Brian Slentz acting as assistant crew chief and the visiting Dave Pletcher. The plan for the evening was formulated and the car was readied between showers and one large storm. Racing started for the first class at 9:20, the Late Model feature would start near 11:30pm.
The inversion was 4, so Drew stayed inside row three. At the start Drew battled hard to say in touch with the leader, falling into fifth. He would go to fourth as the cars in front of him made contact and one fell back, but a hard charging back qualifier would roll past mid-race and Drew would settle in to fifth for the bulk of the laps. Near the end there were two cautions for spinning cars, giving Drew an opportunity to improve his position as they tightened up for restarts. Drew tried several times to make moves on the fourth place car, but just never could hit the perfect combination of timing and position.
His fifth place finish raises his Top-5 finishes average a little, but the satisfaction of getting all he could out of the car was very satisfying.
Next week Drew Brannon and the team visit the Daytona Beach area next week, to run in the Goodyear Challenge Series 100 at New Smyrna Speedway on August 18th. Then they will move over to Lakeland, Florida for the Goodyear run at USA International Speedway on August 25th. For more information visit DrewBrannon.com or call Bill Green at 941-920-3370.
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