RURAL HALL, N.C. (March 15, 2011) – Tim Brown, driver of the No. 02 Hayes Jewelers and Wall 2 Wall modified, coasted to a second place finish in the Spring Classic 150 at Caraway Speedway this past Sunday, March 13th.
Brown and the 02 team were very happy with the car in practice on Saturday. Later that afternoon, he landed a seventh place starting position after touring the .455-mile banked oval in 15.961 seconds at a speed of 102.625 mph.
Great weather and a large crowd greeted the starting line up shortly after 3:30pm. As the 22-car field came around to the green flag, Brown was quickly battling for seventh position on the outside line. After clinching the seventh spot within the first few laps, he moved on to race side-by-side with the No. 40 for sixth. By the time the first caution flag waved on lap 64, The Rocket had made his way up to fifth position.
Restarting on the outside throughout several cautions over the following 50 laps caused Brown to fall back through the pack as he was hung on the outside. With close to 40 laps to go, he radioed to his crew that he had “driven it too hard and killed the right rear”. However, the decision to stay out and see what they could do in the remainder of the race was made.
The closing laps were nothing short of exciting. After several more cautions and some cars in the front of the pack being involved in wrecks, Brown was sitting in third position for the restart on lap 128. He quickly took over second position after the green flag was once again waved. With a powerful car and his determination he was able to hold onto second until crossing the checkered on lap 150.
“The team has worked really hard on this 02 Hayes Jewelers, Wall 2 Wall modified over the winter and we are beyond excited to come out here and finish second in the first race of the season. Tom and Connie are wonderful people to work with and drive for and I just want thank them for this great opportunity. We now know what changes we need to make to the car and look forward to coming back in two weeks and hopefully getting a win,” stated Brown.
One race into the 14 race scheduled season Brown sits second in the point standings, a mere 15 points behind the winner of Sunday’s race, George Brunnhoelzl III.
"Tim and the entire 02 team did a great job at Caraway, and we're thrilled to start the season with a strong finish! We're very fortunate to have Hayes Jewelers and Neal & Arcy Wall (Wall 2 Wall) on board with us this year. We look forward to going back to Caraway in two weeks," said the Lythgoe's.
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modifed Tour returns to Caraway on Saturday, March 26th, for the Caraway 150. Don’t miss it as Brown and the T and C Motorsports team attempt to bring home the first win of the 2011 season!
