Catchfence

Sunday, March 29th. Valdosta, GA – Drew Brannon almost made it two in a row in the ASA Late Models South Division but fell one spot short, finishing second to Landon Cassill at the rain-delayed SGMP Short Track National Georgia 100.

Due to the number of entries and the repeated weather delays, officials ran the ASA Late Models and the Southern Pro Late Models together in a single field so 26 cars took the green flag.

Drew just missed the pole in the qualifying session, posting the second quickest time for the second straight race, this time behind the 51 of Steven Nasse who set a new SGMP track record of 18.452 seconds at the flat half mile track. Drew was just off Nasse’s mark with a lap of 18.464.
The invert number this week was an eight, so Drew started on the inside of the fourth row.

Knowing he had a good car, young Brannon used his head and took his time in the first half of the event, moving into the fourth position at the races midway point. A few laps later, he got around Bubba Pollard for third. At this time, Landon Cassill and Russell Freeman had separated themselves from the field and it looked like Drew was going to settle for a third place finish.

Two cautions in the races final ten laps bunched the field and gave the sixteen year-old from Florida the opportunity to work his way past Freeman and into the second spot before Cassill took the checkers. Cassill was using the newly approved LS3 motor, which proved to be very potent powerplant.

With finishes of first and second in the seasons first two events the SS Green Light team is looking to be in midseason form. Crew Chief Butch Miller is pleased with the entire team and his young driver. “Drew showed a lot of patience and maturity today. I am very impressed with both his talent and his demeanor. Everyone has done a great job and I’m looking forward to next week to keep this momentum rolling.”

“This track turned out to be a little more difficult to pass on than I thought when we first got here,” Brannon said following the race. “It seems so wide but there’s really two pretty tight groves, with the two classes combined it made things a little more difficult but with the weather it was the best thing for them to do.”

“Butch brought a really good car this weekend, but Landon had everyone covered, I know some of the competitors feel the engine gave him an advantage, but his car handled really good,” Brannon added. “We should have a pretty good points lead and that’s the big picture that we need to keep focused on. I’m really pleased with the whole SS Green Light team. I think we really get along well and it’s going to be a great year.”

During Saturday’s weather postponement, some “team building” was in order and the entire SS Green Light team went bowling to pacify some of the spare time while waiting for the rain to subside. Spotter/tire specialist Mike Toemmes showed he knows his stuff on the lanes as well as on the asphalt as he posted the high score.

Next up for Drew Brannon and the ASI Limited, Spectrum Metal Finishing, Akzo Nobel late model team will be April 4th New Senoia Speedway in Senoia, GA for the ASALMS Georgia Showdown 100.

For more on SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com

- SS Green Light Racing Press Release