Catchfence

Brandon Sweet and the # 99 Clarence Henry Coach Ford Fusion pulled into Langley Speedway on Saturday morning for the running of the Hampton Virginia 250. The Freeman Racing Enterprise team unloaded their Ford Fusion and began pre-race activities.

All set for practice, Brandon buckled into his car and headed onto the track. Practice went well for Brandon, despite battling a loose racecar. The team worked on the car during after practice, but still wasn’t able to get comfortable in the car.

Qualifying was up next, and Brandon clocked in as the 15th fastest driver. USAR Pro Cup Rules prevent the team from working on the cars after qualifying, so the loose conditions of Brandon’s car continued. With the race during the evening, the team had hoped the cooler temperatures would help the car get more grip in the corners.

“The car is way too loose, I can’t get the tires to stick to the pavement at all”, commented Brandon after his qualifying lap.

Before the race started, Brandon and his new crew chief Blake Haugland discussed their pit strategy for the race. If the car was still loose for Brandon, they would pit under the first yellow, and make some adjustments.

Not long after the drop of the green flag, Brandon and the FRE team got the caution they were waiting for, and Brandon dived onto pit road, and the crew made some changes to tighten the car up.

When they went back to green flag racing, Brandon commented over the team’s radio, “the car is still way to loose boys”. The plan was that once the next caution came out, Brandon would come back onto pit road, so the crew could make even more adjustments to the car. Now running in the 12th position, the next caution came when the 13th place car punted the Clarence Henry Coach, Schaeffer’s Oil, Suburban Extended Stay of Concord Ford Fusion from behind, and the 16th place car t-boned him and shoved him into the front stretch wall ending the day for the visibly upset driver.

“It is really frustrating when that happens. I was pretty upset”, says Brandon after getting a chance to cool down after the incident. “I understand that this is part of racing, things are going to happen on the track”. The driver that hit Brandon did come over to apologize for causing the incident.

“Brandon has done a great job, and he continues to develop well driving in this tough pavement series. I understand he’s frustrated at today’s results however I am ecstatic with his ability to adapt to the pavement”, commented team owner Robert C. Freeman III.

The next race on the USAR Pro Cup Series schedule will be Saturday, June 12th at the South Boston Speedway in South Boston, VA. The tough ¼ mile bullring is home of NASCAR star Jeff Burton and his brother Ward, as well as Elliott and Hermie Sadler.

- Freeman Racing Enterprise Press Release