NEWS ARCHIVES

BROWN SCORES EXCITING THIRD PLACE FINISH AT THOMPSON INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

RURAL HALL, N.C. (September 13, 2011) – Tim Brown, driver of the No. 02 Hayes Jewelers and Wall to Wall Manufactured Housing Services modified, wheeled his way to a well-deserved third place finish in the Southern Thompson 125 followed by an 18th place finish in the 50 lap UNOH Showdown at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, CT this past Sunday.

The Rural Hall, N.C. native gained points but remains 7th in the point standings, only 29 markers behind the No. 40 of Frank Fleming in 6th.

With this being the first race at a Northern track for the NWSMT, and particularly the first time at Thompson International Speedway for most of the Southern drivers, Saturday’s practices consisted of figuring the track out and making necessary adjustments. By the end of final practice Brown was happy with the car and had a very positive outlook on the race. Later Saturday evening, he landed a 7th place starting position after posting a time of 18.979 seconds.

Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the starting lineup moments after 1:00pm. A car that was set to start ahead of Brown had issues before the race began and had to start in the rear which left Brown with a 6th place starting position. He immediately began fighting for position and took over the fifth spot on the first lap. Eagerly, he continued to try to battle for position but quickly learned that the bottom of the track was not the place to be. As he went to the bottom of the track to try to pass for more positions he ended up getting hung on the bottom and found himself in 10th by the first caution on lap 20. Although disappointed in what had just happened, he chose to take it as a lesson learned about the track and refused to give up on getting back to the front of the pack.

As the field came back around to the green flag on lap 29, Brown began his quest to gain positions back. Before the first circuit back under green was completed he had clinched 8th and continued to move on. Keeping in mind that he had to maintain the car and tires, he strategically and skillfully picked his way back up through the field and was in fourth position by the second caution on lap 109. He battled back and forth with the No. 1 of Burt Myers for third position over the closing laps. On the final restart on lap 119 he fell back to fourth, but the car that was in the lead got black flagged for jumping the restart which left Brown with a third place finish as they came around to the checkered flag on lap 125.

"We are so proud of Tim and the entire No. 02 team for their hard work preparing for the race and during the race weekend. We would like to thank Thompson Speedway for hosting such a nice event, and we look forward to returning next year," said the Lythgoe's.

The 50 lap UNOH Showdown was held later that evening. This was not a point’s race, only a money race between the Northern and Southern cars. Brown’s third place finish in the tour race placed him in 6th for the beginning of the Showdown race. Unfortunately, some mechanical issues plagued the No. 02 team for this race. Brown had to make two pit stops but didn’t give up and fought for positions until the final lap when he crossed the checkered in 18th.

Brown, owners, Tom and Connie Lythgoe, and the 02 crew were extremely happy with the third place finish and look forward to the next four races as the season enters its final turn. They return to Caraway Speedway this Saturday, September 17th, for the Caraway 150, where they have high hopes of bringing home their first victory of the season!