LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Colin Braun rarely makes starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series these days. After all, he’s busy with his full-time commitment in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, he has had the opportunity to run Kaulig Racing’s RAM All-Star truck twice this season, including Saturday (July 11) at Lime Rock Park. Saturday’s race could have ended with a great finish, but contact with Tanner Gray late hurt him.
“Our RAM had some decent speed in it at times,” Braun told Frontstretch after the race. “We had good strategy to flip the stage and get us some track position.
“We had a good restart to get from seventh to fifth, then we got dumped. These guys get crazy at the end, which is fun when you’re on the right side of it, not so much when you’re on the wrong side.”
Gray admitted fault after the race. First, to Braun himself, then to Frontstretch.
“I had gotten beside [Braun] a couple of times and he kind of ran me to the curb,” Gray told Frontstretch. “He said that he didn’t know I was there. Up the hill in [turn 5], I got a run on him, pulled out late and I was at his right rear [wheel]. I got myself … loose and got into him. I hate it and I apologized to him afterwards.”
Braun’s Saturday (July 11) got off to a pretty bad start when an issue underneath the No. 25 prevented him from setting a time in qualifying. That forced him to start 33rd.
Once the race started, Braun had a decent truck and was able to gain some positions. However, the entire first stage ran under green. Being back in traffic meant that he just wasn’t able to go as fast as Layne Riggs or Kaden Honeycutt.
As a result, Braun was running in a convoy with Kaulig teammates Justin Haley and Mini Tyrrell at the tail end of the lead. He was just able to stay in front of Riggs at the end of the stage.
Pit strategy really benefitted Braun. A series of incidents in stage two resulted in teams choosing to make their final stops prior to the end of the stage. Braun was one of those drivers.
Issues in the final stage for Riggs, Honeycutt, Stewart Friesen and others helped Braun move up the order. That, combined with a decent amount of passing on-track, allowed Braun to move up as far as fifth.
However, he was on older tires towards the end of the race. While the leaders pulled away, Braun fell into the clutches of Gray.
With a few laps to go, Gray made a rather optimistic move to the inside of Braun entering the West Bend. Contact was made, resulting in Braun spinning into the grass. Cole Butcher nearly slid into the No. 25 while it was parked there as well.
The late caution for Corey LaJoie stalling on-course allowed Braun to pit for fresh tires and some repairs. Over the final three laps, he was able to race all the way back up to 10th.
Gray was still in position for a top-five finish late. However, some contact on the final restart dropped him back to eighth.
For Braun, Saturday was his final start of the season in a Truck. However, he enjoyed himself and is more than willing to come back out for more.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the Frontstretch email newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the Frontstretch Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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