Beyond the Cockpit: Colin Braun on His Kaulig Opportunity, Tough 2026 Season

Colin Braun has had a varied career in motorsports. He made his debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona at the age of 16 as part of Team16, an effort run by The Racers Group that teamed three 16-year-olds together with Ross Bentley as a driver/coach. He has raced full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, raced in sports cars and even made a one-off appearance in the NTT IndyCar Series for Dale Coyne Racing in 2024.

These days, he primarily races in sports cars, sharing Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s No. 60 Acura ARX-06 with Tom Blomqvist. He also races in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS for Kellymoss. Recently, he met with our own Phil Allaway at Road America to talk about his season, how the Truck Series has changed over the years, his post-Acura future and more.

Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com: We’re coming down to the final three races of the season. You’ve been off and on with the program over the past few years. What’s going to be your biggest memory of racing the Acura ARX-06?

Colin Braun: For me, the biggest memories are going to be that first win at Daytona in 2023. On the debut of the [GTP] class, to take that win, and just the whole season that we had. It was fantastic. [We] had a lot of wins and nearly won the championship at the end. Super fun year.

To be part of the progression and development as everyone figured out the class, how to work the tires and systems in the car and all that. It was a lot of fun to be a part of.

Note: Acura announced in April that they would put the Acura ARX-06 program “on pause” after the 2026 season. The program will end following October’s Motul Petit Le Mans.

Allaway: Before you left the team, and once again now, you’ve had Tom Blomqvist as your teammate. What’s it been like working with him over the past few years?

Braun: It’s been great. Tom and I, we’ve been together every year that we’ve done GTP. We’ve got a good rapport; we get on well. We both understand what we each want in the car and I think strengths and weaknesses of our driving styles and all that. We get along real good. Lot of respect for each other.

Allaway: Currently, you and Tom are ninth in GTP points with best finishes of a pair of fourths, most recently at Laguna Seca. How would you describe your 2026 season?

Braun: It’s been a bit rough, obviously. The team’s been doing a good job. We’ve had good execution on a lot of fronts, but we’ve just had some tough luck in a few of these races. The class is just so competitive right now [that] it does not take a lot to be a bit behind. Once you get on the back foot, whether it’s in a practice session or in a race, it’s quite quick to unravel your day.

You start to try some things on strategy, use some different options. It can be tough for sure.

Allaway: In addition to your IMSA schedule, you’re also full-time in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS with Kellymoss. Very different equipment with the Porsche 911 GT3 R with Michael Clarke. How did that deal come together for you?

Braun: It came together for me through Bill Riley. I’ve been racing for Bill Riley with George Kurtz in SRO for years. When George decided to turn his focus fully on the IMSA program and his business, it left Bill with the opportunity to get a new client.

Michael had been in their pipeline a little on the Kellymoss side. He came up and said, “Hey, I want to go and drive.” Bill linked us together.

We get along great. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been quite an interesting season and growing. Getting back in a Porsche for Kellymoss at that level is a bit new and they’re learning the cars as we are as drivers. We’re getting better and better.

Allaway: You started out your GT career in a Porsche, but that was 2004, 2005. It’s been a long time since you raced a Porsche on a regular basis. What do you think about the Porsche 911 GT3 R?

Braun: I like it. I ran [the Porsche] full-time in 2017 here in IMSA in GTD. It’s definitely a unique car with different driving styles. It’s obviously a car that they have refined over and over and over every year. Pretty impressive car to drive.

Allaway: How do you think Michael’s coming along so far in his rookie year?

Braun: He’s doing great. He’s been surprising almost every race weekend how much of a jump that he’s made. How much he’s able to take in, make changes as a driver and go back out and be quicker. He’s done a great job [in pressure] situations, he’s really excelled at. It’s been awesome driving with him.

Allaway: You guys are currently in the middle of a 10-week break. Is that detrimental to the development of a relatively new driver?

Braun: Yeah, I think that it’s a little bit tough. Fortunately, we did a test here [at Road America] a couple of weeks ago just to keep everyone on the team engaged and doing things.

I get it the way that [SRO America] has to lay out their schedule the way they lay it out. It makes it challenging, not only for us as drivers, but as a team, staying engaged and in the rhythm and routine of being at the track.

Allaway: We recently chatted after the Truck race at Lime Rock. That was an interesting affair where you came home 10th.

How did that deal come together to put you in the No. 25?

Braun: It all started back at the [Rolex 24 at Daytona] when AJ [Allmendinger] was driving with us. I was joking with him and said, “Man, I’d like to get back into the Truck Series. I know you’re tied in with the Kaulig guys. Put a good word in [for me].”

Quite quickly, they called and said, “Hey, do you want to do St. Pete?” Of course I did and it went pretty well. So then, they said they had an opening for Lime Rock, if you want to do that, and I jumped in there again.

It’s been fun. Great to be a part of that RAM program and see its growth over the season.

Allaway: Seems like it came about quickly knowing that the Rolex 24 was at the end of January and there was only a month between that and St. Petersburg. Did you get the nod within a week or two?

Braun: We talked about it at the ROAR [Before the 24] and we were locked and loaded, ready to go pretty quick after that.

For them, it was so early in the season that there was really no testing or any of that. They went into St. Petersburg doing the best that they could building at the shop, no road course testing, no nothing. I think it was quite a showing for everyone at Kaulig to be able to come out and have a good finish.

Braun finished ninth in the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 in St. Petersburg.

Allaway: You were full-time in the Truck Series back in 2008-2009. How different are the trucks today as compared to then?

Braun: In the end, not that much. Obviously, they’ve got a spec Ilmor engine now, which they didn’t have then. The rest of it is very, very similar chassis-wise, body-wise [and] tire-wise. [It was] surprisingly familiar when I jumped back in.

Allaway: Practice is at a minimum these days. Having [the truck] be remotely similar is a big help.

Braun: For sure. At least you get a couple of runs before you go out and make your mock runs. It’s all good.

Allaway: With only three races remaining, what would be a good way to send off the Acura ARX-06?

Braun: I think the greatest way would be to knock off three straight wins and put it to bed. That would be the goal to be sure.

Allaway: Have you been able to set anything up for 2027 as of yet?

Braun: Still working on everything for next year. It’s still kind of early, but I’m having some conversations, talking to some people. We’ll see where it goes. I’m definitely hopeful.

I’ve been in IMSA for a long time and enjoy the racing. I’ve got a lot of experience in the series. I’m sure that something will come together.

Allaway: Would you prefer to stay in a prototype, or would you be fine with a GT ride?

Braun: Obviously, the GTP class has been great. I like the LMP2 class. I’ve driven in GTD. For me, that’s one of the unique things about my background in that any of the classes that IMSA has, I have experience in them.

I just like good, competitive, hard racing. As I get older and older, I just really enjoy the actual racing and wheel-to-wheel competition. Driving on a test day is exhilarating, fun, fast and gives you a good feeling, but the racing is where it’s at.

While Braun’s team was quite strong at Road America, his day ended with 17 minutes to go when Blomqvist crashed his Acura in turn 13. As a result, Braun and Blomqvist had to settle for 10th in class, very unofficially dropping them to 11th in GTP points. At this writing, the point standings after Road America have not been made available by IMSA. That is likely due to the fallout from the crash on the final restart Sunday.