Colin Braun – NNS ADVANCE
Team: No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Eddie Pardue
Chassis: RK-541
FAST FACTS:
FRESH START – Colin Braun will debut the No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in the DRIVE4COPD 300. Sponsor Con-way has been a huge supporter of Braun’s career, following him to the Nationwide Series after two successful years in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Led by veteran crew chief Eddie Pardue, Braun will make his second NNS start at DIS, his first coming in the 2008 Winn-Dixie 250 where he started third and finished 35th.
ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR CONTENDER – This season, Braun will be running for the coveted Raybestos Rookie-of-the Year title. In 2008, he captured the title in the NCWTS. Not the only Roush Fenway driver in the hunt, Braun will be competing against Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as well as James Buescher and Brian Scott.
NOT HIS FIRST RODEO – While Braun will be wearing the “rookie stripe” throughout the season, he has made three previous starts at the 2.5-mile track, two in the NCWTS. In his 2009 truck start, Braun led the field to the green flag from the pole position and led 15 laps en route to a ninth-place finish. Braun has also visited victory lane at DIS, winning the Brumos 250 Grand Am Rolex Daytona Prototype Series race in July 2006 at the age of 17. Last month, he made his sixth start in the Rolex 24 at DIS.
GOOD QUALIFIER – Braun has done well in his three qualifying attempts at Daytona, not starting outside of the top 10. In his last visit to the superspeedway in February 2009, Braun started from the pole in the NCWTS. In his only NNS start at Daytona, Braun took the green in third.
CON-WAY RACING – On Monday, Con-way Freight unveiled their new website for the 2010 racing season. Fans can go to www.con-way.com/racing to get updates on Colin Braun, crew chief Eddie Pardue and the rest of the No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion team.
CHASSIS – Braun will be running RK-541 this weekend in the DRIVE4COPD 300 at DIS. This car was previously raced in the season opener at Daytona last year by Greg Biffle. In that race, Biffle started sixth and finished fifth.
Braun, on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
“I am definitely ready to get back out on the track at Daytona this week. We have done so much in preparation for the season and so I’m just ready to get going. My guys have worked really hard on this speedway car and I think it’s going to be very fast. Greg (Biffle) ran this chassis in last year’s season opener and had some success. Fortunately, I have been able to qualify really well at Daytona in both the trucks and the Nationwide car and I’m hopeful I can repeat that in this Con-way Ford Fusion. Unlike last season in the truck series, I will have some teammates out there with me so I’m going to look for them out on the track in the draft. It will also be nice to have them in the garage to bounce ideas off of, to see what worked and what didn’t.”
Crew chief Eddie Pardue, on racing at Daytona International Speedway:
“I’m very excited to get back down to Daytona and get the 2010 season underway. The team and I are looking forward to having Colin back in the car for a full season. He’s a talented driver and we want to do everything we can to help him succeed and be able to win that Rookie-of-the Year title. We have a great Con-way Ford Fusion going down there and the guys are ready to go racing.”
