
Flaring tempers and fisticuffs between drivers are expected parts of the Bowman Gray Stadium experience.
It’s that type of race track. Narrow and typically bottom-dominant, Bowman Gray is more likely to see passes made with bumpers, rather than with raw speed.
Tim Brown says he has been involved in about 10 fights during his 30-year driving career and claims to have won them all. But his racing resume is far more impressive, with 101 feature wins and 12 modified championships at the Winston-Salem track.
For Brown, competing against the NASCAR Cup Series regulars in the Clash represents the fulfillment of a dream, but the 53-year-old from Cana, Va., isn’t interested in running the race in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford just to say he appeared in it.
“As far as being special, it’s very special just to be here, but I’m a racer and I want to win this thing,” said Brown, who has spent time in Ford’s Cup simulator to prepare for the Clash. “That’s why we’re here, and we’ve worked really hard to build the best car at RWR that we could build to put on a good show…
“I want to run well, and I want to show that we deserve to be here, that it’s just not a ‘Hey, let’s give this old guy an opportunity to go ride around in a Cup car.’ I feel like I deserve to be here. I’ve dedicated my whole life to racing, and I’ve worked my butt off and here we are and make the best of it.”
After finishing 10th, last, in his heat race Saturday, Brown will have a lot to prove: Sunday he will have only the last chance qualifier, where he will start last, to race his way into the main event.
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