(1/2/2019)
With the 2018 season finished, 3rd generation Sport Mod racer Keith Brown Jr continued his outlaw style schedule, racing at 14 different tracks across his 23 starts on the year. The Pittsburg native travelled to 4 different states in 2018, collecting Top 5’s in 3 of the 4 states, while winning in both California and Oregon.
Brown’s two wins came over the span of 3 days in late June while following the Wild West Modified Shootout, picking up victories at both Yreka’s Siskiyou Motor Speedway and Coos Bay Speedway. The race at Yreka was a particularly exciting one, as he battled with local driver Matt Sanders for the entirety of the 20 lap feature, eventually holding off Sanders in a drag race to the finish line.
The Coos Bay event was interesting to say the least, as the 3 Sport Mods who made the trip up were combined with the local Sportsman Late Model class for the night. From the drop of the green flag in the heat race it quickly became apparent that Brown was easily the class of the field. Brown would lead every lap of his heat race, trophy dash, and main event for a clean sweep of the evening.
For Brown, the majority of his success in 2018 came when he travelled North, as all of his Top 5’s came North of the California state capitol. That isn’t saying the Brown didn’t do well running down South, however, as he picked up multiple Top 10’s at the two Bakersfield area tracks against some of the toughest local racers in the state.
In addition to racing all across the West Coast, Brown also made successful appearances at the two biggest Sport Mod races in the country: the IMCA Supernationals in Boone, Iowa, and the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas. Though night one at the Supernationals was rough for Brown, he rebounded on the 2nd night with a heat race win that automatically locked him into the night’s preliminary main, with a chance to lock into the big show. Brown was running up front before a driver spun in front of him, causing him to make contact and lead to a black flag for questionable driving. The last chance qualifiers would be rained out on the final night to end Brown’s chances of making the race.
The Duel in the Desert was a much more successful trip for Brown. Despite having to transfer from the B Main, Brown would take home a solid 15th on the opening night. Just like Boone, Brown would win his heat race on Night 2. Brown was running in the Top 10 before he was spun from behind. Brown would spend the rest of the race charging from 30th to again finish 15th. Since he was unable to lock himself in the feature the first two nights, Brown would be forced to run a last chance qualifier to have one last shot at making the Duel. Unfortunately Brown’s weekend would come to an end early in the LCQ after contact with another driver. Brown had been running 3rd, just one spot out of the final transfer spot.
When asked about his opinion on the 2018 season, Brown said: “In 2018 we did a lot of testing ending the year with a really fast racecar, looking forward to a very successful 2019.”
Keith would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:
Steel City Motorsports
JGE Motorsports
HRT Shock Service
Engine Quest
Little J’s Burgers
Performance Bodies
89 Designs
Competition Carburetors
Tire Demon by Love Tap .
Special thanks to
My wife Amber, my dad Keith Brown Sr., Tim Barlow, Jason Jennings, Marty Burdine, Brent Curran, Brandon Baughman, Austin Brown, Conner England and Sean Wilson.
Season Stats:
Starts: 23
Wins: 2
Top 5’s: 4
Top 10’s: 14
Best Finish: 1st (Twice)
Worst Finish 22nd (Bakersfield)
Silver Dollar Speedway:
May 5th: 13th
June 8th: 3rd
July 4th: 6th
Marysville Raceway:
June 9th: 10th
July 3rd: 10th
Kern County Raceway Park:
July 13th: 10th
Bakersfield Speedway:
May 26th: 22nd
July 14th: 9th
Santa Maria Raceway:
May 26th: DNS
Ocean Speedway:
September 29th: 13th
American Valley Speedway:
May 5th: 7th
July 28th: 7th
July 29th: 10th
Placerville Speedway:
May 19th: 6th
Siskiyou Motor Speedway:
June 16th: 8th
June 22nd: 1st
Southern Oregon Speedway:
June 23rd: 18th
Coos Bay Speedway:
June 24th: 1st
Boone Speedway:
IMCA Super Nationals:
Heat Race Win, Running up front in qualifier before incidental contact. Last Chance races on final night rained out
Las Vegas Dirt Track:
Duel in the Desert:
Night 1: Transferred from B Main to finish 15th
Night 2: Won heat, running 7th before getting spun, finished 15th
Night 3: Wrecked while running in 3rd in LCQ to end weekend
Fernley 95A Speedway:
July 21st: 2nd
Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the 2019 season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (916) 229-7474 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.
Daren Ricks
DRC Motorsports Media
DRC Motorsports Media 