AVONDALE, Ariz: Brandonbilt Motorsports’ Brandon Brown doesn’t want to talk about the post-race incident on pit road when he was bombarded by members of the Bassett family who were upset following an on-track incident during Saturday afternoon’s LS Tractor 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
While running comfortably inside the top-15 – Brown tangled with Dillon Bassett racing for 12th which caused both cars to spin at Lap 137.
Both drivers were able to continue despite having damaged race cars.
When the race restarted at Lap 142, he utilized the remaining 58 laps to work himself back through the field and battled Justin Allgaier in the closing laps to edge the JR Motorsports driver to finish 12th for his third top-12 finish in the first four races of the season.
After the race, Brown dodged the questions surrounding the post-race shenanigans but instead praised his family-owned team for their strong rebound.
“Phenomenal,” said Brown noting of his team’s performance. “We worked hard on our short track program this offseason and it showed today. Real proud.”
Brown earned an additional point during Saturday’s race when strategy played into the mix and crew chief Doug Randolph elected to keep his driver out during a caution in the closing laps of Stage 2.
While on older tires, Brown was able to cling onto the clutches of the front of the field for a crucial stage point.
“We got a stage point and ran (today) where we deserved to be running.”
Rebounding from an engine failure last weekend at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway, Brown is 12th in the championship standings heading to Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway for his third start at the 1.54-mile track.
And there are good vibes for Brown returning to the heart of Georgia after finishing 13th last February on the heels of an 11th-place qualifying effort.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
