[JessicaJ]

Silver Crown Return Nets Solid 2017 Start for Bruns
By Jessica Jenkins

Seven years after his previous Silver Crown start, Patrick Bruns made his return to the premier USAC dirt open wheel series. Overall, the day went off without a hitch and the Full Throttle Racing team walked away thrilled with how problem-free the event went at the Terre Haute Action Track.

With only a couple weeks to prepare for Sunday's Sumar Classic, Bruns and his dedicated crew spent every free hour working on their brand new car in order to compete in the USAC Silver Crown season opener. The effort and attention to detail paid off when the Champaign, IL driver qualified 15th, locking him straight into the Feature.

When the team pushed their #95 Lightning McQueen-inspired car (designed by Bruns' young son) onto the grid, they were ready to see how it would run over a long distance. Taking off from the inside of row 8, Bruns climbed a spot and when the first yellow flew on lap 12, he was running in the fourteenth position. By halfway and fighting hard for each position, Bruns was running just outside the top 15 before the leaders caught him a couple laps later. Ten laps later Bruns was one position higher and then moved back up to fourteenth as the blistering pace of eventual winner Chris Windom sent him another lap down. Surviving one more caution with 18 to go, Bruns kept fighting and came home with a thirteenth place result, earning him the Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher award.

Back in the pits after the race, the team was upbeat as they received congratulations from friends and officials for a job well done. On the heels of six seasons and five championships in D2 midgets, they have successfully laid a solid base to build off of as they head off into the rest of the Silver Crown schedule.

Bruns on the USAC Season Opener:

"We had a ton of fun and the car handled pretty decent. I think as we get a few of these little things worked out, we can be really competitive. I was really proud of the racecar. We made the feature through qualifying, so we didn't have to run the last chance race. And a big part of these Silver Crown races is to be there at the end and we were there at the end. So, you've got to be mentally tough and keep your focus throughout the whole race. That can be really difficult sometimes, but we were able to do it. I think we handled [the race] really well. I'm looking forward to being a little more up on the wheel there towards the end of the race, but we were staying right with the leaders, so we couldn't ask for much more our first time out. I'm just so proud of all these guys. The whole Full Throttle Racing team is kind of like a big family. We have a lot of fun and spend a lot of time in the shop and I'm really excited about this opportunity."

Thanking His Supporters:

"Between Brad, Scott, Andrew and Paul, these guys worked really, really hard to give me a really good racecar and I think we've got something to build on the rest of the year. Ryan was a big help tonight and Martin and Wyatt Teare took care of getting the racecar here. To come out here, our first night out, we didn't have really any problems. We did a little fine tuning with the engine; Rick Long with Toyota and Speedway Engines did a phenomenal job tonight tuning us. I couldn't have done it without my sponsors, Triple T Car Wash, Mobil 1, Cain's Marine Welding, Harold Colbert Plumbing and Heating, Advanced Financial Inc, Bell Helmets and all my crew guys."