What a Year
It was a great year for Team ABF Racing. Although we didn't make it into victory lane, Brian Vickers was able to amass 2 Poles, 6 Top Fives and 8 Top Tens, all in only 12 starts!
Meanwhile, Jason Leffler was able to finish the year in the #38 Braun Racing entry in the 9th points position, with 3 Top Fives and 13 Top Ten finishes to his credit.
My, My What a Month!
After leaving Charlotte in May with a pole run and a top five finish, it was difficult to wait until August to see Brian Vickers pilot the ABF U-Pack Camry in the NASCAR Nationwide series again. Boy, did Brian and the entire Braun Racing Crew make up for lost time!
Fully Loaded!
ABF U-Pack / Braun Racing went into Charlotte this past weekend with guns loaded. Brian Vickers returned to the ABF U-Pack Moving #10 Camry, the super-fast Kyle Busch climbed behind the wheel of the #32 Toyota, and of course Nationwide star Jason Leffler was piloting the #38 Great Clips / ABF entry. Things looked good from the start, as all three cars were fast in both practices, with Leffler posting the fastest time in final practice, and looking to be a serious threat for the pole.
Friday night brought hot temperatures and even hotter action as the Nationwide series headed to the one-mile superspeedway in Phoenix for the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Team ABF Racing headed into this weekend with a lot of anticipation. Jason Leffler, pilot of the #38 Camry, has been strong at this track in the Nationwide series, and has won on it in several other racing series. 18-year-old James Buescher made his Nationwide Series debut in Phoenix in the #32 car.
Does anyone know a "Don't Rain" dance? For the fourth time in seven races, rain made an unwelcome appearance. As a result, qualifying was cancelled so teams had only one practice session before the race. The starting lineup was once again set by points, so even though Team ABF Racing was fast during practice, with Brian Vickers posting a top five time, he and the #32 Camry started 19th and Jason Leffler in the #8 car started 14th.
The Weather Was NICE!!!
For what seemed like the first time this season, the weather actually cooperated as the Nationwide Series headed to the concrete superspeedway in Nashville, Tennessee. Both Jason Leffler and Denny Hamlin of Team ABF Racing were looking to bring home one of the coolest trophies on the circuit; a custom Les Paul designed Gibson guitar. Leffler already has one guitar from his first win in the 2004 Nationwide Series in Nashville. Hamlin has finished as high as third at the track, but has yet to visit Victory Lane.
Rain Rain Go Away!!!
For the 3rd time in five weeks, weather became the biggest factor for the race weekend. Due to rain, Thursday's practice and Qualifying were once again rained out, giving Team ABF Racing only one practice before taking the green flag on Saturday, and setting the starting field by the NASCAR rulebook. This meant that even though Kyle Busch in the #32 car was fourth fastest in practice, and Jason Leffler struggled in the #38 to a 20th place speed, based on last years owner points, Jason would start the race in 8th and Kyle in 14th.
Team ABF Racing set their sights on the Nicorette 300 at the super-fast Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. NASCAR standout Brian Vickers piloted the #32 ABF U-Pack Toyota, while Nationwide series regular Jason Leffler was behind the wheel of the #38 Braun Racing Camry as usual. The good news is that they didn't have the rains that they had in California to contend with. The bad news is that the temperature was below freezing for much of the weekend, and qualifying was cancelled due to SNOW!!!
A Tough Weekend in Vegas
Team ABF Racing headed to Las Vegas this weekend, as Brian Vickers returned to the track in the #32 along with Jason Leffler, who is piloting the #38 full time for Braun Racing. Both cars were carrying ABF as an associate sponsor. While both drivers came to Vegas hoping to win big, lady luck was not on their side.
Brian Vickers and the ABF U-Pack Toyota Camry did not compete this week. However, the #32 fielded this week by Kyle Busch, on loan from Joe Gibbs Racing, and the #38, fielded as always by Nationwide star Jason Leffler and carrying the major associate sponsorship of ABF, both took to the track for an unusual and prolonged race weekend.
