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Brannam 34th championship |
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Wednesday, 19 September 2007 |
Go karting ace, Jessica Brannam, from Johnsburg, IL has once again proven her racing skills. This time however, she had to work extra hard to win the season title.
The last race of the year on the Championship Enduro Series schedule was held at the historic ,Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, WI. Brannam found herself 35 points behind the points leader going into the race. Bad luck throughout the year put Jessica in this unfavorable position. A broken crankshaft at Road America and a cut tire at Grattan Raceway earlier in the year set her back in the points standings.
Jessica not only had to win the race, she also needed the points leader to finish 3rd or worst in order for her to secure the championship. As if things weren't complicated enough, Jessica's 4 Cycle Central teammate, Regan Verhing, needed the exact same scenario to occur for him to win the championship.
Before the race the two teammates both said, “We don't care which one of us wins the race. We just want a 4 Cycle Central driver to be the champion.” By the look in their eyes one could tell that neither of them believed what they were saying. They both wanted to win and would do whatever it took to succeed. With that said, they also knew they had to work together if either one was going to win.
Right away at the start of the race, Jessica and Regan teamed up and went straight to the front of the pack. The entire race was ran with Regan in first place and Jessica glued to his back bumper. The points leader was in 3rd place right where they needed him. The two 4 Cycle Central drivers drove hard to stay out front, while at the same time being careful not to take each other out. If even one of them would have dropped out of the race, the other one would have not be able to win the championship.
Throughout the race Jessica was thinking about how she would make her pass. “My crew chief was on the radio the whole race telling me, you better start to think about how you are going to get this done.” “The truth is, I really did not know if I would be able to make the pass.” Brannam said. In the last corner on the last lap Jessica made her move. Regan hugged the inside of the corner forcing Jessica to the outside. Even though she pulled of the pass, the race was not over yet. Regan caught a draft off of Jessica and made one last attempt for the win. The two crossed the finish side by side with Jessica taking the win by just a few inches.
After the race Brannam said, “What an exciting finish to a very competitive year.” She went on to say”Even though I am from Illinois, The Mile is the closest thing I have to a home track. To win my 34th championship at such a historical place is a thrill.” The race win brought Brannam's career total to 192 feature race victories.
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