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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Walt Brannen
stands next
to the
Southern Pan
Services
Dodge he
drives in the
ARCA
RE/MAX
Series.
HHJ/Don Moncrief
BRANNEN
From page 1B
“I’ve known Walt pretty much all his
life,” he said.
Maggard is also a racer himself despite
being 58.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to
do,” he said, “Now that I’m too old to do
it, I do it. But, it’s strictly a hobby.”
He races in the Automobile Racing
Club of America Re/Max Series - also
used along with the Busch Series as part
of NASCAR's developmental league.
In Februaiy, he asked Walt if he would
in turn query his crew - his lead mem
ber, DeWitt Paschal, was a Winston Cup
crew chief for Davey Allison, among oth
ers - to help him at Daytona in February.
And by the way, currently none of
Brannen’s crewmembers are paid
employees. They do what they do on a
“volunteer” basis, Brannen said.
They agreed to help - in fact Walt was
the “gas man.”
Later on, Maggard returned the favor
by attending a late-model race Walt was
competing in, in Alabama.
Needless to say, he was impressed.
“He was so controlled,” Maggard said.
“Typically for someone who’s been rac
ing, you’re just so excited when you get
in the car. That normally goes away
after the engine fires, but prior to that,
it’s like you’ve got sparks flying out of
your hair.
“But he was just like a vet. It’s scary
A ‘Legend’ in his time
Brannen’s career accomplishments in the
Legends Series
2002
■ Pro Division - five wins - 12 top five
finishes
■ Lowes Motor Speedway Summer Shootout
- Pro Division feature winner
2001
■ Pro Division - three wins - 21 top five
finishes
2000
■ Lowes Motor Speedway - third INEX
Nationals semipro
■ Georgia State Semipro champion:
Nationally ranked 12th of 593 drivers
■ INEX National Qualifier semipro winner
■ 11 Legend semipro wins
■ Lowe's Motor Speedway - fifth In Summer
Shootout semipro series - out of 58
drivers
1999
■ Lowe's Motor Speedway semipro Summer
Shootout feature winner
■ Atlanta Motor Speedway Young Lions
champion
■ Georgia State Young Lions champion
Source: waltbrannenracing.com
THE TOG SHOR
Tue.-Sat.
0:00-6:00
1-75, Exit 136 • 100 Hampton Court • Perry
ARCA RE/MAX At A Glance
■ Founded in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, as a Midwest-based stock car auto racing sanctioning body. ARCA's
founder, John Marcum, worked as an official for BHI France Sr., who founded NASCAR in 1949.
■Approximately 400 drivers are licensed to compete.
■ RE/MAX took over sponsorship in 2001.
■ Among the drivers who won their first superspeedway race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series are: Benny
Parsons, Adam Petty, Kyle Petty, Marie Martin, Tim Richmond, Michael Waltrip, Tracy Leslie, Joe
Ruttman, Davey Alison, Ernie Irvan, Rick WSson, Jeff Purvis and Mike Wallace. Others who used the
experience as a springboard to the next level include: Jeremy Mayfield, Phi! Parsons, Brett Bodine, Alan
Kulwicki, Darrel Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer, Ken Schrader, Sterling Martin, Ted Musgrave, Jin Sauter, Adam
Petty, Ron Homaday and Dick Trickle.
■ Typically two-thirds to three-quarters of the drivers in any given NASCAR Nextel Cup event have ARCA
RE/MAX Series experience.
■ Sanctions 20 to 25 events each season. Among the annual stops are: Daytona International
Speedway, Taladega Superspeedway, Pocono international Raceway, Michigan Speedway, Lowe's
Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Source: ARCARadng.com
thinking about what he’s going to be
able to do.”
As if to find out, Maggard has put
Brannen into one of his ARCA cars.
He was given the OK by officials - just
getting clearance was a test in and of
itself - to race at Ohio and then
Michigan.
His latest and greatest race to date
came at Kentucky two weekends ago. As
Maggard explained, they knew he could
race speedways and super speedways -
his prior cars were built for that format
- but wanted to see what he could do on
a short track.
“I told them going in,” Maggard said,
“That this is where we’re going to find
out if it’s the car or the driver.”
He was forced to start 34th because
qualifying was rained out - they had
been fastest and fifth fastest in practices
limited by the weather, Brannen said -
leaving competitors to start where the
“car” was in the points standings. That
particular one only had two races to its
credit putting him close to the rear of
the field.
The plan, Maggard said, was for
Brannen to follow a friend he knew -
also starting in the back - to the front.
That course of action went wayward
however, when the first spun into the
wall - in front of Brannen no less - on
the second lap.
Nevertheless, he did make his way
toward the front, and with style.
“He was amazing,” Maggard said. “I
really think we would have won
(Brannen finished fourth) if it hadn’t
rained.
“A lot can happen in 40 laps (the dis
tance remaining in a 100-lap feature)
but we were turning faster times than
the leader.”
“What impressed me was his
patience,” Maggard added. “And with no
experience, his ability to be patient in
traffic ... to work his way to the front in
an intelligent fashion.”
The plan for the rest of the year for
0l Summer
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SPORTS
Brannen, Maggard, who added he is
committed for the duration in regard to
Brannen’s future, said, are ARCA races
at Nashville, Chicago and possibly
Talladega. (He will still be running the
late-model series.)
Following that, he said, they are tiying
to work a deal to get him into the
Craftsman Truck Series.
Also in that picture is Bill Elliott and
his brother Ernie, the first of which is of
course known for his success as a
NASCAR driver and the second popular
for the engines he builds for the series.
The connection comes from
Brannen’s father, who spent nine years
as Bill Elliott’s tire specialist.
“The ‘million-dollar team,”’ Walt said.
“That’s what he likes to call it ... He’s
real proud of that, and he should be.”
The admiration runs deep, so much so
that Ernie “personally” built the engine
in Brannen’s car.
“He doesn’t do that for just anybody,”
Maggard said. “(Also), he had him come
up to his shop in Dawsonville and actu
ally put it in the car for him. Bill had his
setup guy from (Ray) Evemham (cur
rently a Nextel Cup Dodge team owner
and a formerly Jeff Gordon’s crew chief)
and they pretty much worked around
the clock putting it in.
“I don’t know if it’s (their relationship
with Tommy) but Ernie’s definitely
taken an interest in him.”
Walt, who said he typically spends 16-
hour days prepping his own car - replac
ing the brakes, repacking bearings and
forth - during the week and for his next
race, added there have also been infor
mal talks with Bill regarding his future.
“He’s tiying to set up an interview
with Ray for something,” Brannen said,
“possibly some sort of driver develop
ment program. And, there’s also been
some talk of me going to Dawsonville,
hiring a couple of employees and work
ing out of there.”
Meanwhile, he’ll just continue to use
the right foot for the gas and let the left
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Museum of Aviation
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SWINFORD
From page 1B
Danny Wilson and Darren
Crozier parred the hole.
According to Houston
County Sheriff Cullen
Talton, the tournament was
renamed three years ago. It
is also known as the Annual
Georgia Sheriffs Youth
Home Golf Tournament.
Talton is also a member of
the Board of Directors of the
Georgia Sheriffs
Association.
Steve Byrd’s son Mark
said that the new name was
to honor the contributions
his father had made to the
tournament during his life.
The tournament has been
a major fund-raiser for the
GSA’s youth homes.
Bud Cody, executive vice
president of youth homes
and the sheriffs association
said that the first home was
started 46 years ago. Now
the sheriffs association
sponsors a girls home and
three boys homes that are
refuges for more than 100
children.
“(The children) usually
come through the
Department of Family and
Children Services,” Cody
said. “We do not take adjudi
cated delinquents.”
Although DFCS provides
money for the children it
places at the homes, it is still
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HHJ/Joe Sereey
Mark Boyd tees off at the first tee at Houston Lake
Country Club in the Steve Byrd Memorial Golf Outing.
t>jpb*ir
HHJ/Joe Sersey
Charlie O’Malley hits from the 18th fairway while, from
left, Marlene Wright, Stanley Wright and Ron Baggett
look on. They finished second in gross with a 57 in the
four-person scramble.
Houston Healthcare
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2004 ♦
How can you help fight
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killer?
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Home
fesaEr Medical
Golden Key Realty
up to GSA to provide much
of the financial support.
The association sponsors
80 fund-raisers a year said
Cody.
“This tournament aver
ages $20,000 a year,” Cody
said. “It’s a community
activity, and the tournament
fills up in less than a week.”
Thirty-one teams paid
S3OO per team this year and
there were 127 hole spon
sors who each donated SIOO
or more.
Governor Sonny Perdue
arrived at 5 p.m. to congrat
ulate the winners and show
his appreciation for the
work of the sheriffs associa
tion.
SCOREBOARD
Results of the Steve Byrd
Memorial Golf Outing at
Houston Lake Country Club
Tuesday
Gross: 1. Bill Swinford, Mike
Davis, Ricky Cleghorn, Vick
Correll, 57; 2. Charlie O’Malley,
Stanely Wright, Marlene Wright,
Rob Baggett, 57; 3. Russell
Melvin, Mac Hardin, Damon
Hardin, Gordon Barnes, 58.
Net: 1. Mike Leathers, Hoyt
Dunn, Bob Davis, Bill Hendrey,
52.3; 2. Jason Tomlinson, Joe
Shuttlesworth, Danny Wilson,
Darren Crozier, 52.3; 3. Don
Hanson, Larry Stokes, Ed
Hilliard, William Carter, 53.8.
3B
■MM