MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Popular mid-south 410 sprint car racer Brandon Hanks and his team are preparing for a return to Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri on July 2nd and 3rd to celebrate Independence Day with the appropriate mix of horsepower and speed. In his most recent visit to Lake Ozark two weeks ago, Hanks wound up with a solid seventh place finish and progress in dialing in his new shock program that he feels is the key to future checkered flags.
“I wasn’t entirely pleased with the way the last race night at Lake Ozark played out for us,” Hanks explained. “But I was happy with the finish considering we started 14th. The top had a very fine cushion right at the fence for the A-main that you couldn’t really charge. One small mishap and you were in the fence. You couldn’t “cheat” the cushion either because you would lose a lot of time doing it. Like the top, the bottom was very fine line too. You had to have the left side tires in what little moisture was left down there to run in if you wanted to carry any exit speed coming out of the corners. I wasn’t very good running either lane.”
Expanding on the challenges he faced, the driver continued. “Early in the race on the start I managed to get maybe two cars and tried to hold my own. On top I was too tight, and the nose kept trying to shove toward the fence every time I would try and ride that cushion. Then, on the bottom, I was too free from the center of the corner to the exit. I couldn’t get the weight transferred to the real wheels to get any traction, which helps to gain speed and race the next car down into the next corner even with my top wing pulled all the way back. I had to do the next best thing I could think of and hammer the middle and hope I could just carry momentum through the corner. With that approach, you’re basically hoping you can pass cars or just not get passed. We’re still learning with the new shocks, and we definitely left the track with a positive feeling that we were going in the right direction, so I’m excited to get back there this weekend and apply what we’ve learned.”
Marketing partners for Brandon include Performance Powder Coating and The Quilt Shop.