References  

The Inside Groove
Brandel Driven to Succeed;
All About The Clyde

by Kyle Hardner, OWR Contributor

     Some 14-year-olds get their first job because their parents make them do it. Shaun Brandel got his first job because, even at age 14, he knew it was a way to achieve his goal. So he started flipping burgers at a local fast-food restaurant. He took each paycheck and saved it.

     He saved and saved until, finally, he had enough money put aside to buy what he wanted all along: his first racecar.

     "A friend had taken me to Grandview (Pa.) Speedway when I was younger," says Brandel, who lives in Boyertown, Pa., just a few miles away from the third-of-a-mile Grandview stock-car track. "When I saw that first race, I knew I had to be a racecar driver."

     From then until now, at age 21, Brandel is forever focused on achieving his goals. After all, he went from flipping burgers at age 14 to attending college, earning an associate’s degree and working at Penske Truck Leasing, where he’s an assistant to one of the firm’s vice-presidents.

     And he went from sitting in the grandstands to racing. He drove that first car, a 270cc Micro-Sprint, to Rookie of the Year honors at Airport (Del.) Speedway in 2001. He continued at Airport for several seasons, then switched to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway near Newmanstown, Pa. At the Clyde, he raced in the 270s in 2005, then stepped up to the high-powered 600cc Micro-Sprints last season.

     You can’t miss his No. 25 car - it’s black with bright orange flames, a paint scheme noticeable enough that speedway announcer Barry Angstadt calls Brandel "The Flame Thrower."

     Brandel definitely has become a contender at the Clyde this year. That was evident in his 10-lap heat race on Saturday. He started in fifth spot, moved up to second, then completed an inside-line pass of Jason Tolley on lap seven to take the lead and win, his second heat-race triumph of 2007.

     The feature wasn’t as kind; Brandel flipped his car in turn two on lap two. He was unhurt, but his car was damaged enough that he couldn’t continue.

     Saturday’s results didn’t reflect the true progress Brandel has made this year. In the Clyde’s 13 points races, he has seven top 10 finishes. He also led the June 9 feature until the last lap, when Mike Dicely got by him for the win.

     The biggest thing Brandel has learned at the controls of his two-year-old Stallard-built car is how to adjust to different track conditions.

     "With the added banking here this year, you can run the top groove better," he says. "But the track changes a lot. You can have a lot of bite in one area of the track at the start of a race, and then midway through, you have to move somewhere else to get bite."

     Brandel, who won seven times in his 270cc Micro career, is aiming for that first 600cc Micro win. But, just like when he was at his first job at age 14, Brandel has his eyes on some long-term goals, too.

     He’s determined to become a full-time racer. So he’s sent his resume to several professional race teams in the Southeast. Chris Lafferty of Lafferty Motorsports in Concord, N.C., was impressed enough to give Brandel a try.

     So on Aug. 4, when the Clyde had a summertime break, Brandel headed to Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway to drive one of the Lafferty team’s NASCAR Craftsman Trucks. (According to the team’s Web site, Lafferty Motorsports races on the ARCA RE/MAX series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and has some short-track development deals, too.)

     "It was great to get some laps on asphalt," says Brandel of his tryout. "We had a real good time there."

     From a Craftsman Truck test on North Carolina’s asphalt to the clay-coated high banks of the Clyde, Shaun Brandel keeps looking for his next step up the racing ladder. While his dreams of being a full-time racer aren’t yet realized, he is going to accomplish one of his goals in just about a week.

     On Aug. 21, he’ll race in the 600cc Micro-Sprint portion of Grandview’s 5-25’s "Thunder on the Hill" show. It will be the first time he’ll turn laps at the track where he first saw an auto race.

     And that first race is what keeps Shaun Brandel driven to succeed.