Braun Hopes to Continue Streak of First-Time Winners in his Home State

CONCORD, N.C. --  The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has produced three first-time winners in the last three races, two of them being rookies.  Rookie point leader Colin Braun can't think of a better place to get his first win than in his home state of Texas.

Braun will make his first start at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night in the Sam's Town 400 in the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150.  The Ovalo, Texas native hopes to continue the streak of first-time winners with a win of his own in front of his home-state crowd.

"It just goes to show how great the racing is the truck series that you never know who will win each week," Braun said.  "I don't know the last time two rookies have won this early in the season, and doing it back-to-back, but I certainly want to add my name to the list.  Not only would it be huge for me to win my first race, but to do it in my home state would make it even more special.

"It's funny because although Texas is home, I won't have a bunch of friends and family there.  My Mom is the only one coming to the race since my Dad has to work in Watkins Glen this weekend.  I'll have more family coming to Milwaukee in a few weeks than Texas. 

"I think we've got a great shot at winning Friday night.  I love racing on the fast mile-and-a-half tracks, and we're taking a truck that has a lot of winning history.  This truck was a favorite of Mark Martin's in 2006 and Travis Kvapil's last year.  This will be the first time we've raced it in 2008, so I hope to carry on the winning tradition with it."

Braun is currently 14^th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings with one top-five and three top-10 finishes.  He leads the Raybestos Rookie standings by 13 points.