Welcome to the year-end edition of CHASIN' the 10's Racing for 2018... The 2018 Sprint Car racing season has come and gone and for Mitch and Jake Brown it was a season like no other. Before the season began the family racing team had chosen not to limit their activities to the pursuit of a track or series championship but elected instead to compete at a few new venues and some old favorites south of the border and test their mettle against some of the finest 360 Sprint Car competitors from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania with an occasional return to the Southern Ontario circuit where they had competed successfully since Mitch broke into the winged open-wheel sport back in 2010 and Jake in first the 602 Crate Division before moving up to the 360s in 2016. Just how that decision worked out is highlighted in this edition of Chasin' the 10s Racing- a race by race recap of the 2018 season. A few things are certain about this past season... the team logged a lot of miles/kilometers and gained a lot of experience on the short track scene and received a warm welcome by track promoters, fellow competitors and race fans wherever they appeared. What their plans are for 2019 is still to be determined but once they've had a chance to evaluate how 2018 turned out, you can bet they will be back on the Sprint Car trail racing as much if not more than they did this past season. As we put the final touches on this year-end edition of our team newsletter we extend our SINCERE THANKS to Dale Calnan of Image Factor Media and Rod Henderson of Canadianracer.com along with Curtis Berleue Photography and J&T Photos for some of the photos appearing in this yearend publication as well as a tip of the hat to Greg Calnan of Image Factor Media for the fine design and updating of the team's web site www.mitch brownracing.com. And last but not least to our team sponsors who are recognized throughout this publication. Until the next edition of CHASIN' the 10s RACING keep your eyes on the #10 and #1-10 website for updates to the team's plans and activities. Ken Spencer www.mitch brownracing.com 2016 OHSWEKEN SPEEDWAY CHAMPION RETURNED TO FAMILY TEAM IN 2018 Veteran Competitor Began Pre-Season Runs in Florida The start of the 2018 season saw Mitch Brown return to the On February 24th the Brantford native was westward bound to family blue racing colours following mixed results in the black, the Florida Panhandle for two nights of racing at the 3/8th-mile white and orange colors of Burger Barn Racing in 2017. Southern Raceway Milton, FL - a half hour drive northeast of Pensacola where the track was dry and tough on tires. It also saw the brothers reunited in the new team banner of "Brown Racing" reflecting Jake's increased involvement in the In the Friday opener, he chased Timmy Thrash of Gulfport, family's racing activities. Mississippi to the checkered flag in the third race qualifier and finished sixth in the A-Main after starting seventh. The following Anxious to test some new equipment, Mitch headed to the night he copped a win in the "Dash for Cash", finished sixth in his Sunshine State on February 9th for some pre-season action at heat which was hampered by a blistered left rear tire and ran to an Ocala, Florida's Bubba Speedway, where he ran to a fifth-place 11th-place finish in the A-Main. finish in his heat, qualified for the A-Main with a third-place run in the second of two B- Mitch returned to Florida in mid-April for a Features then finished 13th in the 30 lap A-Main weekend of racing back after starting twentieth. at Ocala, Florida's Bubba Raceway Park. The following night, the driver of the #10 Sprinter In the Friday night opener (April 13th) he finished sixth in his qualifier, came home 4th raced to a third-place in the B-Feature but could finish in his qualifying manage only an 18th-place heat but suffered a rear run in the A-Main. Mitch Brown in brake caliper failure early season action while running fifth in As reported by Doug at Bubba Raceway the A-Main and was Brown "It was just one of Park, Ocala, Florida credited with a 21st those nights where a poor place finish. draw and a fast track made it difficult to pass. The following night he finished fourth in his On February 16th the team headed south to Tampa's East Bay qualifier but while running in the top-ten of the A-Main made Raceway Park for the "42nd annual Winternationals/Ronald Laney contact with an inside track tire resulting in a DNF. Memorial King of the 360s" where over the course of the three- day event he qualified for two A-Mains. 'It was one of those weekends where he showed good speed but didn't get the results we expected" reported Doug Brown In the Sunday final Mitch finished 5th in his heat, won the second following the two night show. of two B-Features and was making steady progress from his 19th- place starting spot in the A-Main in what looked like a top ten Jake Brown planned to team up with his brother for the start of finish. But on lap 27 of the 40 lap event he tangled with another their regular season schedule in the Patriot Sprint Tour's season car while attempting to avoid a spinning sprinter and suffered opener at Merrittville Speedway but wet grounds and cold steering damage to his car that ended his night early. weather forced cancellation of the April 21st Spring Sizzler. 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The Saturday results at Fremont Speedway proved to be an early season highlight that saw Jake survive some early race restarts then outduel Lima, Ohio’s Max Stambaugh in a late race six lap battle through lapped traffic in the A-Main to capture his first major win on US soil. Stambaugh and Jake brought the field to green for the 25 lap, $2,000 to win NRA A-Main with the Brantford, ON youngster grabbing the lead following a first lap caution before a lap could be scored. On the second attempt to start the race, Brown got the advantage over Stambaugh with a trio of other Ohio drivers, Devin Dobie, Butch Schroeder and Jared Horstman hot on his tail. But Horstman, who won the previous night at Limaland Motorsports Park, would flip after two laps were scored requiring a second restart. Another caution on lap seven saw the pursuers close as Jake held Stambaugh, Dobie and his brother Mitch Brown at bay until he encountered heavy lapped traffic with eleven laps to go. On the restart Stambaugh used a lapped car to take the lead on lap 17 but in the move he and Jake made contact causing the Ohio driver's left rear tire to lose air pressure. Dobie would pull to the infield seeking medical attention on lap 19 resulting from a broken power steering line and Stambaugh ducked into the pits to change the tire handing the lead back to Jake Brown and STRODES OUT FRONT BY A NOSE... opening the door for Mitch Brown to move into second. Stateside advertising for the team's On what appeared to be a final restart, Jake pulled away from his brother Mitch, but had to long-time sponsor... it doesn't get contend with yet another caution with three laps to go that gave Mitch a final shot at overtaking much better than this! his brother. But Jake executed a great restart and drove to the win over Mitch Brown, Schroeder, Allison and Bova. BROTHERS WRAP-UP WEEKEND AT WAYNESFIELD Fresh off their impressive runs at Fremont, the Brantford teammates headed to Waynesfield Raceway Park for Sunday's K&L Ready Mix NRA Sprint Invader finale event of the 3-race mini-series. In pre-race speed trials Jake had 13th fast-time with Mitch one spot back. Both competitors ran to 3rd-place finishes in their qualifying heats and found themselves lined-up side by side in the fifth row of the 20 car starting field for the A-Main. The outcome saw Jake make his way to 6th place at the end of the chase while ONE-TWO FINISH AT FREMONT SPEEDWAY- Jake Brown Mitch lost the grip dropping back two spots for a 12th-place finish. held off a late race charge by his older brother Mitch to capture first career Fremont Speedway win.