March 29, 2008

Photo by Jeff Arns

The Badger race season opener was March 29, 2008 at the new Amsoil Sandbox Arena at Cedar Lake Speedway in which Brandon would make history. With 2008 plans up in the air for Waelti, Brandon was tabbed to drive the Jim Fiscus stealth/esslinger 7x car with teammates Aaron Fiscus and Tim Noble.

The night would start out good posting the fourth quick time among the Badger competitors. Waelti would have to start shot gun on the field for his heat race. Brandon would charge his way to the front finishing a strong third place. Good enough to make the trophy dash Brandon would start fourth.

Brandon quickly made his move and would battle Dave Darland for much of the race but would have to settle for second. That solid finish would slate Brandon for an outside front row starting spot for the first ever event. Getting the jump on Darland, Brandon would pace the first couple of laps, but would surrender the lead on lap three. Brandon kept Darland in sight and would stage a fierce battle for much of the race.

Finally on lap 22 Brandon would take back the lead and not look back becoming the first ever winner at the new facility. Brandon would like to thank the whole Fiscus team and "Waelti crew" for all there hard work to pull off the win.
 
Back on Sunday Waelti and crew hoped to repeat from the night before. Going with the "passing points" system for Sunday's program Brandon would pull a no. 4 for the draw. So again Waelti would start shot gun in his heat race. With significantly different track conditions it was very hard to pass, Brandon would not fair well in his heat finishing outside the top 5. Not making the dash Brandon would start well back in the field....16th. Again with very dry track conditions passing was extremely difficult, Waelti battled with many top Badger contenders but could only muster a eighth place finish on the night. With both nights complete Brandon is sitting third in BMARA points behind Darland and Fiscus.

The next event is May 3, 2008 at Charter Park in Beaver Dam, WI.

September 1, 2007

Photo by Jeff Arns

With a long Badger season and a couple of Poweri races in the books, Brandon has now completed the 2007 race year. Brandon rounded out the Badger season with not such a great showing at the Dodge county event held Fri. August 31. The Stealth/Mopar combination didn't fair well with the USAC and Badger contenders. But back in the familiar Stealth/Esslinger Brandon would do a lot better in the famed Firemen's Nationals presented by Pepsi the following night.

As a lot of the USAC racers would stay to challenge for the $10,000 to win event it was surely going to be a battle. Brandon and crew were poised to get in the famed Dave Schulenburg  Memorial Dash for there great friend and past sponsor but would settle for a disappointing 23rd in time. With no dash opportunity Brandon was off to the heat race.

Starting in the second row Brandon was bound to get a heat win. With a mid-race caution, Brandon would pass the leader on the re-start to score the heat win. Being locked in the feature was a great feat for the whole team. Brandon and crew would have there work cut out for them as they would start 20th on the nights main event.  Brandon and the crew gambled on the set up and strictly would use the bottom groove for the feature.

Photo by Jeff Arns

As the race went on Brandon steadily moved his way up through the field. With multiple cautions in the race Brandon would utilize that to pass cars on the restarts. When the checkered flag flew Brandon worked his way up to the third position among the USAC/BADGER standouts! When the points were worked out Brandon would end up SECOND in the BMARA point standings behind champion Brad Kuhn.

Brandon and crew couldn't be happier on the results of the season but it couldn't be done without the great support of all our sponsors, friends, and fans! Next on tap is the BADGER race banquet in the Wis. Dells on Nov.3.

August 25-26, 2007

SATURDAY: With a week off from Badger competition due to mass amounts of rain Brandon was anxious to get back to racing. Friday nights scheduled race at Plymouth got rained out so now on tap was the doubleheader at Sun Prairie. With both nights being co-sanctioned with USAC the competition was even more fierce than normal. Brandon would qualify not so good Sat. night timing in 23rd among the 50+ entrants. That would put him on the inside of the second row of the heat race. Brad Kuhn would jump out to the lead while Brandon would run second for most of the event.

Two laps into the race though a right front shock broke, making the car a handful to drive. Brandon would limp the car home to a transfer spot finishing 3rd. With such a poor qualifying time Brandon would start on the outside of row no. 8. The track condition were rough but there were multiple grooves to pass. Brandon used the low line to pick off a bunch of cars. When the checkered flag flew Brandon would come home in the eight spot.Not a typical Waelti finish but still respectable among the tough competition.

SUNDAY: Back to Sun Prairie for the second night of competition Brandon and crew hoped to improve on Sat. nights finish. Going out almost last to qualify Brandon had his worked cut out for him as the track was extremely dry as the earlier qualifiers would have an advantage. Brandon timed in 28th on the evening. Starting on the outside of the front row Brandon had a good shot at qualifying for the A-main. Brandon ran the race in the top four for some of the race but just couldn't hold off the tough USAC drivers and would miss the transfer spot by finishing fifth.

Now Brandon would have to run the B-main starting on the inside of row no. 7.With only 6 transfer spot available Brandon had his work cut out for him. Brandon again used the inside groove to pick off cars but would come up short by two cars finishing eighth. Being that it was a USAC/Badger event Brandon was eligible for a provisional starting spot for the feature.Brandon would start shotgun on the field. Again utilizing the bottom groove Brandon slowly passed cars making his way up to the mid-pack area of the field.

Then on lap 19 Brandon would get involved in a multi-car crash that would result in the Chad DeSelle car landing on Brandon's car. At first glance it looked as if Brandon's night was over but the crew thrashed by changing the right front tire and checking bolts and got Brandon pushed off. Knowing the front axle was bent 3-4 inches Brandon was just looking to finish the race. Brandon would again go to the back of the field for the remaining laps.

Brandon would end up passing a few cars at the end to finish 14th on the night. Again not the finish Brandon and the team were looking for but still with all things considered a decent night in the end. Brandon and crew will end the season this weekend at Dodge county fairgrounds on Fri. night and then head to Sun Prairie for the Pepsi Nationals on Sat. night. Brandon sits second in BMARA points going into the final race weekend.

August 8-12, 2007

Photo by Jeff Arns

Waelti and crew headed back to Wilmont Sat. night to race in the rain date for the event that was supposed to be held last week. Utilizing grand prix style qualifying Brandon would time in very well as he would end up second to Scott Hatton. Starting in the last row of the heat race Brandon got involved in a first lap wreck. Luckily Brandon had no major damage to the car and was able to continue. He then would charge to the front to take the win.

For the trophy dash Brandon again would start shotgun on the field and slowly picked off a few cars to end up third in the event. With Brandon qualifying second that would place him on the inside of row number 5. The track conditions were not the greatest, as it would be for the most part a one groove race track on the bottom with not much passing. Brandon struggled in the feature but would soldier home to a sixth place finish. Not the result the team was looking for but still decent going into Sun. nights race back home in Sun Prairie.

Photo by Jeff Arns

With a win a week ago Brandon and crew were anxious to get back to Sun Prairie to try to duplicate the result. Qualifying didn't go that great for Waelti as the track at that time was very unpredictable. Waelti would time in ninth quick. Starting on the outside of the second row for the heat race, Brandon quickly made his way to the front to challenge for the win. Brandon and Robbie Ray battled side by side for the last two laps but Brandon would just come up short for the win.

With track conditions smoothing out it looked as if it was going to be a two groove race track. Brandon would start on the outside of the front row next to Rob Keelan. Brandon would quickly jump out to the lead and would pace the field for the first 19 laps. Then Mike Hess would get by Brandon on lap 20. Running second a caution would come out for to bunch up the field.

On the restart Brandon jumped back into the lead on lap 25 but again couldn't hold off Hess as he would go on for the win. Brandon would also get passed on the last lap..last corner to finish a disappointing third. As third is a great finish, Brandon was disappointed by leading so much of the race and not come away with the win.

Brandon sits second in the BMARA point standings going into the Corn Fest 50 Sun. night at Sun Prairie.

August 5, 2007

Photo by Jeff Arns

After making the trip to Wilmont Saturday night and getting rained out Brandon and crew hoped to get Sunday nights feature in. The firemen at Angel Park worked all day to get the track prepared properly after Saturday nights heavy rain. The hard work paid off as the track was extremely tacky for all the contenders.

Qualifying was eliminated due to time restraints and the passing points system was used in the heat races. Brandon would start deep in the field in the heat race but would manage to finish second to DeSelle. Brandon would earn the most passing points among the BMARA standouts and would start eighth in the nights main event. Brandon would use multiple lanes to pass but mostly relying on the bottom line to do most of his passing.

Photo by Jeff Arns

With a lot of red flags to deal with Brandon would slowly pick off cars and by mid race was battling Fiscus for the lead.Brandon wouldn't look back as he would finally get his first feature win of the season. Brandon and crew would like to thank all the fans and sponsors for all the support this season and hopefully can keep strong finishes coming.

Brandon now sits second in the BMARA standings going into Saturdays rain date for Wilmont.

July 29, 2007

After a long week in the shop working on both the "3" cars Brandon and crew had high hopes of finally trying to get a feature win. The night started out good as Brandon would have a good qualifying effort and would time in fourth among the nights contenders. That would put Brandon in the back of the first heat race. With a flip on the first lap and another car dropping out Brandon now would start the race on the front row. Brandon quickly jumped out into the lead and wouldn't look back as he would take home the win. With a strong heat race effort Brandon was optimistic for the feature.Brandon would start the race on the inside of row four. Brandon quickly moved up through the field using the familiar low line. Brandon was running as high as third but faded back a few spots as the bottom groove was going away. Brandon then jumped up to the high side for the second half of the race to finish in the fifth spot. Fifth seems to be where Waelti has been finishing lately so hopefully he can improve on that for this weekends double header at Wilmont on Sat. and Sun Prairie on Sun. Brandon still sits fourth in BMARA point standing with one month of Badger racing left.

 

July 22, 2007

Being that Sun. nights race was the mid-season special Brandon and crew hoped to turn some of these fourth and fifth place finishes into a win. That wouldn't be the case Sunday night, as Waelti would be chasing some oil pressure issues with the Stealth/Esslinger combination. Noticing something wrong in hot laps Brandon brought the car into the pits early to take a look at the engine. After looking into things Brandon apprehensively went out last to qualify taking only one lap.

Waelti would time in sixth among the BMARA contenders. Starting in the last row of the feature Brandon quickly went to work chasing Davey Ray to the checkers as Brandon would finish second. Still having an oil pressure and the engine starting to get warm Brandon and crew again investigated the engine but still not coming up with anything solid. Brandon would start on the inside of row three for the feature race.

Brandon would use all of the track to make his charge to the front. By mid-race Brandon was running in third position behind Coons Jr. and Kuhn. But after multiple cautions bunching up the field and lap cars trying to race each other Brandon would fade to again finish fifth on the evening. Still a decent finish, Brandon and crew are anxious to get a win. Brandon now sits fourth in the BMARA standings going into next Sundays race at Sun Prairie.

 

July 14-15, 2007

After a disappointing night last Sun. both Waelti and crew were optimistic for a good finish this weekend at both Beaver Dam and Sun Prairie. Utilizing grand prix style qualifying Brandon would go out late in the last session and would qualify tenth quick among the field. Starting mid pack Brandon would manage to finish fourth on the tricky track conditions for the night. Brandon would start on the pole of the feature for the 30 lap event.

Using the the top groove Brandon would run in the top three the entire race. With multiple grooves of race track to utilize there were many lanes to run. Brandon would have great side by side battles with Hess, Schenck, and Stratton to name a few. When the checkered flag flew Brandon would get edged out by Stratton on the last lap to finish fourth on the evening. Never the less it was a good run for the team going into Sun. nights event at Sun Prairie the next night.

After a great night of racing at Beaver Dam the night before, Waelti and crew were looking for the same type of results. Brandon would go out towards the middle of the field for qualifying and as Sat. nights result Brandon again would time in tenth quick. With the track conditions being very good this Sun. Brandon would need to use all the track to weave his way through the field in his heat race.

Starting in the last row Brandon didn't take long to get to the front as he would challenge Matt Smith for the lead early and would take the lead on lap four. Brandon wouldn't look back as he would be unchallenged to take the heat race win over Smith and Hatton. Again starting on the front row Brandon was excited to start up front for the feature.

Brandon would jump out to the early lead to pace the first lap but would give it up to Durst on the second lap. Brandon battled in the top six for most of the evening using the top groove to make passes. When the night was over Brandon ended up fifth on the night. Not quite the finish the team was looking for but still a decent result among the tough Badger drivers. Brandon now sits fifth in the BMARA point standings going into next weeks event at Sun Prairie.

 

July 7-8, 2007

Brandon and crew headed north to the Langlade Fairgrounds in Antigo, Wi for the first Badger race held at the facility Sat. night. Brandon would go out late to qualify at the huge half mile track but would still end up fourth quick on the night. Starting last in the trophy dash Brandon managed to pick off a few cars to finish fourth in the event.

Getting a good start in the heat proved to be beneficial as Brandon would start in the last row of the heat race. When the checkered flag flew Brandon would come in third to Hess and Schenck. The feature line up would put Waelti starting on the inside of row no. four. With a pretty racey track Brandon had great battles with competitors such as DeSelle, Mosen, and Ray to name a few.

When the race was complete Brandon ended up with a good finish of fourth on the huge track. Brandon and crew were excited about the good finish as they normally don't fair well on the bigger tracks.

With a good finish in the books Waelti and crew were excited to get back to the familiar Angel Park. With drying track conditions continuing at the speedway Brandon struggled to earn a 11th quick qualifying spot. Brandon would start in the second to last row in the second heat but wouldn't stay there long as he jumped into the lead on the second lap. Brandon would control the entire race until Coons jr. would pull a slide job on him going into turn one on the last lap. Brandon would have to settle for second.

With such a poor qualifying effort Brandon would have to start deep in the a-main line up. Starting in the sixth row Brandon quickly moved up many positions and was running in the top seven when a rocker broke in the engine on lap 9. This would sideline Waelti for the night and would finish a disappointing 22nd on the night. Waelti and crew will have a lot to do this week to get the car ready for the double header at Charter Park and Sun Prairie next week.
Brandon now sits sixth in the Badger point standings.

 

July 1, 2007

With free admission to all Sun Prairie residents this Sunday, Brandon hoped for a good finish in front of his hometown fans and sponsors. The night started out o.k. for Brandon as he would time in fifth quick on the quickly drying track.

During qualifying though Brandon noticed a vibration in the driveline and had to quick change the u-joint assembly which required pulling the entire driveline out of the car. Luckily Brandon would be in the fourth heat race so there was enough time to make the exchange. Starting in the last row Brandon would quickly jump in the lead after the first lap and continue to lead until the charging Brad Kuhn would catch him and pass him with a couple of laps to go. Brandon would finish second in the heat race.

With a very unique track in store for the nights feature, Brandon and crew had a hard decision to make on the setup of the car. The top of the track was rough and erratic but there was no traction on the bottom of the track. Brandon would start on the outside of row three. Brandon would quickly jump to the bottom and try to make that work but did not and would get freight trained. Brandon then jumped up to the high groove and would play "follow the leader" for much of the race.

With poor track conditions it made it almost impossible to pass. As the race would shake out, Brandon would end up with a somewhat disappointing seventh place finish on the evening. Brandon still sits in fourth place in the BMARA point standings going into this weekends double header at Antigo and Sun Prairie.

 

June 22-24, 2007

With a long weekend in store for the Waelti racing crew (Fri. and Sat. at Knoxville and Sun. at Sun Prairie), Brandon and crew decided to run the back up car at Knoxville and the primary car at Sun Prairie. A huge storm rolled into Iowa on Fri. night canceling the nights events. So Saturday USAC officials decided to run a double feature event which would involve a lot of racing for the sixty some competitors.

Drawing a good pill for the starting line up Brandon would start outside the front row in his heat race along side Jerry Coons Jr. Jerry would grab the lead off the start and would go on to win the race with Waelti holding on to third. That would earn enough points for Brandon to earn a spot into the first A-main.

Although he made the A-main Brandon was noticing a power loss in the mopar power plant that would plague the team throughout the night. Starting 22nd in the feature Brandon would struggle to finish 14th in the A-main.

Now the semi-feature was up for the second feature. Brandon would start fifth which would be good enough for transfer but would fade to ninth at the checkers. With the lack of power Brandon just did not have enough for the very fast Knoxville raceway. As it would come up, Brandon was eligible for a provisional because of his Badger points. Brandon would start shotgun on the field and more or less just finished the race in the back limping the mopar to the the checkered flag. Getting back to the shop Brandon found some major issues with the engine that will have to be addressed this week.

Making the long haul back to Sun Prairie on Sat. night Brandon and crew rolled into town around 6 a.m. with some work yet to be done at the shop in preparation for Sun. nights race. Brandon would go out to qualify second to last and would time in seventh quick for the night. Starting in the last row of the heat Brandon weaved his way through the field to pick up another heat race win.

Starting fourth in the feature Brandon had high hopes of another good finish. Brandon would race wheel to wheel with Coons Jr., Hatton and Kuhn throughout the night but would finish where he started in the fourth spot. Still a good finish for the team Brandon now sits fourth in the standings after along race weekend. Next race is Sun. night at Angel Park Speedway.

(Get your new race cards for the 2007 season in the Waelti racing pits and look for new Brandon Waelti T-shirts in the next couple weeks in the Badger
Trailer.)

 

June 17, 2007

After last weeks top three feature finish Brandon and crew hoped to pick up where they left off. Going out early in qualifying proved to be good as Brandon would qualify second among the tough badger racers.Davey Ray would be the nights quick qualifier. Brandon would have to start shotgun on the heat race due to his good qualifying efforts.

With Fiscus, Stratton, and Coons Jr. in the heat it was going to be tough to make the top 4 to lock himself in the feature. Brandon would have a great battle with Fiscus exchanging positions a few times with Aaron getting the third spot at the stripe and Brandon coming home fourth. With the heat race in the books the feature would prove to be a tough race.

Brandon started on the inside of the fifth row with all the hot shoes starting ahead of him. Early in the race it was a one groove race track, the top was the only way to go. Brandon was running in the top ten most of the race but not making too much progress. Brandon went to the bottom and slowly picked off cars and by the last lap was racing side by side with Danny Stratton for third position.

When the checkered flag flew Brandon edged out Stratton for third place. It was the second straight third place finish for Waelti. Brandon moved up to third position in the Bmara point standings but second to eighth in points are very close. Brandon and crew are headed for Knoxville, Iowa for a two day show on Fri. and Sat. and then make the long haul back to Sun Prairie on Sun.

 

June 10, 2007

Sunday night was finally a good night for Brandon and crew as they would hammer out a top three finish. Brandon drew a decent no. to go out and qualify. When time trials were complete Brandon would end up fifth among the badger standouts. That meant Brandon would start deep in the last heat race.

On the initial start Brandon would get into a slight wreck with Davey Ray and Mike Hess which would damage the car but Waelti still managed to finish 6th. That not being good enough to transfer to the A main Brandon would have to run the semi-feature. But when Brandon came into the pits after the heat race, the crew noticed the front axle, left front wheel, and drag link were all bent. So Brandon and crew had a lot of work to do before the b-main. With all the repairs done Brandon would solider on and take home the semi-feature win.

Starting sixth in the feature Brandon had high hopes of finally getting a good finish. Brandon would run in the top six all night battling with Fiscus, Ray, DeSelle and Hatton all night. Running the top groove made it hard to pass but Brandon managed to come out in third place when the checkered flag flew.

With all the adversity through the night Brandon and the crew were very pleased with the results. Brandon now sits sixth place in the BMARA standings heading into next weeks event at Sun Prairie.

 

June 1-3, 2007

With a triple header weekend in store for Brandon and crew, it would be the wet weather that would be the headliner. The co-sanctioned race at Dodge County Fairgrounds on Fri. night got blasted with rain just before hot laps which would end the nights event early. The event is rescheduled for August 31, 2007.

With a threat of rain for the rest of the weekend it wasn't looking like any racing was going to happen. Mother nature held off though for the Sat. night event at Charter Park. With very heavy track conditions, the track was very difficult to set up for. Grand Prix style qualifying was being used as Brandon would go out in the first of six sessions. This would prove to be not good for the team as track conditions significantly improved as the next sessions would go out. Brandon had a terrible qualifying effort. This would put Brandon on the outside of the front row for the first heat race.

Brandon jumped out to the early lead and would not look back as he would take the heat win for the second week in a row. Now with the heat race in the book it was off to the feature. With such a poor qualifying effort Brandon would start in the ninth row. The track conditions continued to surprise Brandon, with the track becoming more tacky and rough. Brandon would not fair well in the feature and would struggle with the car being "too tight". Brandon just missed the set up for the feature. It was a disappointing night finishing 14th in the feature.

Then on Sunday, mother nature struck again with early morning showers and showers forecasted for the evening Angell Park officials canceled Sun. nights event. Brandon sits in eighth place in early part of the Badger season. Next event is Sun June 10,
2007 at Angel Park Speedway.

May 27, 2007

It looked as early in the night that the MGD 50 would be a good night for Brandon but proved to be disappointing. Brandon started out the night with a great qualifying effort with a fourth quick among the Badger standouts.

Coming from the tail end of the field Brandon slowly worked his way up to the front to take the lead midway and wouldn't look back. The track conditions proved to be tough as passing would extremely hard. Brandon started outside of row 4 and started his charge to the front. Racing on the top and the bottom Brandon made his way up to 5th position by lap 30, but then coming out of turn 4 Brandon shredded a left rear tire which would put an end to his night. That would put Brandon a disappointing 17th place in the feature and seventh in BMARA points. The next race is Fri. at Dodge County Fairgrounds

May 20, 2007

The Badger season kicked off Sun. night at Angel Park with many hot shoes in the pit area. Going out second to last in qualifying Brandon timed in seventh quick among the stout field. Starting deep in the second heat Waelti charged to the front taking the early lead but a red flag and a caution flag bunched up the field. Hatton soon took command with Schenck sneaking by Brandon on the last lap for second.

With a good heat race performance Brandon and crew were optimistic about their chances in the feature. Starting on the outside of the second row Brandon jumped to the outside groove but a bobbling Brad Kuhn drove him up the track to allow three cars to pass Waelti. With a one groove race track it was extremely hard to pass.

Shortly into the race Davey Ray bicycled in turn one again driving Waelti into the wall with numerous cars getting by. This would be the norm for Waelti the rest of the race as their were numerous flips during the event.Brandon would soldier home with a ninth place finish but more importantly an intact car at the end of the night which not everybody could say. Brandon and crew will head into next weeks race at Sun Prairie sitting eighth place in the points.

May 13, 2007

With the Badger opener to kick off less than a week away Brandon and crew are excited to get back on track at the famous Angel Park Speedway. With a long off season in the books, Brandon is excited to kick off the year strong. Earlier in April Brandon and crew headed to Illinois to try their hand in the Powri series at Jacksonville and Lincoln speedways. As the overall results weren't too spectacular, Brandon gained a lot of knowledge about some different chassis setups that should help a lot during the long Badger race season, as well as knocking off some of the rust off the driver after a long off season. With both Waelti Racing machines ready to go, the team is optimistic about the 2007 schedule but realizes it is a long season with many ups and downs. Waelti and crew will have to be on their "A" games to contend with the likes of Kuhn, Stratton, Hatton and Fiscus to name a few.

January 9-13, 2007

This years 2007 Chili bowl was exciting on and off the track for the Brandon and the crew. Brandon got some early hot laps on Tuesday shaking down the familiar no 3 Stealth/Esslinger. With no apparent problems. Brandon was optimistic about his chances on his Thursday night event. Drawing a decent pill no. Brandon would start on the outside of row no. 2 in the seventh heat race. With Tracey Hines, Justin Alligier, and Billy Pauch in the heat this was not going to be a easy task. Brandon quickly pressured the leaders and after a few laps had a commanding lead. After one restart Brandon would hold off the field for the heat race win.

Next up was the qualifier race, in which Brandon would just need to at minimum finish where he started to enjoy a decent starting spot in the feature. This would be where the weekend would take a turn for the worse. The first lap of the qualifier a car drove over the right rear of Waelti and cut the right rear tire. The crew rushed to the car and changed the tire but turned out to be seconds to late. Now Waelti was slated to run the B-main, but starting deep in the field would prove to be tough. Brandon using multiple lines tried to race his way into the A-main but came up short by a few spots.

Due to great competition and drying track conditions it was difficult to make any passes around the small quarter mile track. After all the qualifying nights were done Brandon would manage to race in the first D-main on Sat. night. Just getting to the track on Fri. and Sat. proved to be tough because of a huge ice storm blasted Oklahoma and the midwest. With no snow removal equipment the roads were treacherous to say the least.

As the D-main started the Tulsa track had already seen 5 hours of racing action, and was showing very similar track conditions as outside of the expo center(very slick). Starting deep in the D, the race played out to be a follow the leader with only one desirable race line. Taking only three out of the D, Brandon would not transfer and another Chili bowl would be in the books.

With along week in Oklahoma done Waelti and crew were anxious to get home. A trip taking usually 11-12 hours to drive, Waelti and crew struggled to get home in 22 hours and 2 days of driving. The road conditions were snowy and ice covered which meant a lot of white knuckle driving. Now everybody home safe and sound Brandon and crew will regroup for the 2007 race season.

January 1, 2007

With the 2006 Badger awards banquet complete, Waelti and crew picked up some awards which included a fourth place in the drivers and owners points, and Best appearing car (with help from NS Designs and Sign_1-1). So now that the season is officially complete it was now time to focus on 2007 season which means a regular trip to the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma from Jan 9th-13th, will provide so of the best wheel to wheel racing you will see along with the stars of all motor sports.

So with that in mind Brandon and crew went to work on the familiar #3 getting it prepared for the January event. Completely going through the car was required which entailed new paint and sending the engine to California to Esslinger to be gone through. With the car now complete Waelti is excited to hit the track but with almost 275 entries it will be a tough challenge.

Brandon and crew would like to thank again all the sponsors, friends, fans and family with all the great support. Look for updates on brandonwaelti.com the week after the Chili Bowl Nationals for a complete update and new pictures of the race car.