For The Tribune
BROWNSTOWN
Brownstown Speedway is set to host the fourth annual Born Free 40 tonight in the first of two visits this season for the MARS Super Late Model Racing Series.
The victor will take home $5,000 for winning the 40-lap event.
Devin Gilpin is a two-time and defending winner of the event and is among the favorites to visit victory lane in the fourth edition of the Chris Tilley sanctioned event.
Gilpin has competed in 24 events this season, scoring eight victories along with 13 top-five finishes.
“Brownstown is home for me when it comes to racing. I love racing at Brownstown. I grew up there as a kid,” Gilpin said. “Being it is a bigger-paying race and winning it two years in a row, I would love to win it for the third time. With that being said, I want to win every race we go to. Looking forward to the weekend and hoping to put my grandfather’s car in victory lane for him and all my crew that works hard on this thing.”
Dustin Linville won the inaugural Born Free 40 in 2015 over Scott James, Brandon Kinzer, Cody Mahoney and Terry English.
Tilley, who already owns the Schaeffer Oil Iron-Man Championship Late Model Series and the Brucebuilt Performance Iron-Man Modified Series, acquired the MARS series this past winter.
Primarily focusing on events in the southern region of the United States, Tilley is excited to bring his product north to the Midwestern fan base with the MARS series.
“We’re so excited about visiting the historical Brownstown Speedway,” he said. “We had a show last year with our Schaeffer’s Oil Iron-Man Series, and it went well. I bought the MARS tour last winter, and we were able to schedule a couple of shows this year with Jim (Price) at Brownstown. The racing is always fantastic, and there’s a great fan and driver base at Brownstown. We hope everyone can come out and support us.”
Tilley added an extra incentive to this year’s event, adding prize money for any driver who has never won a MARS sanctioned event.
“Any driver that has never won a MARS feature race will get a $500 bonus if they win (today), so possible $5,500 to win for the annual Born Free 40,” he said.
Tanner English currently leads the MARS series points over Tim Manville, Dean Carpenter, Caleb Ashby and Dennis Erb Jr. English is a past winner at Brownstown.
Print Worx Indiana Pro Late Models, A&K Excavating Modifieds, Woolston Automotive Super Stocks and Pewter Hall Pure Stocks are on the undercard for the evening.
Last week saw Steve Godsey, Mike Fields, Earl Plessinger, Mickey Hines and Greg Garrison visit victory lane at the speedway.
Godsey’s win marked his first on the season, making him the fifth different winner in the Indiana Pro Late Model division. Plessinger also picked up his first win of the season in the Modified division.
Fields now has three wins on the season in the Super Stock division, including two for the Brandeis Super Series events at the speedway.
Tickets for today’s event are $20 for adults, and hot laps are set to begin at 6 p.m.
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For information about tonight’s race at Brownstown Speedway, visit brownstownspeedway.com or marsracingseries.com.
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