Brown bracing for comeback drive in NASCAR Xfinity debut
Will Brown bracing for comeback drive in NASCAR Xfinity debut
Supercars champ to start last on the grid at Portland on Sunday (AEST)
Gearbox issues cost Brown dearly in qualifying at Portland
Supercars champion Will Brown will have it all to do in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut from last on the grid at Portland.
Brown is steering a Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro, with the race to commence at 9:30am AEST Sunday.
While veteran Supercars co-driver Jack Perkins enjoyed a solid run to 11th at Portland International Raceway, it was a tougher day for Brown.
Brown was two seconds off fast man Connor Zilisch before a gearbox issue cost the Triple Eight Race Engineering star dearly in qualifying.
Brown and Perkins were in the first group of qualifying, with Perkins an impressive third in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Brown was only 13th and ended up 27th overall amid gearbox issues, with Zilisch taking pole position ahead of reigning Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier.
“I probably wasn’t feeling as comfortable as I hoped, to be honest,” Brown said afterwards.
“I just had a little drama. I don’t know if I burred second gear or something happened. I had one miss-shift probably on lap two or three and then was just really struggling to get it into second gear.
“That was just hurting all my braking zones and everything like that. I felt like I couldn’t get in a rhythm out there.
“We’ll start off the back. It’s a long race. We’ll slowly see if we can pick a few off. We’ll get it sorted and see what happens.”
Live coverage of the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Portland is live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports from 9:00am AEST.
The 2025 Supercars season resumes at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 9-12, and the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 9-12. Tickets are on sale now. International viewers can watch on SuperView.
