(Glendora, California, November 26, 2022) Impressive young racer Will Browne brought his rookie season in lightning sprint cars to a close in impressive fashion by finishing sixth at the “6th Annual Western States Lightning Sprints Championship” at the Bakersfield Speedway. The race was co-sanctioned by the California Lightning Sprint Car Series and Northern California’s Bay Cities Racing Association. It was also the final race of the five-race “Civil War Series” matching CLS drivers vs BCRA racers and the final points-paying race for the CLS in 2022.
Browne, 18, has had a wonderful rookie season in lightning sprint cars. He started out on the first weekend in March when he placed 5th and 6th in a pair of POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Car Series races at the Imperial Valley Raceway. After that weekend, he mostly competed with the rival CLS where he was never worse than seventh in the season-long championship standings and was locked into fourth most of the five-race “Civil War Series.” The lanky driver was in those positions when he arrived at Bakersfield for what turned out to be his last race of the year.
2022 High School graduate Browne, who lives in Glendora, California, led the CLS rookie of the year standings for most of the 2022 campaign. However, he slipped a second in that competition late in the year. Two races before the Bakersfield affair, he was 72 points behind the leader of the rookie standings. Coming into the Bakersfield event, he had whittled 32 points off that disadvantage and was only 39 out at the beginning of the finale.
Twenty-three cars showed up for the race at the 1/3 mile bank clay oval that is in the middle of Bakersfield’s rich oil fields. Browne got things going in a good way when he timed in 5th fastest of those 23 cars with a lap of 14.287. That placed him in the fifth starting spot for the eight-lap heat race. The young driver steered the handsome “Win Now Racing” #8 to a sixth-place finish.
For the final 30-lap main of the 2022 campaign, Browne started on the outside of the sixth row in the 12th position. On the original start, he stayed out of trouble when the car in front of him flipped wildly in turn two. For the restart, he moved up to the outside of row five and methodically moved his way forward throughout the race. By lap six, he was up to eighth. Four laps later he had advanced another position to seventh. He stayed out of trouble the entire race and came home sixth to close his 2022 season.
Browne hacked 14 more points off his disadvantage in the “Rookie of the Year” chase in Bakersfield. That means, he chopped 47 points off in two races! However, that was not enough and he fell 25 points short of capturing the crown. While he did not win that award, his fourth-place result in the “Civil War Series” was the best of any of the first-year drivers. Fourth in the CWS and seventh in the CLS were products of his smooth calculating style. His results in year one were extremely impressive and so was his great personality throughout the season.
Perhaps the most amazing stat in Browne’s first season portfolio is the fact that he placed in the top 10 13 times in 17 starts. In addition, seven of his top 10s were in the top five. His best result of the year was a second-place conclusion at Chico at the end of August.
With his rookie season completed, Browne is now looking toward 2023. In addition to working on equipment, he will be seeking marketing partners for his sophomore campaign. If you are looking for a young driver to be involved with, you need to look no further than Will Browne. In addition to his prowess behind the wheel, he is an extremely well-spoken, friendly young man who likes repping for his partners and meeting fans. He has a good social media presence that includes a very entertaining YouTube channel. If you would like to join the pleasant driver as a marketing partner for the 2023 campaign, drop an email or give him a call at the following: willbrowne88@gmail.com or (626) 261-5310.
Be sure to visit and signup for Browne’s YouTube channel at the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwSNglz0llw.
Browne and the “Win Now Racing” team would like to thank marketing partner Pacific Panel Products for being a part of his rookie campaign in lightning sprint cars
Will Browne 2022 Racing Results
March 5 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars 6th A Main
March 6 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars 5th A Main
March 25 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 9th A Main
April 2 Merced Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 4th A Main
April 16 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 7th A Main
May 14 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 4th A Main
May 21 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 6th A Main
June 11 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 5th A Main
June 25 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars DNS
June 25 Ventura Raceway WMR Midgets 7th A Main
August 6 Santa Maria Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 9th A Main
August 26 Silver Dollar Speedway CLS/BCRA Lightning Sprint Cars 2ND A Main
August 27 Placerville Speedway CLS/BCRA Lightning Sprint Cars 9th A Main
September 10 Lemoore Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 12th A Main
September 17 Perris Auto Speedway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars 5th A Main
September 24 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 11th A Main
October 1 Barona Speedway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars DNS
October 8 Mohave Valley Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars DNS
October 22 Imperial Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprint Cars 16th A Main
October 29 Ventura Raceway California Lightning Sprint Cars 4th A Main
November 15 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 6th A Main
