Brusso Stakes Claim to Louisiana Title
Also Earned Track Championship at Revolution Park
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kody Brusso’s life consists of managing horsepower – the kind with four legs as well as that with four wheels.
A horse trainer by day, the Pensacola, Florida, native spends her weekends as a race car driver. She did the later good enough in 2014 to earn the Revolution Park Racing & Entertainment Complex track championship and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state title of Louisiana.
2014 NWAAS TRACK CHAMPIONS | STATE/PROVINCE CHAMPIONS
Brusso is a second generation race car driver. Influenced at an early age by her racing father, Donny, Brusso took to go-karts at the age of four. Along the way she took an interest in horses as well as basketball. Hoops eventually became the dominant focus and led to a two-year college scholarship.
Brusso had no set plans to revisit her auto racing roots, but upon returning home following college, she was surprised to learn that her father had a car ready and waiting.
“I got home from school and he was like ‘we’re gonna go race, so here you go,’” Brusso said. “We had all of the stuff to do it. We do it for fun as a family hobby, it’s something we can all do together and everybody is involved.”
Brusso’s introduction to stock cars came in the 2012 season finale at Revolution, a .375-mile concrete oval in Monroe, Louisiana. Her first full-time season was 2013 when she finished as the championship runner-up to Brandon Kelly.
Heading into the 2014 campaign, Brusso felt the team was primed to attain the top spot.
“We knew that we could do it, we just needed everything to fall in place for us,” Brusso said. “We knew that we could win races, and I had enough laps under my belt that we could really do something, and we did.”
Now 22, Brusso posted three wins and top 10s in all 12 starts behind the wheel of her No. 7 AAA Custom Cabinets/Morris Transmissions Ford to finish as the pro late model division track champion at Revolution. She entered the last week of the season in a virtual tie with Ryan Humphrey, but double feature wins set the final margin at 523-498. She also ended Kelly’s two-year run as the Louisiana NASCAR titlists by 20 points over Brandon Kent.
Brusso’s crown was earned with the help of her father, who is the team owner and crew chief, as well as her mother, Debra. Zac Zearsoss, Ricky Beasley and Charlie Phillips all played integral roles in the team’s success.
Brusso will likely not defend her Revolution title. She was offered a seat with a different team to compete at various tracks in the Gulf Coast region.
“We’re going to venture out and see what we can do with this new car and the new team at some different places,” Brusso said.
Wherever her racing travels lead in 2015 and beyond, Brusso vows to maintain the perspective her family has for the sport.
“It’s a hobby,” Brusso said. “We want to win races, and we do win races, but that isn’t our main focus. If we do go further – great – but if not, that’s fine too because we do it for fun. If a hobby becomes a job, then it’s not fun anymore.”
In two seasons at Revolution, Brusso has posted points finishes of second and first.
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR PR