One Fast Week for Brandon Gdovic
Gdovic goes from winning a sports car world championship to the operating room and then to second-place NASCAR finish.
When Brandon Gdovic woke up Thursday night from surgery to remove a cyst from his left wrist, his first question was “can I race on Saturday?” Regardless of the doctor’s answer, Gdovic had already loaded up his Late Model stock car in preparation to do battle at East Carolina Motor Speedway in Robersonville, NC against former track champions and regulars of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The story begins a week earlier, when Gdovic surprised both the sports car purists and NASCAR contingent by winning both the Gallardo division North American AM and World titles in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series. With eight regular season wins to his credit, the Yorktown, VA driver took advantage of the final rain-soaked conditions at Sebring International Raceway to clinch the World Championship against drivers from North America, Europe, and Asia.
During the 2015 race season, which also saw Gdovic competing in NASCAR’s XFINITY Series and Inex Legends series, he experienced constant pain in his left wrist caused by a cyst that doctors decided should be removed following the end of the race season. Once the cyst was removed last Thursday, Gdovic left Virginia for East Carolina Motor Speedway the next day to compete in the Ronnie Barnette Memorial 200 NASCAR Stock car race. Brandon quickly returned to his circle-track roots and got to work pacing the field for most of Saturday’s practice, culminating in a fourth-place qualifying effort. When the green flag dropped, Gdovic settled into a comfortable pace for the 200-lap event. As the race progressed, Brandon was relegated to the rear of the field twice: once after being spun by a competitor and the second time, by a slowly leaking rear tire on his ComServe Wireless sponsored Chevy. After making two charges through the field, Gdovic found himself back in position for the win at the green-white-checker finish, but was unable to best Deac McCaskill at the line. The day ended for Gdovic with a hard fought second-place finish ahead of 2015 South Boston Speedway track champion Matt Bowling who crossed the line in third, followed by Brenden Queen and Justin Johnson who rounded out the top five.
Brandon Gdovic Quote:
“Probably one of the hardest p2 finishes I’ve had to battle for tonight. I started fourth and got spun early on, then had a left rear (tire) going down before the half way break. I came from the back of the field numerous times and fought back to be there at the end. I almost had the 08 on the green-white-checkered but just couldn’t get it. It was a fun last race of the season though with the boys. Time to get ready for next year.”
About Brandon Gdovic
Brandon is the 2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series Gallardo World Champion and North American AM Champion. Gdovic, 23, has spent the past 12 years working on and driving race cars for Precision Performance Motorsports (PPM), the NASCAR Xfinity Series team owned by his parents Richard Gdovic & Kelly Gdovic. When not driving or building race cars for his family-owned team, Gdovic is coaching other PPM drivers or engaging in appearances representing his corporate sponsors. His interest in road course racing began when he raced at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) and Road Atlanta in the NASCAR K&N Series. To broaden his road course experience earlier this year, Gdovic also competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series road course events held at Autodromo dell’Umbria in Magione, Italy, successfully compiling two top-five and one top-ten finishes. For more information, visit Brandon Gdovic Racing on Facebook, @BrandonGdovic on Twitter, or visit the website at www.BrandonGdovic.com.
About Precision Performance Motorsports
Owned by Richard Gdovic and managed by Charles Denike, Precision Performance Motorsports (PPM) is a China Grove, North Carolina and Gloucester, Virginia-based auto racing team that fields entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, NASCAR Southern Modified Tour, and Whelen All-American Series – Late Models and Modifieds. PPM provides a comprehensive driver development program, race car rentals, setup and pull down rig services, test consultation, and driver coaching. For more information, visit Precision Performance Motorsports on Facebook, @PrecisionPerf on Twitter, or visit the website at www.ppm646.com.
About ComServe Wireless
ComServe Wireless is a TCC Premium Authorized Retailer of Verizon Wireless equipment, services, and accessories with multiple retail locations in Virginia and Maryland. ComServe is dedicated to providing the best customer experience in the Wireless industry with a unique first class in-store experience and top notch employees. ComServe Wireless – “The Speed You Need”. For more information, please call 757-890-2801 or visit on Facebook at ComServe Wireless.
Sources: Cortney Dryden, Precision Performance Motorsports PR