Bio Notes and Stats: Race fans traveling on any of the highways, byways or plain old two-lane blacktops in ASCS territory over the past half-decade or so have more than likely crossed paths with the Brown Racing Xpress transporter. And fans, whether of the frequent variety or just of the “when it’s in the right neck of the woods” ilk, are sure to be familiar with the No. 61a Sprint Car and its driver, Toby Brown.
And for good reason, as the Carthage, MO, native hasn’t missed an O’Reilly ASCS National Tour event during this decade. In fact, the last time Toby’s name wasn’t included on the ASCS draw-in sheet was September of 1999. Over countless thousands of miles, Toby along with father and car owner Terry, have competed in every single event over the past five years.
Five years that have found the team in action at 49 different race tracks throughout a dozen different states, from Indiana to Mississippi to New Mexico and numerous points in between. And, with what can be a grueling schedule at times, the occasional all-nighter after a crash or engine woes hasn’t kept Toby and crew away the next night.
Toby originally worked his way into the driver’s seat after beginning his career as a crew member for his dad, Terry. After capturing a modified championship at Joplin 66 Speedway, Toby got his shot at Sprint Cars three years later.
After testing the ASCS waters, Toby hit the ASCS trail full-time in 2000 and posted thirteen top-ten finishes en route to a sixth-place points showing. Toby improved to fifth in points in ’01, then matched that ranking in ’02 when also received Most Improved Driver honors. Somewhat snakebitten in ’03, Toby still managed to salvage a strong sixth place ranking in points.
Toby’s misfortunes from ’03 appeared to carry over to the early portion of the ’04 season. Fortunes turned over the latter half of the season however, with Toby posting eight top-ten finishes in the final eleven events of the season to climb to a career-best fourth in final points. Toby also posted a career-best seven top-five feature finishes, including third place showings at Hollywood Hills Speedway (7/2), I-30 Speedway (7/10), Riverside Speedway (9/11) and West Plains Motor Speedway (9/18).
Toby, who has also competed in the last three editions of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, enters the 2006 season with a string of 198 consecutive ASCS National Tour events competed in. Solidifying “Ironman” status, Toby will most likely reach that magical “200” mark in the series’ opening weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway as the Brown Racing Xpress kicks off its pursuit of the top position on the rugged ASCS National trail.
(Bottom photo courtesy of Tim Aylwin)
