Vanna Brackett has no experience racing Late Models, but that didn’t sway co-car owners Gene Hatch and Kevin Burgess from putting her in one this season.

After all, Burgess says, the 25-year-old Buckfield driver is “as smooth as it gets behind the wheel.”

“She’s ready to move up,” said Burgess, a Winthrop native. “We want to keep this girl going. She’s gone from the Ladies division to the Strictly Stock car and now to the Late Model. We’re hoping she can win the (TD Bank) 250. We’re hoping to make history.”

Last season Brackett finished fifth in the Strictly Stock series at Oxford Plains Speedway. She finished in the top five in three of her 10 races.

But after experiencing what Burgess said were “problems with some of the boys” in the class, she will race in the track’s premier division this summer.

“We had a lot of problems,” Burgess said. “The strictly boys were very rough with this girl. It was a little dangerous for her. I think they just hated to see a girl win. We don’t expect any problems in the Late Model class.”

Neither does her father, Tim Brackett.

The reasoning?

He races a Late Model at Oxford as well. So, too, does Vanna’s brother, T.J. Brackett.

“It’s going to be interesting,” said Tim Brackett, a former points champ at OPS who owns NAPA Auto Parts in Winthrop. “There might be some real good nights. She’s a good little racer. She’ll do fine, but it’s quite a learning curve with late models. But I know she drives people right. There won’t be any problems.”

Burgess and Hatch, also of Winthrop, bought a Late Model in Albany, N.Y., last year and have spent much of the offseason preparing it for Oxford. Burgess said the two have put in about $15,000 into the car.

Vanna Brackett, who has 35 career feature victories, will make her debut Sunday in the Armed Forces Day ACT 150 at Oxford.

She will run for points as well this season.

“I can’t wait,” she said. “This weekend will be the first race. It will be the first true test. This is my first year in a Late Model, so it’s too early to tell. I think we’ll be all right. You always want to race the highest division you can, and they gave me the opportunity.”

Added Burgess: “We’ve been working on the car for most of the winter. We’re still tuning it up, still working on it. We’re making fine adjustments to try and make it go faster. We’ll be ready for (Sunday).”

Vanna Brackett said she wants to win rookie of the year honors in her division this season.

She also has her sights set on the TD Bank 250 in July.

“We’re hoping she can win it,” Burgess said. “No woman has ever won it, so she can make history.”

For now, however, she will have to qualify for the ACT race on Sunday, which will be no small feat.

“It won’t be easy,” Tim Brackett acknowledged. “These are guys who race hundreds of times a year. There will be 50 or 60 cars and only 32 or so will get in. It would be quite a feat to get in.”

Added Burgess: “She can do it. She is just a smooth, calm driver. She takes care of her equipment.

She is smooth through the corners and doesn’t burn up her tires. We know she can run a Late Model.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com

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