Colin Braun: Confident Of A 2020 Return After Core End DPi Programme
As the 2019 IMSA season enters its final two races of the season a number of drivers will be looking at their options when it comes to securing a ride for the 2020 IMSA season, just four months away.
One of those drivers is CORE Autosport’s Colin Braun who is working towards a full-time ride next season following the announcement that his co-driver, Jon Bennett, would be stepping back from racing. Braun is currently in talks with multiple teams and expressed to DSC that he is confident he will be back in the paddock when next season rolls around.
“There are some good conversations being had and right now I’m sorting through what’s available while always focusing on my number one goal which is to identify the team that will give me the best opportunity to win races,” Braun explained.
Braun’s career has seen him spend time in NASCAR, the Michelin Le Mans Cup (below), and more recently in SRO competition in the Blancpain World Challenge America series with Crowdstrike Racing. “My entire career I have always made decisions based on what I feel like gives me the best chance to win races so I’m going to stick with that!”
As far as options outside of sportscar racing, Braun said he is open to field any possibilities that might come his way.
“I really enjoy driving race cars, any kind of race car – so I have always found myself in a lot of different series. I have been working hard to get a chance to drive an IndyCar. I feel like my sports car experience coupled with my time in NASCAR puts me in a good position to impress early on in an IndyCar with the right team. Again, I’m having a lot of conversations and am listening to what everyone has to say.”
Braun’s pursuit of a new option for his career was brought on by Jon Bennett’s — the owner of CORE Autosports — decision to take a step back from his racing career. That left Braun, who has driven alongside Bennett since 2013, more exposed to the free-agent market than perhaps any other point in his career.
Since 2014, Braun has been with CORE Autosport and has worked alongside his father, Jeff Braun, who engineers the #54 Nissan DPi. As far as the chances for staying with CORE Autosport in the future, Braun told DSC that “you can never say never, let’s see.” The future for the Nissan DPi chassis that the team purchased from Extreme Speed Motorsports at the end of last season also remains unknown.
Braun is looking back on his time with Bennett and CORE Autosport with fond memories, though.
“Jon and I have had an amazing run together. Over the last eight years, we have accomplished some amazing things both on and off the track. We have won championships and had a ton of wins together in IMSA. I am going to guess around 15 wins which I bet ranks fairly high among active co-drivers in IMSA.”
Despite the championships, the best moment for Braun was his first win with Bennett at Laguna Seca in 2012.
“So many great memories but I would say the best may be the first win we had together in Laguna Seca in 2012 – when Jon [Bennett] first talked with me I told him I was only going to come to CORE to win races and he said ‘ok, that sounds great.’ I don’t think he thought it would be in the first two races of our relationship – he seemed impressed that I wasn’t joking!” Braun said.
Now Braun and Bennett will go back to Laguna Seca this weekend for the penultimate race in the 2019 IMSA season, perhaps for the last time together. Following that, the duo will head to Road Atlanta and Petit Le Mans, where the final chapter of one of the most illustrious partnerships in sports car racing will end.