Tate Branch Gainesville wrap up

Branch loses close one in quarterfinals

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - After coming into this past weekend's Mac Tools Gatornationals hot off a win in Houston, Tate Branch and the Bar's Leaks Repair It/ Branch-Etterman Racing team lost a close race in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Not discouraged, the team is ready to pick up and do battle at their next race in Houston.

Branch, from Artesia, N.M., qualified the Bar's Leaks Repair It Camaro third in the stout field with a solid 5.564 at 257.58 mph. He then ran a 5.704 in round one to defeat Jeff McCulloch. In his quarterfinal match with Mick Snyder, Branch jumped out to a huge .015 to .113 holeshot, but encountered heavy tire shake and slowed to a 5.789 at 253.79 mph to be edged out by a mere .009 of a second by Snyder's quicker-but-later 5.682 at 250.76 mph.

"We just missed the call on the tune-up," stated Branch. "The track was better than we thought it was. The car was really running strong all weekend. We should be able to bounce back into the .50's in Houston. We're all looking forward to that race."

The next race for the Bar's Leaks Repair It/ Branch-Etterman team will be the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park, April 15-17. Two weeks ago, Branch won the Lucas Oil Series divisional held there.

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