Eric Abrams (right) watches his stepson, Adam Brenner, in a late model race. Abrams also drives in the U-Car series. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Fueling his love for racing

Local driver tries to break through

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Date published: 10/3/2008

BY JIM McCONNELL

Sitting in the bleachers on a Saturday night, watching weekend warriors swap sheet metal inside Old Dominion Speedway's -mile bullring, 16-year-old Adam Brenner couldn't help thinking he could do it better.

When Brenner shared his thoughts with his mother, Patti Abram, she brushed it off as typical teenage overconfidence.

"I was like, 'Yeah right, we have no money and you're going to be a race car driver,'" Patti recalled with a laugh.

That was 16 years ago. These days, nobody doubts Brenner's drive or determination.

After winning the Grand Stock division at ODS last year in his first full season as a driver, the Stafford County native moved up to Late Models this season and finished second in points to Haymarket's Willard Lawrence.

In 20 starts, Brenner won four times, finished in the top five 13 times and earned 18 top-10s. But he doesn't seem surprised by his sudden success. He's simply doing what he said he was going to do all along.

"I've just always wanted to drive race cars. When I got a chance, I knew I made the right decision," Brenner said. "It was like being at home; it just felt right."

'ARE YOU CRAZY?'

A deck builder by day, Brenner cut his teeth in racing as a volunteer pit crew member after responding to an Internet classified advertisement.

Brenner eventually became friends with veteran Late Model racers Dave Moon and Robert Bruce. Moon taught Brenner the finer points of setting up a car in race conditions. Brenner, in turn, served on Bruce's pit crew on Saturdays at ODS in Manassas.

"A lot of the setup stuff is trial and error. You have to learn what works and what doesn't," Brenner said. "You can't ever stop trying to get faster."

Rather than satisfying his appetite for racing, Brenner's stints in the pits only further stoked his desire to get behind the wheel. When Brenner found out that Steve Smith, the owner of Bruce's car, planned to put the car up for sale, he knew he had to have it.

The $16,000 price tag wiped out Brenner's entire life savings and then some. He bought it anyway, put it on a flatbed hauler and drove it to his mom's house.

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Date published: 10/3/2008