In a last minute decision announced out of the R2B2 camp this morning in Charlotte, crew chief Brad Brand has been tabbed to fill in for team owner Roger Burgess’  in his ProCare Rx 1953 Corvette. Brand, who was brought onboard during the off season as crew chief for Burgess and the Mustang of Leah Pruett, tested the car earlier in the week and received a call from Burgess prior to qualifying this morning notifying him of his double-duty weekend in which he’d make his first NHRA professional start.

“Roger isn’t feeling well and he called at 10 o’clock this morning and asked me to drive his car,” Brand said. “Thankfully, my gear was still in the trailer and the NHRA granted me a license. It’s all happened pretty quick.

“I’m certainly excited about the chance to race in the NHRA for the first time and I know from testing what this car is capable of, I just wasn’t expecting this at all.”

Brand, from Loganville, Ga., is one of the most accomplished and popular Outlaw 10.5 racers of all-time. Often referred to as “Bad Brad” or Triple B,” Brand was the first to surpass 200 MPH in Outlaw 10.5 trim and last fall, became the first and only driver to record a five-second pass on 10.5W at the Street Car Super Nationals in Las Vegas. Simply put, if its got wheels, Brand can drive the heck out of it.

“These turbo cars are not very easy to drive,” Brand said. “The starting line procedure is fairly involved and you have to be mentally prepared for all the steps it takes to launch. But things went really well in testing and I’ve driven turbo cars before. We’ll be alright.”

“I’m not nervous about driving. I do feel pressure as the crew chief to get this team a win. This is only the second Pro Mod race of the year but we only have 10 on the schedule so they’re all very important. No matter whose in the car, it needs to run well.”

In the first round of qualifying, Brand displayed his natural talent behind the wheel, stepping into the Corvette and delivering a stout 5.91 at 248.84 MPH for the second spot in the provisional qualifying order.