BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Adding the 2006 World Classic to his wins in 1995 and 1998, Johnny Brazier of Lickskillet claimed his third World Classic, a 150-lap event, to his racing resume in winning the annual stock car gala at Birmingham (AL) International Raceway.
The winner credited his team and car owner for his success. “The car ran so good I didn’t have to drive it too hard,” Brazier said. He praised the team and especially his brother, Mark, worked tirelessly getting the car in shape. “We are dedicating this win to Charlie Bradberry and his family,” Brazier continued. “In 2003 we went out to California to race in the Toyota All-Star Shoot Out. They (the Bradberry family) had a two-car hauler and they carried our car out there with theirs. We became pretty good friends.”
The 150-lap race was the continuation of the first World Classic in 1978, a 400-lap event won by Jack Ingram. The 2006 version was completed in one hour, 31 minutes, including eleven (11) caution periods for a total of 54 laps. The average speed of the 150-lap, 93.75-mile race was speed of 61.799 mph. The top ten (1) qualifiers were separated by .483 seconds. The 24-car starting field and three (3) DNS’s included three (3) drivers who were in the first World Classic in 1977: Jackie McGuire, Mike Harmon, and Dave Mader, lll. Brazier became the only three-time winner of the World Classic. His first Southern All Star win was in his first full year of Super Late Model racing when he won the 1995 event. The late Charlie Bradberry won the 2004 and 2005 runnings. The weekend was a memorial of sorts to Bradberry, whose car was brought out onto the track before the beginning of the race. His family, friends, and crewmembers gathered at the car for prayer. Gary Bradberry, Charlie’s brother, made a final lap for car #78 in Charlie’s memory. Banners on the front stretch honored the memory of Bradberry, former flagman Clyde Haynes, car owner Bobby Gober, and former racer, promoter, and team owner, Clayton Reuse, all of whom passed away in 2006. The BIR family was better for having known them all.
