Lee Brayton is a former American racing driver from Coldwater, Michigan

Coldwater, Michigan

Coldwater is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,945. It is the county seat of Branch County....

. He competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1972 to 1975, making 16 starts with a best finish of 10th three times (twice at Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway

Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...

 and once at Texas World Speedway

Texas World Speedway

Texas World Speedway was built in 1969 and is one of only seven superspeedways of two miles or greater in the United States, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladega, Auto Club, and Michigan. TWS is located on approximately 600 acres on State Highway 6 in College Station, Texas....

). He attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 in 1972, 1973, and 1974, but after missing the field his first year, was taken out of contention by practice crashes the following two years. His son, Scott Brayton

Scott Brayton

Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event...

, was a long-time CART and IRL driver, who was killed in a crash during a practice run. Lee Brayton owns Brayton Engineering, an engineering firm that helped build the Buick

Buick

Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...

 V6 IndyCar engine as well as fielding a car in the CART series, primarily for Scott, from 1981 to 1986 and then fielded an Indy Racing League car in 2002. They entered two cars in the 2001 Indianapolis 500

2001 Indianapolis 500

The 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves led the final 52 laps and won his first Indy 500.-Changes for 2001:...

 for Memo Gidley

Memo Gidley

José Guillermo "Memo" Gidley is a Mexican-American racing driver, of German and Canadian ancestry, born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico in 1973. He holds dual citizenship - American and Mexican....

 and Steve Knapp

Steve Knapp

Steve Knapp , is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He raced in the 1998-2000 seasons with 13 career starts, including 3 at the Indianapolis 500. His best career finish was in his first race, a third place at the 1998 Indianapolis 500, where he was named Rookie of the Year. He never led...

 but both missed the field, their single car assault on the field in 2002

2002 Indianapolis 500

The 86th Indianapolis race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 2002. It was the seventh Indianapolis 500 held as part of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series schedule, and was part of the 2002 Indy Racing League season....

 with John de Vries

John de Vries

John de Vries is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and Australian Formula Holden. He raced in the 2002 IRL season, where he began the season with Brayton Racing. De Vries competed in the first three races, and arrived but withdrew from the Nazareth Speedway race...

again failed. Their last Indy Car event came at the Michigan 400 in 2002 with Scott Harrington at the wheel.

External links

• Lee Brayton at ChampCarStats.com