Braun Racing mourns passing of team member

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- On Wednesday, Braun Racing lost a beloved member of its team. Linda Braun, known as "Mama B" and mother of Nationwide Series team owner, Todd Braun, passed away suddenly of natural causes in her hometown of Winamac, Ind.

As a tribute to "Mama B," both Braun Racing entries -- the No. 38 Toyota driven by Jason Leffler and the No. 32 driven by Denny Hamlin -- will go entirely black, void of all sponsor decals, in Saturday afternoon's Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (watch video).

"Linda Braun has been an integral part of the Braun Racing team since the very beginning and one of our greatest supporters," said TJ Puchyr, Braun Racing's director of marketing. "She was a loving and generous woman whose family was of the utmost importance to her. One of her greatest passions was racing and she rarely missed a chance to come to the track on the weekends and root for the team owned and operated by her son. Her absence leaves a void within our organization that will never be filled.

"We would like to thank our entire lineup of sponsors for giving us this weekend to pay tribute to 'Mama B.' This weekend is about paying tribute to a wonderful woman and to honor the life she had."

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made on behalf of Linda Braun to the Dove House Children Advocacy Center.

Funeral arrangements will be posted on the Braun Racing Web site once plans are finalized.