After graduating from C.D. Hylton High School in Dale City, Brown took classes at Northern Virginia Community College while working for his father at Brandonbilt Foundations, a concrete business in Stafford.

But concrete began to take a backseat to driving. He won Virginia Rookie of the Year honors in 2010 in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series and took the checkered flag three times in 2011 at Old Dominion Speedway.

While Brown’s father, Jerry Brown, continued to provide financial support for his son’s passion, the young driver realized that he needed an alternate plan.

“All I was dreaming about back then was becoming a NASCAR superstar, but just in case things didn’t work out, I needed a fallback,” Brandon Brown said. “I needed a degree.”

Brown went to Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and graduated in 2018 with a degree in marketing and a minor in communications. While he was in college, he moved up to NASCAR’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series and had to juggle his education and a professional racing career.

As it turned out, the university became one of Brown’s biggest allies, as well as his team’s primary financial sponsor. It remains so today, and it all happened by chance.