There was a time when Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 did not relish their trips to Eagle Raceway in Nebraska. That is a thing of the past, as the Grain Valley, Missouri driver had another great finish at the 1/3-mile high-banked oval. The second place run in a FVP National Sprint League thriller preceded a tough night Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.
Things started well for you on Friday at Eagle with quick time.
Eagle has been a place in the past that wasn’t very kind to us, but the last two times we’ve been there, we’ve been good (winning the 2014 Nebraska Cup). It was great to get quick time and $200 from The Minnesota Mafia. They have been a great supporter of sprint car racing in general up north. I want to thank them for that.
You had a good heat race as well, going from sixth to second in a tough field.
We were able to get a really good start and get up to second. The yellow came out, and I thought we had a shot to win it. Unfortunately, we had a brake line knocked off. I ran the rest of the heat without brakes, which made things difficult on my end. We were able to get through it though and finish second.
You redrew a starting spot inside row two for the feature. What were your thoughts heading in?
I knew the guys on the front were going to be tough…just like the whole field really. Our goal going in was to keep ourselves in contention. Once we got in traffic, we wanted to be close enough to try and attack. That’s what we did. We had a good race with Terry (McCarl) there early on. We were able to finally get by him, and we kind of settled behind Brad (Loyet). The track was changing, so we had to change what we were doing. There was some water thrown on the bottom in one and two, which made it a little more difficult.
There were some great races in there, one was with McCarl, and then Loyet for the lead.
We decided to move around a little bit and Terry got by us. We worked back by him, and I knew we had to be close to the end. We made a bid to take the lead around the top and we were able to get that. I went to the top of one and two and got a little tight. (Loyet) did too and kind of took our line. I had to get back in line.
The finish couldn’t have been more exciting, exchanging the lead on the last lap.
Coming to the line at the white flag, we got a good run off of four and a good run in one and two. We were able to sneak by him on the backstretch. Going into three and four we had the lead, but Brad had the momentum to get by us coming off of four. Overall, it was a really good night. Friday was a great event overall. I thought they had a great crowd considering all the things that were going on with the flooding, Garth Brooks was in Omaha, etc. I’d just like to thank Phil Durst from Durst Motorplex for putting up the $20,000 to win bonus that Brad was eligible for.
Saturday at Knoxville, you were the quickest in hot laps, and fifth quick overall. You had a tough heat and you weren’t able to get a transfer spot.
The heats are all tough, but in my opinion that was the toughest of the night. Being beside Danny (Lasoski) on the third row, there was a 90% chance one of us wasn’t going to make the top five. He got a little better start than me and that was all she wrote. The track was kind of one-lane and narrow really all night long. It made passing a little more difficult than usual. Usually, the Dunkin’s (track preparers) knock it out of the park every single week. With all the rain and things they’ve had working against them, it was just a little more narrow than usual.
You made it through the B main with a win.
The B is something you don’t want to run, but if you learn something and can take it towards the A, that’s always good. We were able to do that. I feel we had a good shot to contend for the feature.
Getting your time spot back, you started ninth for the feature. Unfortunately, you were part of the big crash with McCarl, Loyet and RJ Johnson.
Coming down the frontstretch (to complete lap one), I got to where (flagman) Doug Clark was. I was going to go to the top of that corner, and I saw that Terry was having some issues. At 130 miles per hour, you guess as best you can which way he’s going to go. It looked like he was going to go to the outside one time, so I headed under. Then he turned left and I clipped him. It knocked three or four pieces out of our car too. Obviously, Terry got blasted by some other cars too. It was a very scary incident. It was scary from my perspective, but watching the video, I really think we were lucky that no one was more severely hurt than they were. It could have been a lot worse for Terry or Brad. These cars are very dangerous. We’re all competitors and we want to beat each other, but you never want incidents like that.
You were able to make repairs and continue after the red.
We got to the work area and Chad (Morgan) and Josh (Hembe) did a great job making sure we had the things we needed to change. Being able to have my guys there…Troy Renfro and his team were there, some guys from Matt Moro’s team, Stu Snyder, Cole Wood, Rich Bubak…I know I’m missing some, but I’d like to thank all of them, because they didn’t have to help. We really appreciate that.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.
We got it good enough to get on the track. The first three or four laps, I was having trouble with the power steering. It just wasn’t working like it should have been. With four to go, it just quit altogether. We ended up with no power steering, and we didn’t finish. It was just one of those nights. It could have been a lot worse. Looking at the video of the crash, we should have turned over. We got lucky there. It can always be worse. Just look at Terry, he’s got a destroyed car, motor and a fractured vertebrae.
I know you’re looking forward to Jacksonville on Friday.
It’s a really cool track. It’s probably the smallest place we go, but may provide the best racing we see. Kenny Dobson is a great friend of mine and he does a great job promoting there. With all the cars swinging in, I think we’ll be in the neighborhood of 35-45 cars. It’s going to be a great event.
It will be another big weekend for the NSL.
The NSL is off to a great start. We had a great race at Burlington, a great race at Eagle, and an unbelievable crowd and a good race at Knoxville. We’re just looking forward to this weekend.
Follow Brian on the Web, Twitter and Facebook!
Follow Brian at his website located at www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
Also keep up with FVP, Casey’s and Brian on Facebook and Twitter at the following links…
Twitter Links – @BrianBrown21, @FVPRacing, @CaseysGenStores
Facebook Links
Brian Brown Racing – www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Brown-Racing/200630163294222
Casey’s General Stores – www.facebook.com/pages/Caseys-General-Stores/112073528804354
FVP Racing - http://www.facebook.com/FVPRacing?ref=ts&fref=ts
Other Web site info
Casey's: www.caseys.com
FVP: www.fvpparts.com
Brown’s Bits
On October 12, 2013, Brian won the $4,000 to win “Shaheen’s Blast from the Past” at Jacksonville Speedway. Jerrod Hull was second, ahead of Terry McCarl, Bryan Clauson and Robbie Standridge.
15% off of Enco Tools Purchase!
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About Casey’s General Stores
Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating over 1,850 convenience stores in 14 states through the Midwest. Known for its “Homemade-To-Go” pizza, sandwiches, donuts and bakery items, Casey’s strives to consistently deliver quality gas, fresh kitchen-prepared food, clean environments and friendly service at every retail location. Casey’s is currently the 5th largest c-store chain and fifth largest pizza chain in the United States.
About FVP
Built on a commitment to quality and delivered with unmatched service, FVP is the confident solution for all of your OEM needs. FVP products are engineered to provide customers with OE quality products that are equal or superior in performance to the major national brands at a competitive price. FVP is proud to carry a full line of high quality oil, air, cabin air and fuel filters, powerful batteries for multiple applications including cars, trucks, SUV’s, commercial, boats and other specialty vehicles as well as automotive chemicals and oil, antifreeze, DEF, hub assemblies, radiators and condensers. To learn more about FVP or to find out where you can have FVP products installed in your vehicle, visit FVPparts.com! FVP…The Confident Solution.
Marketing Partner of the Week – MC Power
With clients around the Midwest, MC Power has the experience and expertise to deliver cost-saving construction (general contracting, tenant finish/improvement, remodeling, metal building repair, roof leak repairs, concrete, carpentry, painting, drywall, plumbing, etc.), electrical (electrical design-build, electrical assessment, new construction and retrofit, ground testing, power analysis, energy back-up, power generation systems, sign repair, pole light repair, data wiring, panels, outlets, switches, etc.), solar energy (facility assessment, energy assessment, system evaluation, system engineering, financial/proforma development, solar-thermal systems, system installation, roof evaluations, ground or roof mounts, monitoring, maintenance, products & services warranty management, rebate management, etc.) and LED lighting systems (facility assessment, energy assessment, system evaluation, product evaluation, new construction or retrofit, maintenance, products & services warranty management, rebate management, etc.) for virtually any commercial or industrial application. Visit them on the web at www.MCPower.com!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – Hinchman Racewear
A racing suit is an investment. An investment for your future safety. You shouldn’t assume that because a suit is expensive it’s constructed with the very best materials and is safer than other suits. Do your homework. Ask questions. Find out what is in the suit. Remember when you see a suit that is extremely light weight you are giving away some of your protection. Hinchman racing suits are known for standing the test of time. Hinchman Racing Uniforms is committed to giving theirr customers the best and the safest driving suits in the world, along with the best customer service in the industry. Visit them online at www.HinchmanRacewear.com!
Brian Brown Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Print Place, Searsboro Telephone Company, MC Power, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps / impact4800.com, Champion Brands, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Enco Tools, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, Pro Shocks by Schure Built Suspension, Arctic Cat, Lincoln Electric, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, Hinchman Uniforms, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, Vortex Wings, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, AkzoNobel, Kenny's Components, www.AllDayParts.com, Tru Square, Jack Links, Deli Express, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance, Cometic Gaskets, Shell Shock, Donovan, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Racing Optics, Mothers Wax, Hoosier Tires, Klein RV, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, 6B Apparel, Bosch, Garrett Racing Engines, MSD, Moyle Racing Engines, Fortress Wealth Management, Legacy and Flexzilla for all their support!
Photo: Brian races with Danny Lasoski at Eagle (Rob Kocak Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
Twitter: @BillWMedia
e-mail: sprntcar@hotmail.com
- administrator on May 15, 2015
- Article Date: 5/11/2015 by Bill Wright