(Photo by Craig Mobley)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 29, 2018) – Brian Brown always enjoys racing at his home away from home.
Brown scored a victory at Knoxville Raceway for the fourth straight week last Saturday when competed in both the 410ci and 360ci winged sprint car classes at ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World.’
“We ran our 360 car a couple of times this year and felt we weren’t as good as we needed to be,” he said. “In order to make sure everything was right with the car we needed to go to Knoxville because that’s where I can give the best feedback. It probably wasn’t the smartest night to do it because of the heat. It was right at 100 degrees. I lost eight pounds that day. It’s tough to keep two cars going, but it worked out ok.”
Brown entered the night with a three-race winning streak in the 410 division. He qualified second quickest around the half-mile oval before charging from sixth to win a heat race. Unfortunately, the highest inversion – eight – was drawn, which started Brown on the inside of the fourth row in the main event.
“We knew it was going to be tough because where we were starting with Kerry Madsen, Ian Madsen, Austin McCarl, Brooke Tatnell and Davey Heskin in front of us,” he said. “We were able to get into fourth and then get by Brooke and then by Davey. When I got into second I couldn’t hardly see Austin. I think he was up by five seconds. At that point I didn’t think I had a chance to catch him, but he got held up by lapped cars and we put ourselves in a position to win the race.”
Brown attempted to slide McCarl, but pulled out of the move midway through to avoid contact.
“I got a little overanxious when I tried to slide him,” he said. “I wasn’t close enough to slide him, but I couldn’t get to where I needed to be to make the best run. There was no reason to crash us both. I had to get out of the gas and let him go. That killed my momentum. On the last lap he got held up in traffic, but the lapped car stuck the bottom like I was hoping I could do. Hats off to Austin. He did what he needed to do. It was a good night for Casey’s General Stores. They’ve won all six races at Knoxville this year.”
Brown’s runner-up result was only eclipsed by his performance in the 360 class. The results were nearly similar as he qualified second quickest and powered from sixth to win a heat race. The feature inversion started him on the outside of the fourth row for the A Main.
“Our engines with Charlie Garrett are the best,” Brown said. “To go in there and get second quick (in qualifying) and win our heat from sixth was great. You never know with the 360 deal. They’re a great group of competitors.
“We took off on the start of the main event and got balled up. I think I was running 10th or 12th off turn two. I was able to pick them off one by one. When we got to traffic I was able to make good decisions. It was a fun race.”
Brown rebounded from a close call on the opening lap. He climbed into second place by Lap 8 and took the lead on Lap 13.
“It was a good tune up for us for August,” he said. “That’ll probably be the only time we’ll run our 360 at Knoxville besides the 360 Knoxville Nationals. Hats off to Chad, Michael, my dad and Jordan for working hard.
“On a side note, I’ve been having a problem staying hydrated. My friend, Allen Wright, who works with the Kansas City Chiefs, hooked me up with Evan, who is a trainer. He gave me some great ideas that helped so thanks to them as well.”
The victory was Brown’s 16th career at Knoxville Raceway in the division.
Brown will return to action on Wednesday at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, Ill., during the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series before returning to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday.
“It will be my first time racing in Fairbury,” he said. “We’re looking forward to hosting a lot of FVP customers and employees who don’t get to see us very often.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 26 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 2 (7).
May 26 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 1 (8).
SEASON STATS –
23 races, 4 wins, 10 top fives, 11 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, Ill., for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.BrianBrownRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianBrown21
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brian-Brown-Racing-200630163294222/
About Casey’s General Stores –
Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating 2,000 convenience stores in 15 states throughout the Midwest. Casey’s strives to consistently deliver quality gasoline, freshly-prepared foods, clean environments and friendly service at every retail location. Casey’s is currently the fourth largest convenience store chain, and the fifth largest pizza chain in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.Caseys.com.
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 http://www.FVPparts.com! FVP … Verified. Proven.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Lincoln Electric
Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. For more information, visit https://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx?locale=1033.
“Lincoln Electric came on board two or three years ago,” Brown said. “It’s nice to know if we need to weld anything we have the best equipment available and we have that with Lincoln Electric.”
Brown would also like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Impact Signs, Awnings, Wraps, Champion Brands, MC Power, Weld Wheels, Rams Racing, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Fischer Body Shop, Smiley’s Racing Products, MSD Ignition, Housby, Next LED Sports, Hope for the Warriors, Factory Kahne Shocks, C & M Lawn & Landscape, Arctic Cat, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, ATL Tanks, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, Hinchman Uniforms, Clem’s Helmets, Vortex Wings, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, AkzoNobel, Kenny’s Components, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance, Cometic Gaskets, Donovan, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Racing Optics, 5-hour ENERGY, Hoosier Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, XYZ Machining, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, 6B Apparel, Garrett Racing Engines and Fortress Wealth Management for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on May 29, 2018
- Article Date: 5/29/2018 by Inside Line Promotions