|
|
|
|
|
(Bill W) April 5, 2010 – It was another strong run for the Brian Brown Racing FVP #21 race team on Saturday at Houston Raceway Park with the ASCS-Gulf South series. Unfortunately, rain hit Beaumont, Texas to cancel Friday action, but Brian bounced back to finish third in Saturday’s contest. The event near Baylands, Texas drew quite a crowd due to some unique promotion that the Grain Valley, Missouri driver would like to see more of. Brian was very impressed. “I’m not sure the promoters name, but he gets my vote for promoter of the year already,” he says. “It was $10 to park, and admission was free. The result was the biggest crowd I’ve raced in front of, outside of the Knoxville Nationals. This is a regular thing for that track, and apparently the least he has ever profited has been $30,000.” Promotion tactics need to change with the times, and tracks like HRP seem to be trying new things. “A lot of promoters want to whine that nobody wants to come to the races anymore, but this guy goes out on a limb and does something nobody else will do,” says Brian. “On top of that, it has been highly successful.” The throng, estimated at about 10,000 created some electricity for the event. “The crowd was going wild,” says Brian. “We did the autograph sessions in the crowd. It was just a fun atmosphere. To look out when it was time for hot laps and see cars a half-mile to a mile back in line waiting to get in was a great feeling. I think the lesson is, you don’t have to charge a high admission, or any really. You’re going to make it back in concessions. Empty seats don’t bring any money with them.” On the track, Brian drew inside row three for his heat race. He would surge to a second place finish. “Chad (Morgan) and Kelby (Hopkins) had the car working good,” he says. “We were able to get up to second, and with the ASCS deal…you need to be fast right out of the box. Passing points are the key.” The finish put Brian in the all-important redraw for the feature, which was next. “You need to get in the redraw, and we were able to do that,” he says. “Of course, we drew eight out of eight. We had our work cut out for us.” With Jason Johnson and Gary Wright starting up front, Brian was able to dice his way forward through some good competition to land third. “We were able to get going good about halfway through,” he says. “We were side-by-side with Gary Wright for second with about three to go. We kind of got behind a lap car, and we had to fall in line. Overall, finishing third really put us back on track.” This weekend, the FVP team returns to Lucas Oil ASCS National action with a date Friday at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas on Friday, and then tows to the I-30 Speedway near Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday. “I’m feeling good about things right now, and I think we’ll be in great shape heading into Kilgore and Little Rock,” says Brian. “The Maxim car is running good and so is the motor. I wish we could race tomorrow.”
|
