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(Bill W) June 28, 2010 – Brian Brown was back on top of the heap at Knoxville Raceway last Saturday, and it came on a special night as well. His grandfather, George Lasoski, was inducted into the Knoxville Raceway during intermission. The win put the Grain Valley, Missouri driver back on top of the point standings as well. This week, he’ll race four times, including a make-up of the World of Outlaws show in Sedalia, two nights with the ASCS-Midwest in Nebraska and back at Knoxville.
Despite coming out late in qualifying, Brian managed to post the fifth quick time of the night at Knoxville. He struggled to a fifth place finish in his heat. “Our motor wasn’t running well, and with a heat that tough, we were lucky to just get fifth,” he says. “That one spot was the difference between starting fourth, and starting sixteenth (in the feature). That was a key to our win.”
The heat run sounded the alarm, and the FVP team went to work on the problem. “On Friday and Saturday, I really felt something was off,” says Brian. “In the heat, we were six-tenths off the fastest car. It wasn’t running off the corner very well. Chad (Morgan) and the guys decided to check the timing, and it was off. Derek (Beckman) was shocked when he adjusted the timing, and that told us we had a short somewhere. There ended up being a crack in the mag cap, which could have been there for three or four weeks.”
Starting fourth in the feature, it only took a couple of laps for Brian to get out front and pull away. “Once we changed the mag, it was a whole new ballgame, and the Ostrich Racing Engine was really good, like I knew it would be,” he says. “We got a really good start on Seth (Brahmer) on the outside, and we were able to get rolling.”
Some dicey moves in traffic were necessary in Brian’s eyes. “There were a couple of ‘eyebrow’ moves there,” he says. “In lapped traffic, you have to go. If you wait a split second, they’ll be on top of you. When your car is that good, it makes the driver look good, but mostly our car was just that good.”
Brian used a different shock package as well. “Lynton Jeffrey is now building shocks (VFC), and he told us if we won, I could keep the four he had us try on our car,” he says. “It made a big difference for us, and the car ran really well. Lynton is a huge innovator in our sport, and he does a great job with the shocks, and of course, our wings too. Quite a few top runners have his shocks now.”
The night was made more special with George’s induction. “I know that there would be no Brian Brown Racing or even Brian Brown the sprint car driver without George Lasoski,” says Brian. “From day one, he’s been the one to get me into racing. He’s been a big supporter for me, not only in racing, but in life. If something goes wrong, he’s the one I call.”
John Beaver, who passed on Friday, the Jordan Brothers and Don Sonner were also inducted. “I don’t know many that would say a cross word about him,” says Brian of his grandpa. “Danny (Lasoski) is the same way. He wouldn’t be where he is today without my grandpa. To be honored like he was Saturday was special. He’s been in my Hall of Fame for a lot longer. I try to treasure every single minute I have with the people in my life, because you never know. My thoughts and prayers are with John Beaver’s family right now. I wish he could have enjoyed the spotlight on Saturday too.”
Last Friday night, Brian ventured to Junction Motor Speedway near McCool Junction, Nebraska, for a WoO date. He qualified sixteenth and missed the heat invert. “We were eighth quick overall in the hot lap session, so things were looking good,” he says. “The track kept getting slower in qualifying until we got out there. Sixteenth isn’t where you want to be with the World of Outlaws, where so much depends on your time.”
Starting inside row eight of the main event, Brian made his way into the top ten at a track he loves to race at. Unfortunately, a blown tire on the white flag lap relegated him to a DNF. “We had a good run,” he says. “We were challenging Steve for ninth on the last lap, and the left rear exploded. That was disappointing after the run we had.”
Tuesday night, Brian will be with the WoO in Sedalia. Thursday night, he’ll be back in McCool Junction with the ASCS-Midwest series. That series will run again Friday night at Nebraska Raceway Park in Greenwood, and Saturday, he’ll be back in the 410 at Knoxville.
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