|
|
|
|
|
(Bill W) July 6, 2010 – Brian Brown found Victory Lane for the sixth time in his career at Nebraska Raceway Park’s I-80 Speedway near Greenwood. The win with the ASCS-Midwest series was the Grain Valley Missouri driver’s fifth of the 2010 season, and gave him a chance to honor one of his biggest fan’s Judy Wignall, who passed last week. Judy was the wife of longtime and current crew member, Glenn Wignall. This weekend, Brian will run at Knoxville on Saturday, and visit Albion, Nebraska for the first time with the ASCS-Midwest series.
The Friday win in Greenwood was the third of four races that Brian competed at last weekend. The FVP team talked about strategy heading in to race at the banked 3/8 mile oval. “Chad (Morgan), Kelby (Hopkins) and I talked about not being beat by the car being to free (loose),” says Brian. “We were going to do what we could to tighten it up. We started fifth (in the feature), and had some good cars in front of us (including Bronson Maeschen, Chad Humston and Don Droud Jr.).”
It didn’t take long for Brian to get to the front. “We were able to get the lead before a caution on lap nine,” he says. “The last sixteen went non-stop and we were able to lap up to sixth place. It was a big heavy cushion in one and two, and the groove was on the bottom in three and four. It was like I had my own lane in one and two, because everyone was on the bottom there too.”
Brian knows that this is a tough sport, and you need to enjoy nights like Friday. “We lapped some really good cars at the end, and you really have to learn to appreciate those nights,” he says. “They don’t come very often with the kind of competition we have. It was good to get FVP and all of our marketing partners to Victory Lane.”
The win also gave Brian a chance to honor Judy. “We lost Glen Wignall’s wife, Judy, last week, and it was sudden,” he says. “The family is definitely in our thoughts and prayers, and we did try to get that win for her on Friday.”
A week ago on Tuesday, June 29, Brian competed at the State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri with the World of Outlaws. “We had a good car at Sedalia that we worked hard on to get as good as we could for the feature,” he says. “We were able to make it up to tenth (after starting 19th). We lost two or three spots on a restart behind Paul McMahan. We were caught on the outside on the double-file restart, when we needed to be on the inside.”
Brian’s progress was slowed by a one-lane track the final half of the race and he settled for 11th at the checkers. “Halfway through, we were back up to tenth,” he says. “The track laid rubber, and Steve (Kinser) was able to get by us there at the end. Going from nineteenth to eleventh on a one-lane track like that was pretty good, but obviously, we went in with higher expectations.”
Thursday, the team headed to the Junction Motor Speedway near McCool Junction, Nebraska with the ASCS-Midwest series. Brian would drive the FVP #21 from 11th to a fourth place finish. “The track didn’t do what we thought it would to be honest,” he says. “We thought it would stay heavy, but after we packed it for four or five laps, it blew right off. It was unfortunate, because even with the wrong setup, we passed the guy who ran second and the guy who ran third at one point in the feature.”
Following his win on Friday, Brian headed to Knoxville Raceway where he leads the 410 Knoxville Championship Cup points’ race. He started third in the main event. “I kind of felt like between Mark (Dobmeier, who started beside him) and I, whoever got to the front first would be the car to beat,” says Brian. “He was able to get there first and I was second. I ran solid there until we got to traffic, and I got up on the wheel. Then the yellow came out.”
Brian took the lead, but only briefly after the caution. “I put a big slider on, but I thought that might bring tears for the both of us, so I pulled out,” he says. “We got back to four or five car lengths from him, and then got close in traffic. From there, the caution came out three or four more times. We got to the white flag, and the yellow came out again.”
Mayhem ensued on the green, white, checker finish, with Brian running low on fuel, and several slidejobs taking place. He would end up fifth, but maintain his point lead. “I told myself I wanted to win,” he says. “On the restart, instead of blocking off the guy behind me and protecting second, I followed Mark around the top in one and two. That’s when the car started sputtering and running out of fuel. Wayne Johnson was able to get by us, and so was (Terry) McCarl, who put a slider on both of us. Looking back, I would have settled for second, but I was too competitive not to go for the win.”
This weekend at Knoxville will be key to a championship, as it is Twin Features night, meaning double the points. Brian enters with a 28 point lead. “It’s the point in the season where you really look at the points to see where you stand,” he says. “It’s ‘make or break’ for both Don (Droud Jr.) and me this week. I’ve had things happen on Twin Features night both good and bad, so we’re going to make sure things are ready in the shop this week.”
Sunday, Brian will make his first trip ever to the Boone County Raceway in Albion, Nebraska.
|
