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(Bill W) August 16, 2010 – Brian Brown went into Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals championship race on the pole, knowing he had a lot of support behind him. The Grain Valley, Missouri driver was making his third Saturday night start ever at the Nationals, and tried to soak in the atmosphere that makes the event so great. Though a blown tire cost him at least a podium finish, he is grateful for all the support given him by his FVP team, partners, and most of all, the fans.
Brian earned his pole spot with the high point total from qualifying night action. “No matter what was going to happen, it was a dream come true for me,” he says. “I’m just really proud of every single one of our team members and partners. They work hard all year long, to put us in position to win the Nationals. They gave us a car that was in position to do it.”
Instead of going crazy alone somewhere, Brian made sure to enjoy the moment on Saturday. “Most guys probably hang out in the motor home or the hotel the day of,” he says. “I was out by 8:30 a.m. I was at the track all day long. Whether it was doing something for FVP, being at the t-shirt trailer, working on the cars or just being among the fans, I just wanted to take it all in. I always did the same things as a fan, and I decided to enjoy it all. I’m glad I did.”
When the time finally came on Saturday night, he had a discussion with fellow front row starter Sammy Swindell before the 50-lapper. “I talked to Sammy before the race, and we decided to get going and let things play out,” says Brian. “I was able to lead going into turn one and down the backstretch. I slid through three and four, and didn’t do a good job of that. That gave him a run into the lead.”
Disaster was avoided on lap four, when the pair almost made contact on the frontstretch. “I fell in behind him,” says Brian. “He was running low in three and four, and I was running the top. I got a run on him and got beside him on the frontstretch. I don’t think he saw me, and we kind of got together. There was no harm, no foul.”
With a mandatory red ahead for changes at the halfway point, Brian dropped back to fifth. “(Donny) Schatz got by me, and at that point, I just didn’t do the best job of negotiating that,” he says. “I tried to slide a couple of guys a little too early in traffic, and by doing that, I think I used up my tires pretty good. I was kind of holding on until the stop.”
Brian was able to pass eventual winner, Tim Shaffer, to move into fourth, and then assume third when Steve Kinser bowed out with motor problems. “Once we changed tires, and changed a few small things, we were running well,” he says. “We got back by Shaffer and we were right on Steve when he fell out. My thought was, the way that Sammy and Donny were racing, Sammy may not lift, and they may crash. I was content in third.”
About lap 40, things started to unravel. “With about ten to go, I had a tire shaking,” says Brian. “I couldn’t tell which one it was, but I knew we were in trouble. I looked at the board and saw there were ten laps left. I knew there was no way I was going to make it. We finally went down in there and blew the right rear tire.”
Obviously, there was disappointment. “It was very unfortunate that we don’t have a tire that can go the distance,” says Brian. “It cost me $30,000 at the bare minimum, and cost Sammy $150,000. Hopefully, they get it figured out, so we don’t have two more years of this. It’s definitely a safety issue.”
Brian rejoined the field as the last car on the lead lap, and crossed the checkers in 14th despite handling problems. “We had a radius rod and our right rear arm bent up from losing the tire,” he says. “We were out there just getting laps, and trying to get a couple more spots.”
Brian is really appreciative of his fan base. “We’ll learn from this one, and hopefully, next year, we’ll be challenging for a win,” he says. “I’d just like to thank the fans. They really treated me like gold all week. You don’t know what it means to have your name called and have that kind of support. Twenty-five years down the road…for the rest of my life…I’ll remember last weekend.”
This weekend, the FVP team heads to the Jackson Nationals in Minnesota, and the State Fair in Sedalia, Missouri on Sunday. “It’s always great to go to Jackson,” says Brian. “The fans in Minnesota are outstanding. They really seem to love their sprint car racing. Coming home to Sedalia will be good too.”
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