AN EMOTIONAL YEAR MAKES ‘KNOXVILLE LATE MODEL NATIONALS’ WIN EVEN SWEETER FOR 25-YEAR-OLD BRIAN SHIRLEY
by: Michelle Petroff

CHATHAM, IL (Oct. 3, 2006) - It has been a year that Brian Shirley will not forget. An extremely rough start to the season off of the track and a relentless string of bad luck and mechanical problems plagued his #3s team early in the year. After a breakout year in 2005, everyone had high hopes for this season and no one more so than the driver who is now in his fifth year of late model competition. But there are stories behind the headlines on what makes his recent performances, especially the recent $35,000 “Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals” surprise upset and his first victory in the UMP Modified division at historical Illinois State Fairgrounds, so rewarding.

“Since I started racing late models, I’ve only continued to improve,” stated Shirley. “First track championships, UMP National Rookie of the Year and then the Northern Allstars’ Championship and Rookie of the Year honors in 2004. In 2005, Ed (Petroff) took an increased roll in my team and we had an amazing season while traveling to a lot of tracks for the first time. I even won my first $10,000 race at the Summernationals’ Finale. Hopes were high going in to this year but we struggled with just a lot of little things going wrong, horrible luck and mentally I wasn’t focused. I had the wind knocked out of my sails.”

Shirley takes the blame for his team and has been poised to shoulder a lot of responsibility but there were factors beyond his control that were never spoken. During the spring, rumors were rampant in the pits and in the racing community but few spoke to directly to the wheelman of the #3s Petroff Towing/JAYCO Construction/J&J Steel Pro Powered machine. In spite of his determination and desire to remain unphased by personal woes, concerns followed him to the track and affected his confidence as he became increasingly withdrawn.

“Anyone who knows me or my team knows that Ed is the glue that keeps this all together and is like a second father to me,” Shirley asserted. “Neither of us are the type who make excuses so I just kept trying to roll on and do what he wanted me to do at the start of the season. He was dealing with some medical issues and everything went great until a setback at the hospital. As much as I wanted to win, my concern wasn’t at the track. I heard what some were saying, the rumors, the exaggerations and it was tough to handle and not set them all straight but I know there was no point. I just tried to focus on our program and team.”

Recalling and stating all of this for the first time, Shirley continued, “Once he was doing better, I then was focused on doing everything possible to win since I know that’s what he would want. He was the reason I was still racing so it fueled me to keep going. Our performances improved as soon as I got back in the groove and he was in good health again and giving me advice. We had a some strong runs at races like the Tri-Track Challenge, 99 Special and some special events but something would always happen.”

In a sport where confidence and momentum mean a lot, Shirley was struggling. Unwavering support from his crew, sponsors and family kept him in the game as the season clicked off. Looking for a turnaround, the Summernationals’ stop at Paducah International Raceway was a fitting starting point. Shirley had strong runs at the 3/8-mi high-banked track earlier in the season and was sporting a special 50th Birthday scheme that night as the extended Petroff Towing clan celebrated the patriarch’s “big 5-0”. Shirley’s performance early in the night perched him on the front row for the A-main and he jumped to an early lead. As the event continued, he struggled with the handling of the car and was making dynamic moves using the wall to hold him as he drove to a top-5 finish.

“I was doin’ all I could do,” a perspiration-drenched Shirley said after the race. “The car was just a little too tight. As more laps wound into the race, it was harder and harder to keep runnin’ anywhere except up against the wall. It would have been nice to win on Ed’s birthday. I gave it a little extra or we probably could have saved a little something and run second or third. That’s not what I wanted… I really wanted to win it for him. I tried my best.”

The event marked the start of a rejuvenated Shirley. The #3s team remained winless until July 15th when they visited Victory Lane for I-55 Raceway’s “Shop ‘n Save’s Night for Special Champions” and picked up a $5,000 check. That win marked the return of the hotshoe driver jokingly dubbed ‘Squirrel’. Since July 15th, Shirley has won a staggering twelve events in the last nineteen starts.

As wins just kept clicking off, they kept getting bigger. Weekly shows, NASCAR specials against Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader, $5,000 UMP Specials and then the excitement of the last three weeks. On September 15th, Shirley sailed to a victory at the return of the historic “USA World 50” UMP/MARS Clash at Paducah International Raceway. The following week, his #3s team pulled out a dynamo new Rayburn car and made a last-minute decision to trek to I-44 raceway for the UMP/MARS “Larry Phillips Memorial”. The young driver who was relatively unknown in the region upset crowd favorites like Wendell Wallace, Terry Phillips and Bill Frye for the dominating $10,000 win. That win tied Shirley’s biggest career win to date – the 2005 UMP Summernationals’ finale at Oakshade Raceway.

Now going in to Knoxville, the #3s team had momentum and confidence on their side but with the impressively stout field of cars, they remained focused on small milestones.

“When you come to big shows like Knoxville, it’s a win to just make the show,” summed Shirley. “Last year was my first year here and that was the goal – make the show. As soon as the green dropped, we struggled and just tried a few things before pulling in. This year things started rough on Thursday as we tried some new setups on a car we’re still not too familiar with. We were fair but stuck in the B-Main and, with this deal being about points, called it off until Friday.”

On Friday, Shirley once again took to the track and qualified 17th out of 59 entries. He led the heat race until Darren Miller took the point in another strong Knoxville performance. Shirley’s efforts and an 11th place finish in the A-Main placed him 14th in the final points standings. With the top-20 locked in to the 100-lap main event, Shirley looked towards his next goal – completing all 100 laps.

“We came out on Friday and did a lot better and I gotta thank Mark Richards for helping make that happen,” recalled Shirley. “I am still pretty new at this and I haven’t ran a lot of 100 lap races so it was a big goal to just finish all 100 laps. I knew I had a car and team that could do it so we just had to see how luck fell.”

Shirley appeared to have used all of his luck as he brought out the first caution of the event after spinning over the berm in turn 2. Restarting last in the 31-car field on lap 3, the pierced Illinois native had a tough chore ahead of him but persistence paid off. Remaining consistent and trouble-free from that point as laps clicked off, he eased back in to the top-15, then top-10 and was within the top-5 with 20 laps to go. On lap 86, Shirley bolted to the bottom and passed a very strong Darren Miller to take the lead. Miller would soon break and get into the wall ending his title hopes. With twelve laps to go and only twelve cars on the lead lap, Shirley was able to get a strong restart and pulled away as Donnie Moran and Tony Stewart battled for the runner-up spot. Coming out of turn 4 on the white flag lap, it was all Brian Shirley as he claimed the biggest win of his career ahead of Stewart, Moran, Rick Eckert and Darrell Lanigan.

“I was so embarrassed and frustrated when I spun - especially that early. Unbelievable…” sighed Shirley. “We restarted last and I figured we would see if we had anything but the car was great. We lost a little bit on long runs but I was able to stay out of any more trouble and we were in contention. Late in the race I thought ‘Holy Cow! We’re in the top 5’. I knew we could win it but didn’t want to jinx anything so I was just focusing on hitting my marks and running my own race. Darren was tough but had problems and I knew it was now or never but you can’t feel comfortable with guys like Stewart and Moran on your back bumper. Dude, that’s Tony ‘the NASCAR Champion’ Stewart and the Million Dollar Man!!! I was just working construction last week, no joke, and here we are!”

Laughing, he quipped knowing how Michelle (Petroff) stresses and works with dedication for his budgeted team, “She’s always worried and this doesn’t solve everything but we made more than we spent and this may help us get some sponsors.”

“The feeling of seeing those checkers wave, I can’t explain it,” a humbled driver stated when asked about the win. “All wins are important, especially this year but that one – wow. I know we surprised a lot of people but those who know my team and everything we’ve put into this know we deserve it and this isn’t a fluke. Petroff came running across the track to Victory Lane and having my guys there, talking to my dad on the phone, I lost it. Not too cool to cry in Victory Lane but the announcer said ‘It’s OK to cry here’ and all I could think of was ‘if you only knew what we went through to get here’. That win is for everyone who stood by me and never doubted what I was capable of.”

What a story. This morning people awoke to look up the results from famed Knoxville Raceway only to wonder who Brian Shirley is. For those who have seen him race or were at Knoxville, it’s not a name you will soon forget – a humble young man who still works part-time construction with his dad but remains fueled by desire and driven to win. Winning isn’t everything but it makes the journey worth traveling.