(Bill W) August 21, 2012 – Brian Brown – Good Run with Outlaws Highlights Week!
Brian Brown – Good Run with Outlaws Highlights Week!
(Bill W) August 21, 2012 – Brian Brown was racing with Donny Schatz for the lead for second time in five days. This time, it was at the Junction Motor Speedway near McCool Junction, Nebraska with the World of Outlaws. A nice fourth place finish was the result. A two-night stint for the ASCS-Warrior series at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas saw second and third place finishes before a pair of nasty incidents at the Missouri State Fair Speedway halted action on Sunday night.
Fifteen year old Jordan Creason was taken by life-flight after a wicked crash in his heat race and remains in critical condition. A second incident saw a car enter the pits at racing speed, injuring five others. “It was a rough one,” says Brian of Sunday night. “Starting out with Jordan having his wreck and being life-flighted out, and then the incident in the ‘Battle of the Badges’ race where someone came into the pit area and hitting four or five people. Thank goodness none of those people’s injuries in the pits was life threatening. We need to keep praying for Jordan. He has a long road ahead of him. I think they did the right thing by canceling. No one was in the mood for racing after what happened. I was 100% behind what they did.”
A week ago, Brian met the WoO at a track that he is familiar with. He qualified third quick. “That’s been one of our strengths all year long thanks to Garrett Racing Engines,” he says. “We went out pretty late, and we were still one of the faster ones…third quick. That’s something we’re really proud of. Anytime you race with the World of Outlaws or at Knoxville, that’s really important.”
After a fourth place finish, Brian would finish up front in the Dash. “We just had to finish it to be in the Dash,” he says of the heat. “We were able to have a good race with (Donny) Schatz for a couple laps in the Dash. Going into the feature, we felt like we were a little loose coming off the corner, so we thought about making a couple changes.”
That changed with track prep changes. “They ended up reworking the track, and we didn’t make many (changes), and then it blew off a little faster than we thought it would,” says Brian. “We were able to lead the first two or three laps before Schatz got us and it went non-stop. You know you are having a pretty good season when you are disappointed about finishing fourth with the Outlaws, but that’s kind of where we are at. We feel like we can beat them. We need to beat them.”
The Grain Valley, Missouri driver headed to Lakeside Friday and Saturday. “We didn’t draw too well (starting 7th in his heat),” says Brian. “We were able to get up to third. We were able to get by JD Johnson for second, and I went through one and two and he got into the back of us a little bit. It took out our left rear tire and tore him up. We had to go to the work area, and the guys worked hard. We were able to get back up to fourth. I felt at that point, we had the fastest car there.”
Starting eighth in the feature, Brian took the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 to second. “We were able to get up to second,” he says. “We got to Jack (Dover) and I felt like we were a little better. Then we had a red flag, and his crew told him where I was running. It was over after that. He moved where I was running, and we were about the same speed. I tried a couple of sliders, but I really wasn’t close enough to do any damage.”
Brian won his heat in Saturday’s finale. “It was kind of heavy from the rains, so it was good to start up front,” he says. “I drew the six for the feature, and our work was cut out for us.”
After starting sixth in the feature, Brian drove to a third place finish. “Everyone was pretty much the same speed,” he says. “Danny (Lasoski) and (Don) Droud were good and started up front. In traffic, we thought we were better, but I got hung up behind a lapped car, and the yellow came out. When the track is that good and they have clean air, there’s not much you can do with two veterans like that.”
Though the week went without victory, the podium finishes keep racking up. The team will head to Season Championship night at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday. “I think we have fourteen second place finishes this year and a lot more third place finishes,” says Brian. “Even though the wins aren’t there, in my mind, we are having a breakout year.”
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, News
