Brian Brown – Back Home in Knoxville!
(Bill W) April 15, 2014 – The Brian Brown Racing Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team concluded their California swing with the World of Outlaws last weekend. They are back in Grain Valley, Missouri headquarters preparing for this Saturday night’s opener at the Knoxville Raceway.
You started the weekend on Friday in Hanford at Kings Speedway with a qualifying run that was 11th quick.
After having a good weekend at Calistoga, we were looking forward to getting back to Hanford where we had some success last year. With the format, 11th quick isn’t the worst place to qualify…but you have to win the heat. We didn’t get the best laps out there qualifying.
You lined up outside row one for the heat and finished second.
We got the lead going down the front straightaway. I didn’t do a good job of taking passing angles away, I left the door open for (Kyle) Hirst and he did a good job. That was all she wrote. That was the difference between being in the Dash and starting 11th in the feature.
How did the feature go?
We’ve been tight all year long on these tires, and we worked on the car a bit. We just missed it a bit. Finally, the track got slick like we like it. We just weren’t ready for it, and we weren’t that good. Finishing thirteenth was probably a little better than we should have been. Some guys had problems. It was one of those races where you can’t wait for the checkered. It was frustrating.
You went down to Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday, and you timed in fifth quick.
We were the quickest car in hot laps, and we felt we had a chance to lay a good qualifying lap down. You need to be first, second or third with the new three heat format. I had good runs in one and two on the first lap, and three and four on the second. I just didn’t put one whole lap together. I think being fifth quick shows how good our car really is…to mess up, and still be fifth quick like that says a lot about Maxim Chassis and Charlie Garrett engines.
After finishing fourth in you heat, you lined up eighth for the feature.
It was a short field. We had a pretty decent car. We were up to sixth or seventh at one point, and then back to tenth. It laid rubber with about fifteen to go, and we finished eighth. It was a bit of a freight train where you got in line around the top before that.
Your trip out west started tough with two destroyed racecars and you getting banged up. How do you assess it after it’s all said and done?
Overall, leaving California, we feel like as the nights went on, we got better…other than Hanford. We’re really excited to be back in the Midwest.
You have to be looking forward to Knoxville this Saturday night!
It’s like Christmas Eve for me. I can’t wait to get there. With the field of cars they’re going to have, it’s going to be tougher than it’s ever been. I think that’s going to help the locals come Nationals time. It’s going to be a battle every single week. I’m excited about the MAVTV deal too.
I know you have a number of partners who will be cheering you on at Knoxville.
I’m excited about being able to race there with our partners. Casey’s General Stores will be there…Bob (Myers) with Casey’s and Don Long with Searsboro Telephone Company…Wolfe Eye Clinic is right up the road in Des Moines. Housby provides our truck and they are right down the road. We’re just happy to get there and start working on our first step towards the Knoxville Nationals.
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates
