Brian Brown – Daniel McMillin/Jesse Hockett Memorial Up Next!
Brian Brown – Daniel McMillin/Jesse Hockett Memorial Up Next!
(Bill W) September 24, 2012 – With a pair of podium finishes under his belt in last weekend’s “Fall Brawl” at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska, Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team head to one of their biggest events of the season this weekend. It is time for the Daniel McMillin/Jesse Hockett Memorial at the beautiful Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri! The Grain Valley, Missouri driver hopes to improve two spots on his third place finish there a year ago.
Last Wednesday night, the team took on the World of Outlaws at Eagle Raceway near Eagle, Nebraska. “We hadn’t had much success there in the 360, so we were hoping for more in the 410,” says Brian. “We went out really early to qualify, and I felt the track just wasn’t ready to qualify on. We were sliding out there, and I got a little higher than most. Qualifying has been our forte, but to go there and qualify as bad as we did (19th) was not what we were looking for.”
Brian would pull off the track after battling back in the pack in the feature. “We made it through the heat, and in the feature there, we were back there running for 16th and 17th with Joey (Saldana) and Jack Dover,” he says. “At that point, we just decided to pull it in and get ready for a better day.”
Friday the “Fall Brawl” would get underway at I-80 Speedway. Brian charged from 9th to 5th in his heat. “That gave us just enough passing points to get in the redraw,” he says.
“We were stuck in a pretty tough heat there. (Jonathan) Cornell and (Don) Droud were on the front row, and (Davey) Heskin was in the second row. Danny (Lasoski) and I were in the back and there were some others. The track was pretty narrow, and we made a pretty good move on the start to get to fifth, and we kind of cruised from there.”
Starting inside row three, Brian would advance to third at the checkers. “Our car was pretty good,” he says. “We got to third pretty quick, and I misjudged and got into the back of Jordan Boston. That cost me a spot and that let Jason (Johnson) by. We were able to get back by Jordan, and catch Jason. I felt like we could get him in traffic, but I made a couple of bad decisions. That got us balled up. Jason and Jack were good that night. Going green to checker, third was about as good as we could get out of it.”
Brian started Saturday’s finale out well with a heat win from outside row one. “Our car, motor and the whole operation were working well,” he says. “Chad Morgan and Chad Ely were doing a great job. We were able to win the heat and redrew outside the front row.”
A redraw saw him starting beside Johnson in row one. “We knew going in that Jason was going to be tough,” says Brian. “Saturday was no different. I thought when the track blew off, my chances would be better. I wanted to get into traffic and see how the cards might play out.”
Brian would keep pace and try to make his move late. He would come up short with a second place finish, but earned a $300 podium bonus from Searsboro Telephone Company. “We took off, and he got out there about ¾ of a straightaway,” he says. “We reeled him in as the laps wore on. The traffic started getting heavier, and with two to go, I was able to slide him for the lead. I just couldn’t make it stick. I gave him another one in the next corner. We let him know we were there; we just couldn’t get it to stick. Running second was nothing to hang my head about.”
A special “King of the Hill” match ended badly for Brian. “We were able to beat Jason in the first round,” he says. “In the second round, we raced with Clint Garner and we got together down the back straight and I got turned over. It was a frustrating end to the weekend, but we were able to get two podium finishes, and that will get us down the road to Wheatland.”
Brian is excited about Wheatland this weekend. “This weekend means as much to our team as probably the Knoxville Nationals, because of what it’s about,” he says. “You want that trophy on your shelf. It’s because of the people that Jesse and Daniel were. We’re going to do our best to get out there and put ourselves in position to win. We’ll let it all hang out!”
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, News
