Brian Brown – Hard Charge at Knoxville!
Brian Brown – Hard Charge at Knoxville!
(Bill W) June 17, 2014 – The tracks in Jackson, Minnesota and Knoxville, Iowa tested the drivers over the weekend in more ways than one. Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team came home with hard-charger honors at Knoxville, having driven from 23rd to 9th on a challenging race surface. They are weighing their options for racing this week as they prepare for Knoxville on Saturday.
Qualifying 15th at Jackson on Friday left you out of the heat invert.
It seems we haven’t had a lot of luck lately. We’ve been racing pretty well, but our overall general racing luck hasn’t been there. We drew a good number to qualify, but we sat there and the track sat there and waited and waited and waited for David Gravel to change his motor. I think sitting there, with the wind blowing the way it was…it was dirty for the first five or six guys who went out there. It changed a bunch after hot laps, and we weren’t tight enough. As it cleaned off, I think the track got better for the guys who went later.
You got through your heat (finishing fifth) and started 15th in the feature, but the track had rubber-down early on and you finished 14th.
Once you qualify like that, the way the format is, you’re in trouble. The track was laying some rubber already in the heat. They went out and reworked it. It was a freight train around the bottom is the best way you can put it. When the hard-charger passes four cars, it’s disappointing. There was a big crowd, and they missed it on the track. Sometimes, it happens. Hopefully, it’s better next time.
Strong winds and another very dry track awaited at Knoxville on Saturday.
We knew drawing second to last (to qualify) would be tough. With the weather conditions, and having the bikes there the night before, I thought the Dunkin’s did a marvelous job not to have a track that was laying rubber in hot laps. They had to have it ice slick for the bikes, and forty mile per hour winds on Saturday were a recipe for disaster.
Late timing slots killed a lot of drivers and you were 32nd quick.
I wish they would have maybe done the 360’s after us, or drew for heats, or even had one-lap qualifying for them to save the track a little bit. It is what it is though. That being said, Joey Saldana and Paul McMahan got qualified in (the invert) five or six cars before us. We didn’t do our job 100% either. At that point, we were figuring how we were going to get in the show, rather than win it.
As it turns out, you were challenging Terry McCarl for the win in the best heat of the night.
At that point, we had to go eighth to fifth (to make the feature). I got a little anxious on the start, and we had to go tenth to fifth. We had a red flag there to start the race, and I was able to line up on the double-file inside row three. We got through there into second.
At that point, you briefly passed for the lead.
I think I got a little over-anxious and showed my hand too early. I think we were better than (McCarl) in the heat. He was just blocking us at that point. A little bit of driver-error and lack of patience cost us there. At that point, we were disappointed not to win, but happy to be in the show.
You made the most of it in the feature, going from 23rd to 9th.
It was a super-run really, looking at what we did. On a tough track to pass at the end, we were able to get up to ninth. We were on the same straightaway as the leaders. (Brad) Sweet was gone, but I could see (second place) McCarl at the end. We could have used a yellow in there to bunch things up, but overall, it was a good finish considering how the night started. We’re looking forward to the next couple of weeks at Knoxville. We working towards solidifying our program for the Nationals.
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates
