Brian Brown – King’s Royal Bound!
(Bill W) July 9, 2012 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 race team are geared up for a big week in Ohio. After leading 28 of 35 laps with the World of Outlaws at Cedar Lake Speedway last Friday before being caught by a lapped car, they feel they have the momentum they need for this week’s Brady Doty Classic and King’s Royal.
Brian timed in fourth quick with the WoO on Friday near New Richmond, Wisconsin. “One of our strongest suits all year long has been the qualifying,” he says. “Friday was no different. We were able to lay a good lap down. When there is a shorter field, you just need to run in the top six in the heat, and we were able to run fourth.”
Brian won the Dash from row two. “We were really good in the Dash,” he says. “We felt pretty comfortable going into the A. We were able to get out in the lead and just cruise for a while.”
The lead grew once Brian saw a competitor pull alongside. “I saw Tim Kaeding out of the corner of my eye about halfway through, and picked up the pace,” he says. “I thought it was a great opportunity to get our first win. We had a caution with about thirteen laps to go, and we took off good.”
Things looked good until a tangle with a lapped car ended his night. “With about ten to go, I came up on the back of the field and I had some trouble getting around Brooke Tatnell,” says Brian. “I tried to make a move on the outside off of turn four, and got into the fence and cut a right rear tire.”
The team had prepared well, and the win looked likely. “I feel more for (crew) Chad, Mark and Ely,” says Brian. “They deserved to win it. They do all the work. To win with the Outlaws, you have to put 35 good laps together, not just 28. I feel like our team is as strong as we’ve ever been, and I feel like we’re in contention every night we’re with the Outlaws. That’s exciting going into this month of money.”
Saturday night saw the WoO tow across Wisconsin to the Beaver Dam Raceway. “Honestly, we weren’t as good as we had been the last couple races,” says Brian. “We qualified twelfth and won the heat race, but we didn’t do anything in the Dash (10th).”
The main event saw Brian advance from row seven up to seventh to record a solid top ten finish. “In the A, we started 13th and actually backed up,” he says. “We were able to get it back up to seventh. It wasn’t a win, but after two DNF’s, we put a strong finish on the board, which is good heading into the Brad Doty Classic.”
Wednesday night will be the Brad Doty Classic at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio. Things shift to the Eldora Speedway near Rossburg for Friday night’s “Knight Before the King’s Royal” and Saturday’s King’s Royal paying $50,000 to win. “It’s a race we are really look forward to,” says Brian of the Brad Doty Classic. “Brad is someone I looked up to as a kid, and even today. We’re really looking forward to Eldora too. Our Charlie Garrett motors with the Maxim chassis are really working well.”
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, News
