Brian Brown – Three Times a Charm!
(Bill W) July 23, 2012 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team racked up a trio of wins over the weekend. In impressive fashion, they doubled up at the Knoxville Raceway in both the 360 and 410 classes Saturday night. On Friday, they won at the Fairmont Speedway in Fairmont, Minnesota with the JSTS series. This week, tentative plans have them ready for four nights of 410 racing.
With the month of money upon us, Brian and the team decided to prep for it with double duty at Knoxville Saturday. They didn’t time as well as they hoped in the 360 class. “We were there to figure out our 360 program for the 360 Nationals…especially the qualifying piece,” says Brian. “Our eighth quick will turn into 15th quick fast at the 360 Nationals.”
After winning his heat from the fourth starting spot, Brian would start the feature sixth. “We were able to get to third pretty quick,” he says. “There was a yellow three laps in. Unfortunately, we got together with RJ Johnson there. That could have ended badly for both of us and I need to apologize. That got us out of shape and screwed my nose wing up.”
The contact threw him off momentarily, but he would recover and win going away, despite the nose wing issue. “With Jesse Giannetto back by us, I knew it would be tough,” says Brian. “We were able to get back to second and run Jon (Agan) down. We were able to get by him in some lapped traffic and go on and win. It was good to get a win. We need to keep plugging away on the qualifying.”
Things went better with the 410’s. Brian would time in fourth quick. “Racing with the Outlaws for a month really helped our program,” says Brian. “I’m driving with more confidence than I have my whole life. Qualifying fourth is not always the best, but with Knoxville’s format, it’s a good place to be.”
After a second place heat run, Brian started inside row four in the feature. “We got a good start and got to fourth quickly,” he says. “There was a restart, and I was able to go through the middle of one and two and make it three-wide into turn two and come out in second. That’s when I felt the rubber. At that point, it was like chasing the rabbit. That was Terry (McCarl). We were making quite a bit of ground up, and we were within a couple of car lengths when the red came out again.”
Brian weighed his options behind McCarl. “As soon as we took off, he found the rubber and was driving smart,” he says. “He was doing what he had to do. Realistically, I could have pushed it a little bit harder. I was content to ride until five or six to go. That’s when I started pushing it a little harder.”
The last lap saw an exciting pass that has become common at Knoxville over the years. “We came up on lapped traffic that last lap,” says Brian. “I had a good run off of turn two. He went in behind the lapped cars and I was just going to hit the cushion as hard as I could in turn three. We were able to get by him there and it was cool to get the win.”
Two feature wins in one night at Knoxville was a rare accomplishment. “There aren’t many guys that have been able to do that,” says Brian. “All my guys, and all our partners work so hard. Without any one of them, we couldn’t have done the double duty. I’m the one who gets the credit, but without them, it wouldn’t happen.”
Things started way back on Wednesday at the Sioux Speedway in Sioux Center, Iowa. “We were excited to get up there,” says Brian. “To have that many races within 100 miles of each other is pretty cool. It was tough to pass in the heat at Sioux Center, and that put us in twelfth to start the feature.”
Brian charged forward, but would have to settle for third. “We were running third, when we had a caution there with about six to go,” he says. “I felt like that was our opportunity to win the race. Kaley (Gharst) and Lou (Kennedy) did what they had to do, and we just got beat.”
Thursday saw the team in Redwood Falls, Minnesota for another JSTS stop in which Brian finished second. “We weren’t too great in the heat (4th to 3rd),” he says. “That put us starting seventh in the A. We were able to find the rubber first and get to second. Unfortunately, Kaley found it about the same time as we did. We got to him with a couple laps to go. He did what he needed to do to win the race.”
Friday night, things went well in Fairmont. “Fairmont was good,” says Brian. “It’s a big half-mile. The State Bank of Fairmont put the race on, and they had a big picnic the day of the race. It was great that they supported it.”
The track suited Brian and he would lead every lap of the feature. “The heat (won) was the best our car had been all week,” he says. “We were able to start out front in the feature. It took rubber about ten or eleven laps in. At that point, the role was reversed from Redwood Falls. Kaley had to find a way to pass us, and we were the one leading. It was good to get back in Victory Lane. At this time of year, you just want to create momentum. That’s definitely what we were trying to do.”
Brian competed Sunday night at Jesse Hockett’s XX Speedway in California, Missouri. He was driving the Haley Arnold #6 in honor of her late grandfather and former racer, Pat McKeehan.
As long as the team can get things in order, they plan on hitting three shows during MOWA Speedweek: Highland (IL) Speedway on Wednesday, Peoria (IL) Speedway on Thursday, and Jacksonville (IL) Speedway on Friday. The team is also looking at double duty again Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, Iowa, News
