By Bill W
May 17, 2010 – Two podium finishes in a pair of nights racing the 410 sprint car highlighted Brian Brown’s weekend in the FVP #21. A third at the Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa on Friday, and a second at the Knoxville Raceway highlighted a solid weekend. This Friday, Brian and the team will head north again to compete at the Jackson Spring Nationals in Minnesota on Friday, before returning to Knoxville.
The bullring in Rock Rapids was packed with fans on Friday for a 410 show paying $2,500 to the winner. “Bill Mellenberndt and the guys involved in the 410 shows at Rock Rapids and Hartford (South Dakota) are doing a good job with the little series they are promoting,” says Brian. “Everything around home was rained out, so we decided to make the trip up.”
A heat win from the pole started things off on Friday. “We got lucky with the draw,” says Brian. “It’s a tough track. It’s nice and wide and smooth, but the configuration is different. It was tough to put the car where I needed to.”
Brian drew the inside of row five for the feature and had problems at the start. “The pill draw wasn’t good to us,” he says. “We drew nine out of twelve. On the original start, we didn’t get going like we wanted to. We almost got into some other cars and got over the bank. We were twelfth or thirteenth by turn two.”
He rebounded, and took advantage of a restart without the cone on lap four. Though some deemed his good restart a jump, officials did not. “We were able to get back up to eighth, when there was a yellow on lap four,” he explains. “They said at the drivers’ meeting that when the leader goes on the restart, everyone goes, and that’s what I did. There was no cone. It was ‘game on’. When (leader Gregg) Bakker went, I went. We were running third by the time we got to turn four.”
A good battle ensued with Sioux Falls native Chad Meyer for the runner-up spot. “We were able to get by Chad for second, and then we got into some lapped cars,” says Brian. “I made a few bad decisions, and we ended up third. (winner) Gregg did a good job. He had the fastest car.”
A dry-slick surface awaited competitors on Saturday at Knoxville. A late draw for qualifying didn’t bother Brian, and he timed in fifth. “I wasn’t worried about our bad number,” he says. “I knew if our car was good, we would be o.k. I was actually kind of happy to see it slick. Usually, when the Outlaws come, that’s the way it is. It’s nice to get some laps on a track like that.”
A fifth place run in his heat set him up outside of row three for the 20-lap feature. Early on, Brian battled for second. “I felt like we had a good shot going in, as long as the track didn’t take rubber too soon,” he explains. “We got a good start and we were able to get by David Gravel for second. We had a restart, and I felt like I made some bad decisions that could have cost me a win. I was impatient, and we fell back to fourth.”
A battle for third with Lynton Jeffrey ensued, before Brian regained his momentum and rebounded up to second behind Mark Dobmeier. “When I was racing Lynton for third, David was racing Dobmeier for the lead,” he says. “I felt if I was more patient early, that would have been me up there. The last several laps we had a wire tie break that holds the throttle linkage. The throttle was stuck ¾ open. That made it tough to run close with the lap cars. The last six laps I had to be content to run second.”
As he was racing and the track drew more and more rubber, Brian recalled an incident from a few years ago. “I think I about burnt the brakes off the thing,” he says of Saturday. “I didn’t want to take any chances in getting out of the rubber, and losing positions. I did that once in 2006, and we ended up losing the point race by five.”
Brian has fond memories of Jackson Speedway and is looking forward to Friday and the $5,000 to win Spring Nationals. Some of the competition will include Sammy Swindell, Billy Alley, Gregg Bakker, Clint Garner, Wade Nygaard, Chad Meyer and others. “Jackson is always a really good track,” says Brian. “It’s always wide so you can do some passing. Folkens Brothers Trucking and Van Wyhe Livestock always put on a great event up there, and this year won’t be any different. Hopefully, the weather conditions will be much better than the 50 m.p.h. winds were last year. I ended up on the meat wagon! There are a lot of tough cars up there, so nothing’s going to be easy.”
Funk for Congress
Brian supports Dave Funk in his run for the 3rd District Iowa seat in the U.S. Congress! Dave is running for Congress because he believes in a better way for the 3rd District. He has fresh ideas and has both the energy and resolve to bring common sense policies back to Iowa.
Visit www.CongressNeedsFunk.com today!
Follow Brian and FVP Racing on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube!
The FVP marketing team has launched a Twitter page, a Facebook page, and a Youtube page (make sure to subscribe to all!) to keep up to date with Brian and FVP racing! You can become a fan and follow along by clicking on the links below:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fvpracing
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2rakgn
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=fvpracing
Web site
For up to date information on Brian Brown, visit www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
T-shirts
Catch Brian at the track for the new t-shirt, and it will also be up on the website soon!
Brian’s Q&A
Jeff Marshall asks: You really struggled in qualifying at Knoxville a couple of years back. How have you corrected that?
Brian answers: The biggest thing has been our engines. Lee Nelson at Ostrich Racing Engines does a great job with them. At Knoxville, you know the #1 of Bronson Maeschen is going to qualify well. Lee does his motors as well. We’ve got a good combination with the Ostrich and the Maxim chassis. It’s not that hard to qualify if you have both working well.
Got a question for Brian? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put “? for Brian” in your subject line.
Brown’s Bits
Brian has had a good amount of success at the Jackson Speedway. In seven career feature appearances at the ½ mile, he has finished in the top five on five occasions. After taking a scary crash in the Spring Nationals a year ago, he returned to the Jackson Nationals in August to finish in the top five on both nights. His best finish came in the 2008 Nationals when he finished second.
FVP
FVP specializes in the battery that you need. They know it has to be tough and priced right. They have a line of high-performance batteries for SUVs, trucks, cars and other specialty vehicles that give you quality without breaking the bank. To find a dealer near you, visit them on the web at www.FVPparts.com!
SuperClean
SuperClean is the “super product” for your home, auto, outdoor and marine cleaning jobs. Whether it is grease, oil, wax, tar or dirt that you need to clean from concrete, wheels or just about anything else, SuperClean is the product for you! To learn more about SuperClean, visit www.SuperClean.com!
Splash
Whether it’s keeping your windshield clean or free of ice, protecting your RV, boat or pool from freezing in the winter, or your sidewalk safe to walk on, Splash Products from SuperClean are what you need! Click on the “Splash Products” link at www.SuperClean.com!
Marketing Partner of the Week – Housby Trucks
Brian says, “Jack, Kelly and Kevin Housby have been great to me since I was in the Casey’s car. They provide our truck, and they do great service on trucks in the Des Moines area.”
Since 1969, Housby has been known for the quality of new and used trucks they sell and their excellent customer service. What started out primarily as a Mack Truck dealership has grown into a conglomerate of vertically integrated businesses that share synergy by bringing multiple services to their customers. Businesses include Housby Mack, Inc., Housby Mixer Group, Housby Truck Lube, Vocon Remarketing, Second Generation and Housby Motorsports. Visit www.Housby.com for more information!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – A1 Mortgage
Brian says – “Charles and Brian Weatherman do a great job. If you are in the Kansas City area, and you’re looking for a mortgage or to consolidate some debts, they will take good care of you.”
At A1 Mortgage, they know how important it is to choose the right lender and loan program for all of your mortgage needs. They also know that as a company they have to provide you with the best products and the highest level of customer service possible. With hundreds of loan programs available, they tailor a loan specific to your mortgage needs. Visit them online today at www.MyA1Mortgage.com!
Brian would like to thank FVP, SuperClean, Splash, Ditzfeld Transfer, Searsboro Telephone Company, www.FaxMeService.com, Housby Trucks, Maxim Racing, Champion Brands, My State Insurance Rates, Smiley’s Race Products, Impact Sign and Lighting, Arctic Cat, K&N Filters, Hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Awesome Racewear, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Weld Wheels, Bell Helmets, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, A1 Mortgage, Rockwell Security, Paul’s Auto Body Supply, Engler Machine, Vortex Wings, Ostrich Racing Engines, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance Products, Santomauro Racing Products, Cometic Gaskets, Kaeding Performance, Donovan, Magtech, ISC Racers Tape, Racing Optics, Pro Shocks, Don’s Truck Wash, Gardner Farms, Hoosier Tires, XYZ Machining, Funk for Congress, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Peterson Fluid System, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, www.Impact4800.com and WSIB Insurance for all their help!