By Bill W
July 16, 2012 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team impressed in their visit to Ohio last week. Despite a tangle at the Brad Doty Classic, they came back with a fifth place run at Eldora, before suffering mechanical issues in the King’s Royal. A busy week is planned again, with four events planned in the Upper Midwest.
Last Wednesday, Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio hosted the Brad Doty Classic. “We were tickled to death to get to Lima to the Brad Doty Classic,” says Brian. “Brad is a living legend. It was something we really were circling on the calendar this year. We didn’t get off to a good start. I got stuck in behind a slower car in hot laps and didn’t get the laps I needed to.”
After registering 20th quick, Brian was able to salvage a Dash start by charging from fifth to second in a tough heat race. “We just missed it a little bit qualifying,” he says. “It was good to miss and still be 20th out of 50 cars, but we didn’t hit it right. We had to get going in the heat to make the Dash. We were able to get by Joey (Saldana), Brad Sweet and Shane Stewart to get to second. That was huge for our confidence.”
After finishing tenth in the Dash, Brian started in the same spot in the feature. It didn’t last long. “On the second lap of the A, Brad Sweet, another car and I went three-wide,” he says. “Brad’s left rear hit my right front and spun me around. That collected Paul McMahan, which was bad for him. It ruined his night too. We left knowing we had a good car.”
Despite limited experience at Eldora Speedway located near Rossburg, Ohio, Brian started well in the “Knight Before the King’s Royal” on Friday. “I had only raced at Eldora twice,” he says. “That was for the Ollie’s 360 Challenge a couple years ago, and with Lonnie (Parsons) in 2003 when I really didn’t have any experience. We were able to qualify seventh and go from third to second in the heat.”
After a sixth place run in the Dash, Brian was able to maintain and pick up a fifth place finish. “We ran thirty good laps and got some good experience,” he says. “It felt good to run up against the fence there. I had been there a lot as a kid, and to be able to go and run and get a top five with the Outlaws was great. I’m just really proud of our team.”
The $50,000 to win King’s Royal was next Saturday night. “We drew a good number to qualify, but it ended up hurting us,” says the Grain Valley, Missouri driver. “The track actually got better as we went. We ended up being 16th quick.”
The heat race started well, but Brian had to hold onto third in the end. “We ended up putting a slider on Sammy to take the lead,” he says. “He didn’t give us much room on the front straightaway completing lap one. He gave me the option to lift or crash, basically. We chose to lift.”
Starting sixteenth, Brian surged forward until his mechanical issues sidelined him. “We were able to get up to tenth or eleventh about ten laps in,” he says. “At that point, we had ignition problems that ended our night. In the whole scheme of things, it wasn’t the finish we wanted, but to run that well is a huge confidence booster going into the ‘Month of Money’. Our confidence is sky high. We’ll run three or four races this week and keep our momentum up.”
Action with the JSTS 360 series is planned in Sioux Center, Iowa Wednesday, Redwood Falls, Minnesota Thursday, and Fairmont, Minnesota on Friday. The team will come south on Saturday to the Knoxville Raceway where they may pull double duty.
Web site info
For up to date information on Brian Brown Racing visit www.BrianBrownRacing.com
Casey’s: www.caseys.com
FVP: www.fvpparts.com
Brian’s Q&A
Rich Manley asks: Who do you think are some up and coming drivers in our sport?
Brian answers: I watched a couple of them this week. One that obviously stands out to everyone is Kyle Larson. We were able to go to Sun Prairie the previous week and watch him go from 25th to 6th. David Gravel seems to get it. He’s good on the slick and the heavy. He’s just a smart little racer. Another one, is my good buddy, Rico Abreu. He was able to win a midget race at Sun Prairie. He’s won in the 360, the 410 and the midget. With more opportunity, I think he will do big things. I say these guys, because I’ve been able to see them run the last couple weeks.
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 will be visiting Sioux Center, Redwood Falls and Fairmont for the first time. His racing in Minnesota has been mostly limited to Jackson Speedway, where he won the $5,000 360 show there earlier this season.
About Casey’s General Stores
Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating nearly 1700 convenience stores in 11 states through the Midwest. Known for its “Homemade-To-Go” pizza, sandwiches, donuts and bakery items, Casey’s strives to consistently deliver quality gas, fresh kitchen-prepared food, clean environments and friendly service at every retail location. Casey’s is currently the 12th largest c-store chain and sixth largest pizza chain in the United States.
About FVP
We are very excited to introduce our new line of automotive chemicals, oils and fluids to our product offering. These new products will be available at many retailers across the country. We continue to offer a full line of high quality oil, air, cabin air and fuel filters, plus a complete line of high quality batteries for multiple applications including cars, trucks, SUV’s, commercial and other specialty vehicles. All products are made to OE manufacturer fitment specifications. FVP products are engineered to provide our customers with quality products that are equal or superior in performance to the major national brands at a competitive price. To learn more about our FVP products or to find out where you can have FVP products installed in your vehicle, visit us at www.FVPparts.com! FVP…The Confident Solution
SPLASH
In addition to our line of seasonal safety products, we are very excited to introduce a full line of SPLASH Wiper Blades. Our SafeView Performance Blades fit 95% of the vehicles on the road with quick and easy installation for everyone. The AccuVision Beam Blade offers memory curve steel, which provides uniform pressure for a clear wipe, without the streaks. Look for these great new SPLASH products! 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 are what you need! Check out our new SPLASH website at www.SPLASHWash.com! SPLASH…SEE SAFELY!
Marketing Partner of the Week – Champion Racing Lubricants (Champion Racing 20W50 Motor Oil)
Visit Champion’s new web page at www.ChampionsUseChampion.com! Champion Racing 20W50 Motor Oil is the one that started it all by beating the competition in providing more horsepower, torque, and anti-wear additives than many of the more well known brands of racing oil. Champion Racing 20W50’s premium ZDDP anti-wear protection is among the highest in the industry. Champion’s exclusive shear stabilizer delivers better film strength and piston ring seal at peak temperatures. Champion Racing 20W50 also delivers more foot-pounds of torque with higher compression than any competitor’s brands.
Benefits include:
• Provides exceptional low coefficient of friction
• Offers film strength and viscosity stability of thicker mono-grades at higher temperatures
• Provides upper cylinder anti-wear protection
• Increases high-temp oil pressure and compression
• Formulated for flat tappet, roll over cams and bearings in turbo and super-charged racing engines
• Lowers engine temperature
• Compatible with petroleum and other synthetics
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – ISC Racer’s Tape
Brian says – “When you are racing anything, things don’t always go as planned. It’s good to know if you have a hole, or something is not sticking down like you need it, that we’ve got a great partner in ISC Racer’s Tape. We definitely put their product to use.”
For more than 20 years, ISC Racers Tape has supplied a full range of tapes to the racing industry. From Daytona to Indianapolis, everyone uses Racers Tape. With research and testing done on our own race cars, they proudly design and manufacture useful tape products that really work. Browse around, and see what ISC Racers Tape can do for you. Visit them on the web at www.ISCRacersTape.com!
Brian Brown Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Searsboro Telephone Company, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps / impact4800.com, Champion Brands, SPLASH, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, www.RateWin.com, Arctic Cat, K&N Filters, Hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Awesome Racewear, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, Engler Machine, Vortex Wings, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, AkzoNobel Sikkens, Jack Links, Rockstar, Deli Express, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance Products, Santomauro Racing Products, Cometic Gaskets, Kaeding Performance, Donovan, Magtech, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler, Racing Optics, Mothers Wax, Don’s Truck Wash, Gardner Farms, Hoosier Tires, GoPro, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Peterson Fluid System, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, and WSIB Insurance for all their support!