From Bill W
March 18, 2013 – For almost any sprint car driver in the world, twelfth and thirteenth place finishes with the World of Outlaws would be a major thrill. For Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team, it is a time to reflect and look for improvement. That was the case last weekend in California at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Speedway. This weekend, the WoO will tackle a new track in Stockton on Friday, and tow to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on Saturday.
You seem a bit disappointed with your finishes at Tulare.
Twelfth and thirteenth aren’t horrible finishes considering the field we’re running in. But with our results the last couple of years, I think our expectations are a lot higher. We expect to contend for wins. I need to do a better job as a driver to get there.
You qualified third quick on Friday night. It sounded like a rough track.
Qualifying was probably our strongest point all weekend. That goes back to our Charlie Garrett engines. Qualifying at Tulare is just kind of ‘hold your breath and pray’. You need to get through or around the holes as best you can and just hold on. You have to put yourself in positions you don’t want to be in. In my case, I can do that for about two laps, but I’m not as good doing it eight or ten laps. That hurts me.
The heat didn’t go so well, but you transferred through the B.
You need to manhandle it and bounce through the holes there. You have to risk equipment in every corner if you’re going to finish up front. I never got comfortable enough to go up there and wrestle around. We were able to transfer through the B.
Not your type of track, but how did the feature go?
We passed a couple and got passed by a couple (after starting 11th). I think we ended up 13th. (Turns) Three and four got slick with a big cushion…if they ever got one and two like that, it would have been great.
Describe turns one and two.
There were ruts that were three feet wide and a foot and a half deep. Not growing up on that kind of track, it’s hard to pick up. I felt we got better as the weekend went on, and maybe we’ll be better on some of these tracks coming up.
I bet that kept the crew busy, didn’t it?
Chad (Morgan) and Travis (Marsch) stuck by me, knowing that isn’t really my kind of deal the way the track was. A strong team shows when you struggle and they stick by you. They were good cheerleaders all weekend long.
You came right back on Saturday and registered fifth quick.
It was hold it on the floor and hope you’re in the right place again. I think I could qualify better than race, because it was still daylight during that time. I could see the holes a little better. The clay is so dark, and the track isn’t lit so well…it’s hard to see those holes later on. I think I turned it over four or five times this weekend…I just never finished it off and got on my lid!
What did you do to prepare for the heat race?
We freed the car up to maybe go up in the holes a bit. We never ventured up there and stayed low. We weren’t very good. The heat was disappointing (8th).
You made it through the B main again.
We were able to end up second after (Jason) Sides and (DJ) Netto got together. At that point, we were getting better.
It sounded like the track took rubber, and you were starting 12th.
We were able to get up to 8th. Then it laid rubber, and we were way too tight. As the rubber got thicker and thicker, we got tighter and tighter. I had to back my corners up and a few guys were able to get outside me (Brian finished 12th).
This weekend you’ll be at a new track in Stockton and at Chico.
We’re looking forward to Stockton. I’m hearing good things about the track. We weren’t great at Chico the last time we were there, but we’re hoping to be better there too!
Follow Brian on the Web, Twitter and Facebook!
Follow Brian at his website located at www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
Also keep up with FVP, Casey’s and Brian on Facebook and Twitter at the following links…
Twitter Links – @BrianBrown21, @FVPRacing, @CaseysGenStores
Facebook Links
Brian Brown Racing – www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-
Casey’s General Stores – www.facebook.com/pages/Caseys-
FVP Racing – http://www.facebook.com/
Other Web site info
Casey’s: www.caseys.com
FVP: www.fvpparts.com