By Bill W
April 21, 2014 – The Brian Brown Racing Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team was back at the Knoxville Raceway last Saturday night. The Grain Valley, Missouri driver finished sixth in a feature event in a weekly field that most have included as the most competitive in the track’s history. Things don’t get any easier this week, as Brian will take on the World of Outlaws at the Salina High Banks in Oklahoma, and at the I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri.
No one was surprised at the strong field gathered in Knoxville on Saturday were they?
Like everyone expected, it’s going to be as competitive as it’s ever been. Everything is going to be important…the qualifying piece, where you qualify. Like I’ve said before, as the year goes on and it’s even more competitive, the locals are going to shine at the Outlaw show in June and the Nationals.
Coming out eleventh to qualify, you registered fourth quick.
We’re usually in the first couple of spots, so we’re not really accustomed to fourth. I kind of missed it on both laps in qualifying.
You started fifth in your heat and finished second in a stacked field!
It was a who’s who in the heat. Terry (McCarl), (Craig) Dollansky, Ian (Madsen), Ryan Bunton, Lynton (Jeffrey)…they were all out there. We were able to sneak by Terry, and then the yellow came out. We got by Ian to second, and I thought we had a shot at Dollansky on the last lap. I got a little out of shape in one and two and that was all she wrote.
That set you up for a starting spot inside row three for the feature.
Going in, we felt we were as good as anyone there. We tried a few things that we wouldn’t normally try to make ourselves a little bit better. There’s really no way to candy-coat it, we weren’t as good as we needed to be to move around and drive up through there. We had a good first start and we were up to third or fourth. I really thought we had a really good opportunity. On the second start, we just didn’t get rolling like we should have. To be honest, I may have made more mistakes in that twenty laps than I have in the last five years.
There was a lot of position changes in spots four through eight.
When your car’s not working like it should and the driver’s not driving like he should, we were probably lucky to finish sixth with the caliber of cars that were there. The battle from fourth to eighth, we weren’t giving each other much room. When you race with those guys, you have to be on your toes and make your moves count. When you pass them, you want to be done with them.
There were plenty of sliders exchanged and the battles were exciting!
It was fun racing. We raced Terry hard, and we raced Justin (Henderson) hard. It had to be fun for the fans. From where I was sitting, there was something going on in every corner.
It was a huge weekly crowd for the opener too.
I just want to commend the staff at Knoxville Raceway. I don’t think since I’ve been going, we’ve had a weekly crowd bigger than that. I hope the fans who don’t normally come, will come back and tell others about what they saw. As a driver, we really notice. You get amped up in front of a big crowd like that, and Saturday was no different.
You go to a couple of tracks with the Outlaws that you’ve had some good results.
Salina has been good to us in the past. We’ve had some success in the 360. At Pevely, we’ve led some laps in the past with the Outlaws and finished third. As much as I’d love to be at Knoxville, I’m looking forward to these two nights with the Outlaws. We’ve had some success at these tracks and we’d love to get our first win.
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
Brown’s Bits
Brian won at the Butler County Speedway in Rising City, Nebraska on September 21, 2003. He was driving for legendary car owner, Gary Swenson.
15% off of Enco Tools Purchase!
Receive 15% off of your order with Enco Tools! Just go to www.UseEnco.com and use the coupon code “BBR21”!
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
Marketing Partner of the Week – Maxim Racing
Brian says, “Chuck and Karen Merrill are not only great people, but they put everything into putting the best car out on the market. I’ve always been a supporter of theirs, and with Brian Brown Racing, you’ll always see their chassis.”
Brian has been partnering with Maxim since 2003. After years of success as a car owner, Chuck Merrill started his chassis business in a rented three-bay garage in November of 1988. The first car was driven by Johnny Herrera at the Florida All Stars Sprint Week in February of 1989. By June of that year, Maxim moved into a 7,000 square foot facility. By 2001, Maxim had grown substantially producing 304 chassis that year. In 2002, Maxim moved to its present 12,500 square foot location in Springfield, Illinois. Maxim continues to offer their customers unmatched service and support, and currently has 17 quality employees, and builds over 400 chassis on an annual basis. Their world-famous “K-car” was designed for Steve Kinser, and has won ten Knoxville Nationals titles and fourteen World of Outlaws championships! To top it all, Maxim offers a warranty if you are not completely satisfied with your car. For more information on Maxim, visit www.racemaxims.com!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – K&N Filters
Brian says – “We’re proud to run with K&N. They have a carbon-fiber air box. The key to horsepower is air. When you’re choosing the filter to save the bearing and keep the dirt out, it’s K&N.”
Brian is a proud partner with K&N Filters. K&N Engineering, of Riverside, California, is the inventor and leading innovator of reusable cotton gauze filter technology for automotive applications. From humble beginnings as a family run business over 35 years ago, K&N Engineering, now a truly global company with offices in the U.K. and the Netherlands, continues to exist as a family owned business with an enthusiast mindset and a direct connection with motor sports that carries over throughout all levels of management and manufacturing. Today, K&N exists as both the sales and brand leader for performance filters, and maintains a stocking catalogue of over 3,500 part numbers, including an extensive line of both factory replacement drop-in filters, FIPK (Fuel Injection Performance Kit) applications, and its line of innovative Performance Gold oil filters. Visit them at www.KNFilters.com!
Brian Brown Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Searsboro Telephone Company, MC Power, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps / impact4800.com, Champion Brands, DNA Energy, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Enco Tools, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, www.RateWin.com, Arctic Cat, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, Hinchman, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, Vortex Wings, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, AkzoNobel, Kenny’s Components, www.AllDayParts.com, Tru Square, Jack Links, Deli Express, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance, Cometic Gaskets, Shell Shock, Donovan, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Racing Optics, Mothers Wax, Hoosier Tires, Klein RV, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, 6B Apparel, Bosch, Garrett Racing Engines, MSD, Moyle Racing Engines, Fortress Wealth Management, Legacy, Flexzilla and WSIB Insurance for all their support!