By Bill W
July 29, 2015 – For Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team, the “Road to Knoxville” is serious business. August comes this weekend, and the final preparations are being made for the Knoxville Nationals, which can make or break your season. Before heading to Knoxville Saturday, the team will be pulling double duty with the FVP National Sprint League and the ASCS National Series at I-80 Speedway’s “Road to Knoxville” event near Greenwood, Nebraska.
It’s been a long week with FVP National Sprint League “Fair Speedweek”. You had a good run going Tuesday at Hancock County Speedway near Britt, Iowa before getting tangled with a lapped car.
Obviously, we weren’t good enough to win, but I think at that point we were running fourth. I tried to push the issue in lapped traffic, and I got together with one of them. We were able to get the car fixed and still come back to ninth, so it wasn’t a total loss. A fourth definitely would have been better than a ninth though.
Despite some tough track conditions at the Iowa State Fair Speedway in Des Moines Wednesday, you were able to come from eighth in the Dash to finish second in the feature.
We were starting to lay rubber in the heat races. To start eighth in the Dash and get to fourth, then to start fourth and get to second in the feature…we just didn’t have enough track to do anything with Craig (Dollansky). It was a great night for Casey’s. They sponsor Craig as well as our team, so to run one-two was great. For the season we’ve had, it was a boost in the right direction.
You had another solid finish go by the wayside Thursday at Jackson Speedway in Minnesota when your tire deflated late.
I think we were running fifth there with two to go. Under the caution, my right rear went flat and we faded to twelfth. We’ve seen our share of bad luck with the NSL. We’ve had some good runs going, and for whatever reason, we don’t get the finishes we’d hoped for. We lost six spots there because of the tire.
Things were a bit off at Knoxville on Saturday. You would finish seventh though.
We fought a couple of gremlins at Knoxville all night long. That forced us to make a lot of changes during the night that we normally wouldn’t make. I think we found out what was going on in two or three different areas, so we should be better going forward. The good news is, we have our Knoxville Nationals car and engine ready to go, and we shouldn’t have those gremlins again.
Things started really well for you with the NSL at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota Sunday.
We were sixth quick, and third in the heat. We really felt we had a shot to have a good finish. We drew the eight again, and we just tightened the car up too much for the feature. The track didn’t slow down as much as we thought it would. By the time we looked up, we were running twelfth. It shows the caliber of drivers we have with the NSL. If your car isn’t just right, you’ll go backwards really quick. It wasn’t any different on Sunday.
You have to be excited about the “Road to Knoxville” Thursday and Friday.
We’re looking forward to I-80. We’re running both cars, at least Friday night. We’ll see how it goes. If there’s a track that can get us going, it’s I-80. We found some things when we got home to the shop that should help us in our eyes. The 2015 season starts again on Thursday. It’s getting down to crunch time. It’s a time when we need to make our moves, and I feel we’re right where we need to be.
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-Brown-Racing/200630163294222
Casey’s General Stores – www.facebook.com/pages/Caseys-General-Stores/112073528804354
FVP Racing – http://www.facebook.com/FVPRacing?ref=ts&fref=ts
Other Web site info
Casey’s: www.caseys.com
FVP: www.fvpparts.com
Brown’s Bits
Brian won two races in 2005 at I-80 Speedway within a month. On July 8, he topped Chad Humston, Jason Martin, Billy Alley and Don Droud Jr. in ASCS-Midwest action. On August 3, he bested Alley, Gary Wright, Jake Peters and Zach Chappell in an ASCS National event.
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 over 1,850 convenience stores in 14 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 5th largest c-store chain and fifth largest pizza chain in the United States.
About FVP
Built on a commitment to quality and delivered with unmatched service, FVP is the confident solution for all of your OEM needs. FVP products are engineered to provide customers with OE quality products that are equal or superior in performance to the major national brands at a competitive price. FVP is proud to carry a full line of high quality oil, air, cabin air and fuel filters, powerful batteries for multiple applications including cars, trucks, SUV’s, commercial, boats and other specialty vehicles as well as automotive chemicals and oil, antifreeze, DEF, hub assemblies, radiators and condensers. To learn more about FVP or to find out where you can have FVP products installed in your vehicle, visit FVPparts.com! FVP…The Confident Solution.
Marketing Partner of the Week – Maxim Racing
In October of 2014, Dan Musselman (Previously Director of Operations) and his brother Ron formed a partnership and acquired Maxim Inc. Both have been involved in sprint car racing for over 40 years and have over 30 years of business, manufacturing and customer satisfaction experience. Dan and Ron would like to thank the sprint car racing community for embracing the change in ownership. The outcome has been very humbling.
Maxim Racing conducts business in its 12,600 square foot building located in Springfield, Illinois. At present, Maxim is fourteen employees strong and builds over 400 chassis annually.
Maxim Racing prides itself on providing great customer service, helping our clients on setup advice along with focusing on the highest level of quality and safety.
Visit Maxim Racing online at www.RaceMaxims.com and on Facebook at Maxim Racing Inc.
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – Rod End Supply
Brian says – “Bob Douglas and Rod End Supply have always been very good to us. They make the nicest, most durable rod ends in racing, and we are proud to run them.”
Whether you’re running a go-cart, micro, mini-sprint, midget, modified, late model, sprint or a tractor, Rod End Supply has the assortment of rod ends, radius rods, and specialty products that will help you lead the field in performing at your maximum potential. At Rod End Supply, “They don’t just sell ’em, they race ’em! Visit them on the web at www.RodEndSupply.com or call 1-800-284-2902 today!
Brian Brown Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Print Place, Searsboro Telephone Company, MC Power, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps / impact4800.com, Champion Brands, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Enco Tools, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, Pro Shocks by Schure Built Suspension, Arctic Cat, Lincoln Electric, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, Hinchman Uniforms, 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 and Flexzilla for all their support!