By Bill W
September 28, 2015 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team topped a 55-car field last Friday night to take the prelim of the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. The win was the highlight of the weekend, however, as the Grain Valley, Missouri driver was involved in two unavoidable tangles early in Saturday’s finale. This weekend, the FVP National Sprint League will be competing in the “Fearless 410 Finale” Friday and Saturday at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska.
On Friday, you started with a heat win.
We started outside the first row, and we were pretty lucky really. We weren’t as good as we needed to be. Wayne (Johnson) got by us on the first or second lap. He got a little high in three and four, and we were able to get back by and win the thing.
That put you in the redraw. Did you make changes to the car?
We changed about everything we could change to make it better for the feature. We were lucky enough to draw the three. They reworked the track. (Crew chief) Chad (Morgan) did a good job of reading what he thought was going to happen. We were able to make the right adjustments.
You got to the front in a hurry.
From lap one, we were really good. We were able to get the lead and kind of cruise there. We had a couple of hiccups in traffic, but it was really pretty clear sailing. There was a green, white, checker finish and we were still able to win by a second and a half. It was really a good night. We needed that, and it felt like old times.
I know winning at that event is special to you.
Anything that has Jesse Hockett or Daniel McMillin’s name on it, you obviously want to win. It’s a really neat event. It’s grown so much. There were 55 cars and a huge crowd. On top of that, Impact Signs and Wraps and Champion Oil had customers and employees there. Fortress Wealth Management also had some folks there. A lot of those people don’t get to see us too often. To win in front of them, is always a good thing.
…and it locked you into Saturday’s finale.
Locking in is important. That means you can keep an eye on things all night before you get down to business.
Unfortunately, your night was over before it really began. You started fifth in the feature.
It’s unfortunate. For whatever reason, the drivers in the front row couldn’t get together for fifteen seconds so we could get the race going. They were stopping and going and carrying on, and it messed the whole field up. That caused an accordion effect. I almost got into the back of Brad (Loyet), Josh (Baughman) got into the back of me, and Ian (Madsen) got into Josh. That cut my left rear tire. The guy on the inside of the front row has the most grip and is going to get the lead anyway. It’s too bad they couldn’t just take off and had to play games.
That wasn’t the end of it though.
We were able to get the left rear tire changed. Again, they couldn’t get together on the start in the front row and there was a crash on the front straightaway. I ran over someone’s right rear tire, and we went for a ride. It’s unfortunate how it played out, but that’s kind of been how our season’s been. Win one night and crash the next.
This will be a big weekend at I-80 Speedway.
Hopefully, we can get up there and do well. We’ve been really good at I-80 in the past, but lately, we’ve been struggling there. Hopefully, we’ll get it figured out and end the season on a good note. I-80 Speedway has been good to the NSL in its first year, and obviously, paying more this last race ($7,000 to win Saturday) is good for us. Hopefully, we’ll be in contention for it.
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
Winning on Friday at Lucas Oil Speedway was a bit of a breakthrough for Brian. He finished second a year ago in both the prelim and the finale at the Hockett/McMillin Memorial. Brian’s last win at the track came in June of 2011. After losing his motor in his heat, he came from the back of the B, and the back of the A to win over Brad Loyet, Randy Martin, Jonathan Cornell and Evan Martin.
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 – 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 – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions
Brian says – “We feel John Harper and the folks at Brown and Miller have the lightest weight, strongest, best looking lines out there. We use them for all our fuel, wing and motor lines. We’ve had no issues at all, and we’ve been using them since 2008.”
Brown & Miller’s lightweight range of hose satisfies virtually every racing application and their fittings are designed for safety, reliability and optimum weight saving. With an industry standard ProGold convoluted hose system, Smoothbore hose and Adaptor ranges, they have the complete system. To further complement these products, they can also provide custom engineered fittings designed to optimize hose installations where standard fittings may not be suitable. With outlets world wide, there is no excuse to settle for second best! At Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, they maintain the simple philosophy that when our parts are on your racecar, they are a part of your team. Visit them on the web at www.BMRS.net!
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!