Brian Brown – Win and Podium Finish in Little Rock!
(Bill W) October 27, 2014 – When the dust settled on the 27th Annual Short Track Nationals at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas, Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 would finish on the podium. After a victory in his prelim, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver stumbled one time in Saturday’s finale, relegating him to a third place finish. The team has a week off before they head to the World Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina with the World of Outlaws.
Instead of practice, they have the Short Track Nationals Open now on Wednesday. How did the heat go?
They’ve flattened off the top since we have been there last. It’s as much on the entry as the exit, and it made the passing tougher. The track is still pretty wide, and we were able to go from fifth to third in our heat.
That put you in the B and you transferred through.
We were pretty decent in the B. We got the lead on Kevin (Swindell) on the first start, and the yellow came out. We kind of just fell in line after that.
You were able to go from 20th to 10th in the feature.
We ran up there pretty well. We had a caution there, and with the temperatures as cold as they were…I think the tires sealed up a bit, and we couldn’t get going any further than that. It wasn’t a bad start to the weekend, and we learned some things that we could implement in our prelim.
In your prelim on Thursday, you fell back a spot in both your heat and your qualifier. Was the track hard to pass?
Honestly, we weren’t that great in the heat or qualifier. Luckily, we had enough finishing points to end up starting fourteenth in the A.
What was the plan going into the feature?
We made some wholesale changes. We went back to our notebook from 2010, and went back to some basics. We were able to from fourteenth to seventh there at the beginning.
The top three spots locked themselves into Saturday. At that point, you were running seventh with some tough drivers in front of you.
We caught a break. Kevin and I found the top at the same time. I knew he could be a car that could make the difference in us locking ourselves into the top three. We got a good run on him, and he got together with Brandon Hanks. We were able to take evasive action and go over the hill. We kept it going, and at that point, we were in fifth.
You seemed to be gaining running the cushion.
I had a good feeling we could get to the top three. We had a good restart. Jerrod Hull and Tim Crawley both went to the bottom and we circled around on the outside. We came off four, and the red flag came out. They had gotten together.
That put you in third with two to go, but you didn’t stop there. You ended up winning it!
A lot goes through your mind. You want to be smart and just lock yourself in, but it sure would be nice to win it. On the restart, we were able to get around Dalton Davis and get a good run on Aaron (Reutzel). I got a good run off of two and sailed into three. I was able to get a good run off four and beat him by a half a tire length. You probably couldn’t have put a piece of paper between our wheels. There wasn’t a ton of passing that night, so for the fans to see a finish like that was definitely cool for them.
The team had to feel great about that one.
It just shows how good our team is. Chad Morgan and Zac Thomas do a great job. All of our partners…our Maxim chassis ran great, and so did our Jaymie Moyle engine provided by Searsboro Telephone Company. A lot of teams would start pointing fingers at each other, but ours never does. We never gave up, and that win was testament to that.
That locked you into Saturday’s “Revenge Draw” Dash.
We felt we had a good opportunity going in, but I felt I’d get the five or six handed to us in the draw for the Dash. There was no thought I’d be in the front. I gave the five to (Christopher) Bell. I hadn’t talked to Aaron about anything. When he drew the one, I just raised my hand. He asked how much I wanted it. I said $500. The way I looked at it, it paid $500 to win the Dash. I just had to go win it, and I was in a good spot to win $15,000. He agreed. It was a good deal for me, and we were able to win it. He had to give it to someone, and he made $500 doing it.
You looked good winning the Dash, and in the first ten or so laps of the feature.
Our car was tight. We figured if we could get by the first ten or twelve laps, we’d be good the last half of the race. It played out like we hoped. We had a straightaway lead and a couple lapped cars in between when the caution came out.
Unfortunately, you hooked a rut and bicycled on the restart, and fell back to fourth.
I didn’t plan on the hole being in one and two. We had the red and we took back off. Tony (Stewart) was watching online and thought our right rear tire was low. Whether that was the case, or I didn’t get in there right, I hit the hole and three cars went by me. It was my fault, however you want to put it.
From there, you were playing catch-up.
We were able to finally get by Aaron late for second, but the yellow came out. I think that was my only shot to get to Bell. We got to battling with Aaron, and that let Bell get way out there again. We ran out of time and ended up third. Reutzel and Bell are two outstanding drivers, and sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.
All in all, it was a solid week for you.
It was a shame that we had a car to win it, and the driver didn’t do his part. I’m really proud of our team though. We had a car capable of winning. As a car owner, I’m proud of our team. As a driver, I felt I let them down a little bit.
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
This was Brian’s sixth trip to the Short Track Nationals finale. In 2006, he came from the B main to register second. He finished third this year and in 2008. Another top five found him fourth in 2005.
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 – MC Power
With clients around the Midwest, MC Power has the experience and expertise to deliver cost-saving construction (general contracting, tenant finish/improvement, remodeling, metal building repair, roof leak repairs, concrete, carpentry, painting, drywall, plumbing, etc.), electrical (electrical design-build, electrical assessment, new construction and retrofit, ground testing, power analysis, energy back-up, power generation systems, sign repair, pole light repair, data wiring, panels, outlets, switches, etc.), solar energy (facility assessment, energy assessment, system evaluation, system engineering, financial/proforma development, solar-thermal systems, system installation, roof evaluations, ground or roof mounts, monitoring, maintenance, products & services warranty management, rebate management, etc.) and LED lighting systems (facility assessment, energy assessment, system evaluation, product evaluation, new construction or retrofit, maintenance, products & services warranty management, rebate management, etc.) for virtually any commercial or industrial application. Visit them on the web at www.MCPower.com!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – XYZ Machining
Brian says – “Tim Norman and his wife do a great job there. We use their mounts and posts. They make a great product.”
XYZ manufactures aluminum and titanium racing components as well as custom products for other industries. Their company pays close attention to the three things important to customers: on-time delivery, quality work, and excellent customer service. Visit them on the web atwww.XYZMachining.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!
Brian in Victory Lane on Thursday (Rob Kocak Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
Twitter: @BillWMedia
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