Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team turned in another successful Knoxville Nationals last week. After a shaky start, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver came through in Saturday night’s finale with a charge from 14th to sixth. Brian has three races planned this weekend. The FVP National Sprint League will compete at Fairmont Raceway in Minnesota Friday and at the Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa Saturday. For the first time in three years, he will be back at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia Sunday for a $12,000 to win ASCS event.
Your draw for qualifying on Thursday was middle of the road.
You’re hoping for twenty or less and you don’t want fifty or more. So forty (29th out of 57) was kind of middle of the road. At that point, you’re looking for fifth to tenth quick, and we ended up ninth, which was good.
The heat race did not go well.
If you look at all the heats, there was some luck going on. Some of the quickest guys had cars in front of them that didn’t even start. We felt we had the toughest heat in the Nationals. We were starting on the inside too, which can make it tougher. We didn’t get going, and I made some bad laps early. That got us behind further and we never recuperated. At that point, you have to get your head screwed on and keep fighting.
You knew the B main was going to make you or break you.
It was nerve-wracking. We started fourth and we were able to get to third. There’s a guy on the bottom and a guy on the top, so there’s no clear-cut path by them. You don’t want to make a mistake. All of a sudden, here comes Tim Shaffer passing you. Now you’re fourth (the final transfer) and there’s still two laps to go. Stuff is happening! You have to be patiently aggressive and hopefully, no one is coming behind you. Brent Marks was coming. It definitely isn’t the position you want to be at the Knoxville Nationals…I can guarantee you that. It worked out though.
You knew you had to make some hay in the feature as well.
In our opinion, 23rd to tenth was going to be a good run. It was going to be close to getting us in the show or the first couple rows of the B. We stayed patient the first couple of laps to make sure we didn’t get caught up in a mess or do something dumb. Once things cleared up, the car was unbelievable. It was probably the best car we’ve had all year long. If they were on the top, I could run the bottom. If they were on the bottom, I could go up top. If they couldn’t decide, I could go in the middle.
You were able to get into the top ten quickly.
We were ninth in the first six or eight laps. Once you get there, it gets a lot harder. We were able to get to fifth, and once we were there, I felt we were just as good as the guys in front of us. I think we had used our tires a little more though. It felt like a win. The fans who came down noticed us, and I needed that as a driver to build some confidence for myself.
That set you up in row seven for Saturday. You got into the top ten quickly, but kind of maintained there the first half of the race.
If I had to grade ourselves in the first segment, I’d say we were a five or six out of ten. Still, we were hovering around ninth or tenth. At the break, we didn’t feel we were good enough to just drive up there and win it, so we swung for the fences and did some things with the car that had worked in the past.
Those changes must have worked for you.
It definitely hurt us in the first phase, but definitely helped us late in the race. We were a little tight early, but once the fuel load came off, here we came. We were ahead of Shane (Stewart) at one time, and he ended up fourth. We felt we could have had a top five, but overall, not knowing what we had all year long…I was excited to run sixth. We’re excited about the rest of the season with the NSL, the World of Outlaws and the ASCS. We’ve learned a lot.
The growth of FVP at the Nationals has been phenomenal!
When we first had our hospitality there eight years ago, we had 140 customers show up. This year, Saturday at 5:00, we had over 600. It shows what FVP has done for the sport, and the people that they’ve brought to it. I’m proud that FVP sponsors the Nationals and Casey’s is a presenting sponsor. It’s a win/win for everyone. Our team and our partners get a lot of exposure all week long.
What do you think of when you look back at the Knoxville Nationals?
Mostly, I want to thank the fans. It seems every year, they get more and more supportive of us. To have them cheer for us, buy our shirts and do the things that fans do, we’re very lucky to have them. I appreciate their support all week long. Without them spending their hard-earned money, none of us could do this.
How about the 360 Nationals?
Obviously, we were going in wanting to win again. We just didn’t have the speed that we needed. We were able to move from 11th to seventh on the final night.
You finished 13th at the Capitani Classic and 12th at the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa.
We didn’t qualify well at either show. That kind of buried us back in the features both nights. Overall, Oskaloosa wasn’t good results-wise, but we found something with the car that had caused us problems for a month and a half. It definitely wasn’t a lost cause. These are all great events that we’re looking forward to coming back to next year.
There is no rest this weekend. You have three shows lined up.
I’m excited to get back to Sedalia Sunday. Casey’s General Stores and Impact are both sponsoring that race. I’m just excited to get back in the car for the FVP National Sprint League races this weekend too and tackle this deal!
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 has a great career record at Sedalia. In 38 career feature starts there, he has won fourteen times including beating the ASCS National series. He has also claimed the Michael Ross, Tom Wilson and Bob Ramey Memorials. In all, he has recorded 26 top fives (68%) and 33 top tens (87%). He has won nine of the last nineteen races he has competed in at Sedalia.
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 – Housby Trucks
Brian says, “Jack, Kelly and Kevin Housby have been great to me since I was in the Casey’s #6 car. They have provided our truck, and they do great service on trucks in the Des Moines area.”
Since 1969, Housby has been known for the quality of new and used trucks they sell and their excellent customer service. What started out primarily as a Mack Truck dealership has grown into a conglomerate of vertically integrated businesses that share synergy by bringing multiple services to their customers. Businesses include Housby Mack, Inc., Housby Mixer Group, Housby Truck Lube, Vocon Remarketing, Second Generation and Housby Motorsports. Visit www.Housby.com for more information!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – Winters Performance Products
Brian says – “We’ve used Winters Rear-ends since we started, along with their drivelines and stops. In fact, the majority of our parts are Winters components. They do a great job, and we are happy to be a part of their operation.”
Winters builds products for the entire racing industry. Their products can be found in NASCAR, Dirt and Pavement Modifieds and Late Models, Bonneville Land Speed Trial Cars, Pulling Tractors, Pike’s Peak Hill Climbers, Off Shore Boats, Dragsters, Midget and Dwarf Cars and 305, 360 and 410 sprint cars. Their products are distributed worldwide through a large dealer network. Winters, located in York, Pennsylvania, has a quality workforce of around 70 helping in the growth and success of the company. Visit them online at www.WintersPerformance.com!
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!
Photo: Brian races at the Knoxville Nationals (Danny Howk Photo)
- administrator on Aug 24, 2015
- Article Date: 8/19/2015 by Bill Wright