Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team rode to victory in the World of Outlaws visit to Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. Not only was the win close to home for the Grain Valley, Missouri driver, but it was the FVP Platinum Battery Shootout as well. Around 250 FVP customers and employees were on hand. The team will head to Charlotte, North Carolina next week for the season ending World Finals with the WoO.
You came out 18th (35 cars were in the field) in the order on Friday, but still timed in third quick.
When you draw late you don’t know if that’s good or bad. At Lakeside, it normally slows down as you go. This time, it stayed good throughout. It’s so important to qualify well with the Outlaws. Our Charlie Garrett engine always hits and Friday was no different.
That put you on the pole of the third heat.
We had a pretty good battle with Brent (Marks) and we had a yellow. We were second at that point, and you have to be in the top two to get in the Dash. We had (David) Gravel and some other guys behind us so it was important to finish up front. We had a good restart and we were able to get by Brent. That put us in a good spot for the Dash.
You didn’t waste any time getting to the front after starting third.
We got a really good start. We were fighting an issue with the car all night. Chad (Morgan), Michael (Williams) and myself put our heads together and came up with a game plan. That brought our car to life in the Dash and we were really ripping around there.
How was your confidence level knowing you were starting on the pole?
Going in, we knew we had been in that situation before at Lakeside. We had been fast all night long, and got beat on a double-file…I stuck it in the fence one night…We could never really seal the deal.
How did the car feel in the feature?
What helped us in the Dash hurt us in the feature. We were a little too tight really. For the first six or ten laps, I was trying not to crash more than anything. Then Kerry (Madsen) went by us and took off in his own zip code. Without him having some bad luck, we wouldn’t be talking about a win at all. We’ve lost some that way, so we didn’t mind winning that way either.
The caution came out for Kerry and his flat tire. What were you thinking at that point?
We knew we had to make ten solid laps and get going on the double-file restart. We navigated through traffic as best we could, and to be able to win there was great.
I know it meant a lot to you to win close to home.
Our other (WoO) wins were in Charlotte and two in Arizona, so really, we just celebrated amongst the team. It was great to win close to home with our family, friends and partners. With FVP being the presenting sponsor, we couldn’t have asked for anything better. It was awesome.
You have to feel good about finishing things up in Charlotte.
The season has been great. We’ve won with every sanction we’ve run with, so that is something that not many can say. We’re looking to go down to Charlotte next week and get two strong finishes.
You had your helmet stolen from your trailer during the A main, but you had it back in no time thanks to the fans.
I want to thank everybody that helped us. Social media really helped get the word out, and in 24 hours we had the helmet back. It shows how tight-knit the racing family is. When things affect the racing community, everyone pulls together no matter who your favorite driver is or who you cheer for.
- administrator on Oct 25, 2017
- Article Date: 10/24/2017