Brian in Victory Lane at the Capitani Classic with members of Weld Racing (DB3 Imaging)
(Bill W) August 15, 2017 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team put together an outstanding two weeks of racing and they were rewarded with the 2017 Jesse Hockett “Mr. Sprint Car” Award. Highlights of the week included winning the Capitani Classic, finishing second in the 360 Nationals, and running sixth in the Knoxville Nationals Saturday night.
You had a strong week, and it culminated with the Knoxville Nationals Saturday. How did you feel heading into that?
First, it was great to be back into the show. We had run second three years in a row, and then we ran sixth. Last year, we were in the C main. You have to earn it every year. Talking with the team, we felt starting fifth, we felt we had a good opportunity to drive up through there and contend for the win.
How did the first half of the race go?
Our starts and restarts are usually our strong suit. But I think in 50 laps, I got passed by one car on open racetrack. Otherwise, I lost ten to twelve spots on starts and restarts. We were able to get through one and two o.k. on the start, but Brad (Sweet) kind of slid up in three and four and I had to get off the gas, and got over the cushion. Coming to the line on lap one, I was running ninth.
The car was fast though and you made your way back forward.
We dug ourselves forward car by car, and we were able to get back up to fourth. We felt we had as good a racecar as anyone. We were able to run the leaders back down. We just wanted to get to the break and make some minor adjustments. We had a restart though, and I didn’t get going very well. I didn’t choose the right line, and Kyle (Larson) got a good run behind me. I made a quick decision and took a bad angle to the cushion. I did everything I could to keep from flipping. We ended up back in eighth, so everything I’d worked for, for that 22 laps was gone in 20 feet.
You were seventh at the halfway point.
I was frustrated with myself at that point. We were able to go from seventh to fifth. We were right on Shane (Stewart) most of the second half. We just weren’t able to make a good enough run on him. We caught up to (lapped) Trey Starks at the end. Shane kind of slowed down, and I slowed my momentum down. Brad snuck by us both and we ended up sixth. It would have been nice to have had another top five at the Nationals, but no one remembers who ran fifth anyway.
You had to be happy with your runs this week.
I couldn’t be more proud of my crew chief Chad (Morgan), Michael, Jordan, my Dad, Snook (Glenn Wignal), my grandpa (George Lasoski)…Bob Myers was down with us on Saturday night. We had all of our partners there supporting us. Hi-Line Trucking of Newton, Iowa and ESN came on board for the week. What can you say about our fans? They’re the ones who keep you pumped up all week! It wasn’t the end result we wanted, but it was a good week. Congratulations to Donny (Schatz). We are watching history with him right now. Hopefully, we can win one of our own one day.
Your family was there as well.
It was awesome to have (wife) Heather, (daughter) Mikayla, Heather’s parents and my parents, my grandpa George was able to come up for a couple days, my sister and my niece all there. That was huge for me. It was as important to have them there as winning anything. We also had some sadness. We lost a very good friend of our race team, John Simmons. We were able to meet him about four or five years ago. He became a huge friend, and he lost his battle with cancer on Friday. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. He’ll be missed big time by our race team.
I know FVP had a strong presence there as well as their new product, Stay Tuned.
There were around 500 FVP employees and customers there to five us a good send off on Saturday. That always gives you a great boost before we head out to the track. I want to thank each and every one of them for their support!
You won the Jesse Hockett Mr. Sprint Car in 2014 as well. What does it mean to you?
That award has quite a bit of meaning to me above and beyond the results. Winning something in Jesse’s honor after we raced so hard at a young age is something I’ll treasure forever.
You also won the Weld Racing Capitani Classic, which is held in honor of a great man.
To win the Capitani Classic is up there on my list. Ralph was hard on me, and then would pat me on the back and tell me I did a good job when things went right. I didn’t really know what my plan was on the start. We started eighth and they kind of left the top open for me, and away we went. Greg’s (Hodnett) a heck of a racecar driver and they’ve been running well all week long. Kerry (Madsen)…we know what we get with their team. We got lucky enough to beat them, and it’s really special. To have a great partner like we do with Weld Wheels sponsoring the race…that made it all the more special
You charged from 12th to run second in the 360 Nationals.
Clint (Garner) has been coming here a lot of years. He has a true sprint car family. His brother, his Dad…I’m envious of him. That’s what racing’s all about. If I can’t win it, I’m glad he was able to. He should have won it three times by now. It was a great effort by our team. I was hoping for one more yellow. Twelfth to second is nothing to hang our head about.
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
Brian’s Bits
Brian has now made nine championship events at the Knoxville Nationals. He had a run of three second place finishes from 2012-2014, and also has two sixth place finishes and a seventh.
About Casey’s General Stores
Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating over 1,900 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 4th 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 – Weld Wheels
Weld ®. The word is virtually synonymous with racing wheels. Their heritage is unmatched; their product is the choice of champions in most forms of motorsports. Founded in 1968 by Greg Weld out of the pure love of racing, the company has undergone many changes over the last forty years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that the product is still designed and manufactured in Kansas City, USA. In November 2008, the heritage and future became one, as Weld Racing, LLC was formed by current Weld management and Granite Creek Partners, LLC, to place ownership and leadership of the company back in the hands of racers. Visit them at www.WeldRacing.com!
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, Wormall Civil, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps/ impact4800.com, Champion Brands, Weld Wheels, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, MSD ignition, MC Power, Housby, Searsboro Telephone Company, Next LED Sports, Hope for the Warriors, Factory Kahne Shocks, Arctic Cat, Lincoln Electric, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, ATL 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, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance, Cometic Gaskets, Shell Shock, Donovan, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Racing Optics, 5-hour ENERGY, Hoosier Tires, NGK Spark Plugs, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, 6B Apparel, Garrett Racing Engines, and Fortress Wealth Management for all their support!
Photo: Brian in Victory Lane at the Capitani Classic with members of Weld Racing (DB3 Imaging)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
Twitter: @BillWMedia
e-mail: sprntcar@hotmail.com
Website: www.OpenWheel101.com