(Jason McConnell Photo)
(Bill W) September 26, 2017 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team continued their PA tour last weekend with a trio of shows. On Thursday, Brian was leading when he suffered a flat tire in his first trip to Susquehanna Speedway near Newberrytown. Friday, he posted his best finish ever at Williams Grove Speedway near Mechanicsburg when he checkered fourth. In Saturday’s Kasey Kahne Dirt Classic at Lincoln Speedway near Abbottstown, he would finish twelfth. This weekend, the three-day Williams Grove National Open will occupy the schedule for the Grain Valley, Missouri driver.
You’re still going strong in PA.
It has been tremendous. We’ve been racing well, but I can’t say enough about the fan support here. They are coming out to the races, thanking us for coming…they’re just great. And it’s great to be out here with our engine builder, Charlie Garrett.
You made your first ever trip to Susquehanna on Thursday.
We just didn’t unload very well. Sometimes when I’m involved with the setups, I can give bad input. I was wrong on that one. We made the changes we needed to for qualifying to lay down quick time. That was awesome. Seeing these tracks for the first time can be tough. We’ve had some success the last two or three weeks adapting to them even if we’re not great hot-lapping.
That meant you started fourth in the heat.
It was important to stay in position in the heat and we did that (finishing fourth). In the Dash, we started sixth, and my goal was to pick up a couple of spots. We were able to get up to second and put ourselves on the front row. It changed our mindset in that we thought we could win the feature.
You were definitely set up to win your third in a row.
Chad, Michael and Dad did a phenomenal job. We took off in the feature. I knew (Brian) Montieth was going to be tough, and Danny Dietrich had won some there in the past. We were able to get out there in the lead and I felt as good as I had all night. On lap seven or lap eight, I could feel something wasn’t right. The car was getting tighter and tighter and finally on lap 11, the right rear blew. It was definitely disappointing, because we definitely wanted those three wins in a row. I was able to watch the rest of the race and Danny was good at the end. I feel without the tire, if we didn’t win, we definitely would have contended for a podium finish.
Friday brought Williams Grove, a track you’ve had some laps on.
We didn’t qualify as well as we’d hoped (seventh quick). I think we have our finger on that. I’ve never felt as good as I did in the heat race Friday. I felt we were good enough to contend. We went from third to second, and we were all over TJ (Stutts) for the win.
You started on the pole of the Dash.
The place gets so wide. There are four or five different options for the entry to the corner. You can hit the cushion, float the center or hit the bottom. It’s a lot to take in at 140 miles per hour. I felt like I was caught searching around in the Dash. Greg (Hodnett) got by us and we finished second.
How did you feel heading into the feature?
Pushing off, we felt we made the changes we needed to make us better. We ended up going just a little too far and we were a bit tight. We couldn’t rotate the corner like we needed to. We rode in third behind Lance (Dewease) and Greg. I didn’t feel like we were out of it. We were right there with them, but as traffic came into play, I got tighter and that put us out of contention. Lucas (Wolfe) was able to get by us and we ended up fourth. We were beat by some of PA’s top drivers and we had some good notes. Wherever we ran, it was good for this upcoming weekend. We got some good notes and we feel like we can contend going in.
The biggest paying race of the weekend was Saturday’s Dirt Classic at Lincoln.
Out of all the tracks, if I looked at my calendar…Lincoln would be the one that I would circle to say I would probably struggle the worst. If you stuck it in the Midwest, it wouldn’t be my style of track. With it being in Pennsylvania where those guys have tons of laps, it makes it worse.
Despite that, you came out and were timing in the top ten right away.
I felt good to be honest. We were right there on track hot-lapping, and then when we went to qualify, we were close. It was cool to win a heat there. We got by Jimmy Siegel and went on to win that. We felt good at that point. It helped our confidence.
Track conditions changed a lot during the feature.
We were a little tighter in the second heat than we wanted to be. We made a change for the feature, and the track slicked off. We just went too far and we were too free in the A main. We were running eighth and I felt we were good enough to run sixth or so. They had a restart and I missed the bottom and got passed by a couple guys. On the next restart, I tried to slide TJ and I got over the cushion. We lost more spots there and ended up twelfth. I feel if I did my job on the restarts, we could have finished sixth to eighth. If that’s the worst finish we have in the PA month of money, we’ll be fine. It’s been great so far!
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
On May 14, 2004, Brian drove for Tim and Gina Doogs for the first time. Even though he was still employed in the Casey’s General Stores #6 on the World of Outlaws tour, he found time to come back and win in Sedalia for the Doogs. He topped Steve Gennetten, Bobby Hawks, Tommy Mikels and Randy Martin and the rest of the Winged Outlaw Warriors field that night.
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 – 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 aUnti-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 – Schoenfeld Headers
Brian says – “Doug Schoenfeld and all the guys down there have the most used product on every race car, because they’ve been the most reliable. They’ve been around a long time, and we’re proud to wear their decal and run their product.”
Founded in 1974, Schoenfeld Headers is the largest circle track header manufacturer in the world. At Schoenfeld Headers, they listen to you, the customer, understanding your needs and giving you a quality product at a fair price. Check out their catalog at www.SchoenfeldHeaders.com today!
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: (Jason McConnell Photo)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
Twitter: @BillWMedia
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Website: www.OpenWheel101.com