(Bill W) July 6, 2011 – Brian Brown struck victory lane for the third time this season, and tenth time in his career at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska last Friday night. The FVP #21 team also mixed in a strong second place run in McCool Junction, and a strong run at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday until they lost a motor. This weekend, they plan to head north for a pair of shows with the World of Outlaws.
Starting third in his heat race at I-80 on Friday, Brian was able to get the win. “Our heat was tough with Jack (Dover) on the front row and Wayne (Johnson) beside us,” he says. “We fell back a little bit, but we were able to come back and win it. That gave us a good feeling going ahead with the cars we had in there.”
The Grain Valley, Missouri driver has been lucky with the redraw and started outside row one. That didn’t make the win easy, as there was plenty of competition around him. “We had a good draw, but Wayne was right there and he’s been fast all year,” says Brian. “Billy (Alley) was right behind us, and he was running really well again last weekend. We had a lot of good cars around us.”
After falling back, Brian found a line on the high side to get by the leaders on lap twelve. “We weren’t that great the first six or eight laps,” he admits. “We were tight, but I knew the track was getting better, and we needed to stay in contention. We were back to fourth at one time, but once our car came in, we were able to get to the front pretty quickly.”
He would win the ASCS-Midwest sanctioned show going away. “It was really good,” says Brian. “We love going to I-80. Searsboro Telephone Company gives us a great motor. That was an Ostrich on Friday, so it’s nice to be back in Victory Lane with Lee Nelson, and of course, the Maxim was working well too. So were the Hoosier Tires, Weld Wheels and Vortex Wings.”
The previous night, the team ran at the Junction Motor Speedway near McCool Junction, Nebraska. Brian was able to start up front in the heat and hold back a couple of familiar drivers. “With Jack Dover beside me and Wayne behind us, we had a tough heat,” he says. “We were good enough to win that, so that was good. Unfortunately, the redraw didn’t go as planned, but we’ve had some luck with that this year too.”
The luck ran out as far as the redraw went, with Brian drawing the eight pill. “Obviously, with Chad (Humston), Danny (Lasoski) and Shane Stewart in the redraw, we had our work cut out for us,” he says about his chances of winning. “We got a good start, and we were able to get up to fourth pretty quickly.”
Humston was setting a good pace out front, however, and Brian managed a strong second place finish after moving forward six spots. “We finally got by Danny with about four to go, and Chad was a half a straightaway ahead of us,” he says. “With a couple more laps, maybe we could have had a shot, but it wasn’t meant to be. Mark (Burch), Chad, Marvin (Brees) and all those guys do a great job. They are friends, so if you’re going to lose, you want it to be to some friends.”
It was time to put the 410 in on Saturday at Knoxville, and Brian timed in eighth. “We didn’t qualify as well as we wanted, but it was leaps and bounds better than the Outlaw show,” he says. “I felt we left a little on the table there.”
After a dominating performance saw him win his heat from the sixth spot, Brian lined up inside row four for the 20-lap feature. “I felt we had the car to beat,” he says. “We were able to get to fourth, and as I was passing Kevin Swindell for third, the engine let go. I felt we had a good shot to win, but it wasn’t meant to be. I look forward to getting back to Knoxville in a couple of weeks.”
The FVP team is looking at a pair of WoO shows this weekend. “We’ll look at the weather, but we’re leaning towards Cedar Lake on Friday, and Beaver Dam on Saturday with the Outlaws,” says Brian. “The following weekend we’ll be at ELKO Speedway with the IRA.”
Brian looks forward to meeting, greeting and thanking a lot of FVP employees and customers in the Upper Midwest. “We have a lot of great FVP people in the Beaver Dam area, and I’m excited to get to race in front of them and thank them for what they do,” he says. “They sell a lot of batteries, air, oil and fuel filters. The following weekend, I think we have around three open houses in the Minneapolis area for our FVP locations. ELKO is only about 25 minutes from the corporate headquarters in Eagan.”
Follow Brian and FVP Racing on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube!
The FVP marketing team has launched a Twitter page, a Facebook page (including Brian’s GoPro In-car camera videos and FVP Racing Report), and a Youtube page (make sure to subscribe to all!) to keep up to date with Brian and FVP racing! You can become a fan and follow along by clicking on the links below:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fvpracing
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2rakgn
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=fvpracing
Web site
For up to date information on Brian Brown, visit www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
T-shirts
To purchase Brian’s new t-shirts, visit www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
Brian's Q&A
Brandon Elliott asks: What do you typically do during an open red situation?
Brian answers: We normally don’t do too much. You usually add more fuel, and maybe make some air pressure situations, or possibly some weight. Every so often, you need to change a gear, but normally, your setup is close and you’re adding fuel and air pressure.
Got a question for Brian? Send it to us at sprntcar@iowatelecom.net, and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for Brian" in your subject line.
Brown's Bits
In ninteen career features at I-80 Speedway, Brian has won ten times, including three wins this year: one in April, one in May and one in July.
FVP
We 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. Visit us on the web at www.FVPparts.com!
SPLASH
Whether it’s keeping your windshield clean or free of ice, protecting your RV, boat or pool from freezing in the winter, or your sidewalk safe to walk on, SPLASH Products are what you need! Check out our new SPLASH website at www.SPLASHWash.com!
Marketing Partner of the Week – Maxim Racing
Brian says, “Chuck and Karen Merrill are not only great people, but they put everything into putting the best car out on the market. I’ve always been a supporter of theirs, and with Brian Brown Racing, you’ll always see their chassis.”
Brian has been partnering with Maxim since 2003. After years of success as a car owner, Chuck Merrill started his chassis business in a rented three-bay garage in November of 1988. The first car was driven by Johnny Herrera at the Florida All Stars Sprint Week in February of 1989. By June of that year, Maxim moved into a 7,000 square foot facility. By 2001, Maxim had grown substantially producing 304 chassis that year. In 2002, Maxim moved to its present 12,500 square foot location in Springfield, Illinois. Maxim continues to offer their customers unmatched service and support, and currently has 17 quality employees, and builds over 400 chassis on an annual basis. Their world-famous “K-car” was designed for Steve Kinser, and has won ten Knoxville Nationals titles and fourteen World of Outlaws championships! To top it all, Maxim offers a warranty if you are not completely satisfied with your car. For more information on Maxim, visit www.racemaxims.com!Generation and Housby Motorsports. Visit www.Housby.com for more information!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – Brown & Miller Racing Solutions
Brian says – “We feel John Harper and the folks at Brown and Miller have the lightest weight, strongest, best looking lines out there. We use them for all our fuel, wing and motor lines. We've had no issues at all, and we've been using them since 2008."
Brown & Miller’s lightweight range of hose satisfies virtually every racing application and their fittings are designed for safety, reliability and optimum weight saving. With an industry standard ProGold convoluted hose system, Smoothbore hose and Adaptor ranges, they have the complete system. To further complement these products, they can also provide custom engineered fittings designed to optimize hose installations where standard fittings may not be suitable. With outlets world wide, there is no excuse to settle for second best! At Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, they maintain the simple philosophy that when our parts are on your racecar, they are a part of your team. Visit them on the web at www.BMRS.net!
Brian would like to thank FVP, Searsboro Telephone Company, Impact Sign and Lighting, Champion Brands, SPLASH, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, My State Insurance Rates, Arctic Cat, K&N Filters, Hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Awesome Racewear, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, A1 Mortgage, Rockwell Security, Paul's Auto Body Supply, Engler Machine, Vortex Wings, Ostrich Racing Engines, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance Products, Santomauro Racing Products, Cometic Gaskets, Kaeding Performance, Donovan, Magtech, ISC Racers Tape, Racing Optics, Pro Shocks, Don's Truck Wash, Gardner Farms, Hoosier Tires, GoPro, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Peterson Fluid System, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, www.Impact4800.com and WSIB Insurance for all their help!
*Photo - Brian in Victory Lane at I-80 (Brandon Anderson Photography)