Track Schedules

Brian Brown – Fast, But No Win Yet! 

(Bill W) March 28, 2011 – Brian Brown and the FVP #21 team took their show on the road to the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas last weekend.  After an off-night on Friday, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver led fourteen laps of Saturday’s finale before getting passed on a restart and settling for fifth.  He will hit 81 Speedway near Wichita, Kansas this weekend with the NCRA seeking his first 2011 win, and will bring the second car along for young Justyn Cox to pilot.

Friday’s draw was good enough, setting Brian up in row two for his heat.  “We drew a good number and put ourselves in a good spot,” he says.  “We honestly weren’t that great in the heat race.  We got to second, and we were just trying to hold on.  Jason Johnson got us in the end, and that put us in the B.  It was my fault for not getting the car the way we needed it.”

With the pressure on to get to the front of the B main, driver error struck early and ended the night.  “Anytime you are putting yourself in the B, you are putting extra laps on the car and creating situations where things can happen,” says Brian.  “We started second row outside and the guy on the front row wasn’t taking off.  I tried a big move around the outside of one and two and got my right rear over the edge in two.”

From there, it would take drastic measures to get back to the front.  “It was my fault,” admits Brian.  “When I tried to come back on, it was kind of like merging on the freeway with no mirrors at 120 m.p.h.  I had to get back on, and unfortunately, my front end caught Dustin Morgan’s right rear.  It wasn’t his fault.  I was lucky the way it ended to be honest, and thank goodness for our Red Devil Brakes.”

The finale on Saturday went smoother, although the heat competition would be tough.  “We were behind Jeff Swindell, and we knew it would be tough the way he led (the feature) most of the way the night before,” says Brian.  “He got out to a good start.  Lanny (Edwards) prepared the track so we had a top and bottom, and we were able to run the bottom and stay even.  We were able to take advantage of a restart with two to go, and that was what we needed to win it.”

Some friends from home provided a draw that would see him start up front.  “Our setup was way different than Friday.  One of our good family friends, the Hines were down from Marshall, Missouri.  Their daughter Amy drew us the two, which was good.”

Brian settled into the feature at the outset and followed Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Danny Lasoski early.  “We knew it would probably lay rubber sooner or later,” he says.  “Normally, they would have reworked it, but they felt weather was in the area.  We started out by fading back to third.  A couple laps in, we had a restart and we were able to get by Danny and Sam for the lead.”

The defending Knoxville Raceway champion extended his lead.  “Our car was flawless,” he says.  “We were able to pick and choose through lapped traffic.  At one time, they said we had three lapped cars between second place and us.  When you have a rhythm like that, you don’t want to see a caution.”

But the cautions came, and on lap seventeen, Hafertepe found his way by.  “We actually had three or four in a row,” says Brian of the cautions.  “The guys in second and third had nothing to lose, and they took their shots.  I went to the bottom, and to exit well, I was slowing in the corners.  Danny went right beside me and blocked me a bit, and Sam was able to drive by us both.”

More momentum was lost when Brian got a good run on his uncle, but made contact.  In the end, he would checker fifth.  “It was a good night to be second or third on a restart instead of the lead,” he says.  “After the night we had the night before though, it was a great run for the FVP #21.  Hopefully, it’s something we can build on.  The bad thing is, we know we’ve had the fastest cars the last couple nights out.  Unfortunately, they don’t pay the fastest car, they pay the winner.”

He’ll try it again this Saturday night at 81 Speedway.  “We’re looking forward to it after running second to Mike Peters last Fall there,” says Brian.  “Justyn will also be there to open his season in our second car, the #21c.  Hopefully, he can get a top five, and we’ll get the win.”