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(Bill W) April 11, 2011 – Brian Brown and the FVP #21 racing team recorded yet another victory at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska last Saturday night. The win against a stout group of sprint cars assembled for an ASCS-Midwest tilt was worth $3,000. This weekend, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver will take on the World of Outlaws in Paducah, Kentucky and Pevely, Missouri.
Mud greeted racers in Friday’s prelim. A heavy racing surface was on tap, but a good start from outside row three got Brian into second. An exciting last lap pass after battling with Logan Forler gave him the win. “After they had the rain they had on Thursday, the track was pretty narrow,” says Brian. “We were able to get from sixth to second on the first lap, and that put us in good position. I was able to race with Logan for the last four or five laps, and we were able to make the pass for the win on the final lap.”
The win put Brian in the redraw and he would start inside row three. “The heat was a good momentum builder,” he says. “We knew the feature would be tough from row three. There were good cars all around us. The track was probably as rough a half-mile as I’ve been on. Three and four had some holes you didn’t want to get close to, and turn two was nasty on the exit.”
Still, he surged to the front to challenge leader, Seth Bergman. In the end, Bergman pulled away in clean air and Brian finished second. “We were able to get a good start,” he says. “We got to third and eventually second. Seth was setting a really good pace out in clean air. His car was a little faster. Once we got to traffic on lap eight or nine, I think we had something for him. Unfortunately, the yellow came out, and he was back in clean air. That was all she wrote. He did a great job.”
The heat draw in Saturday’s finale saw Brian start outside row one. He pulled away and led from green to checker on a much different track than Friday. “I wouldn’t have minded starting in the back on Saturday,” he says. “That track was racy, and a guy could pass from back there. Starting beside Jack Dover in row one could have been a bad thing if we didn’t win the heat. We were able to beat him to turn one and from there we had a really good car.”
As the track got drier, strategies were playing out pitside. Brian would post outside of row two for the 25-lapper. “We tried to keep up on the track changes,” he says. “The key was getting a good start. Again, there was a bunch of good cars around us. I needed to get going quick, and we were able to get up to second.”
A duel for the lead ensued with Don Droud Jr. for several laps. “Don was running a great race,” says Brian. “I think we had our car a little tighter than the others, but once our fuel load ran off, we really took off. I was able to get by him, but he drove back by me with a good run. Racing with him gave me the chance to drive across turn four and catch the fast exit on the high side. I don’t know if I would have found that running by myself.”
Once out front, Brian pulled away, but two late cautions slowed things. “We were getting through traffic pretty well, and those yellows were the last thing we wanted to see…especially on the white flag lap,” he says. “I looked at the scoreboard and saw Wayne (Johnson) was second. I knew he had started pretty far back. We were able to hold him off.”
Several representatives of the FVP racing team were on hand. “Having Don Long, Scott Ritchhart and all our great marketing partners there was a bonus,” says Brian. “It’s always great to win, and the guys all worked hard. To get a first and a second was a great weekend for the whole FVP team.”
Brian will tow to Paducah International Raceway on Friday to run with the World of Outlaws before heading up to the I-55 Raceway in Pevely on Saturday.
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