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(Bill W) June 21, 2011 – The best stories in racing are those of overcoming adversity, and that was certainly the case for Brian Brown Saturday night at the Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. After losing a motor in his heat race, he stormed from the rear of the B, and then the rear of the A to take a late lead and bring the crowd to its feet. It was a fulfilling feeling for the FVP #21 team to say the least. This week, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver will compete in a 410 special at the Jackson Speedway in Minnesota and at the Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.
The original plans of doing some 410 racing last weekend were dashed by rain on Friday, and by a Plan B that found them in Wheatland Saturday racing with the ASCS-Warriors series. “We weren’t really sure we were even going to Wheatland, and then Impact Sign, Lighting & Wraps was the presenting sponsor,” says Brian. “They do a lot for our racecars with the graphics and the graphics on our trailer. They are not only great partners, but they are a great family and a good friend to us. We also had David from Champion Brands, Ron from Ditzfeld Transfer and Scott from Weld Wheels there.”
Things went south in a hurry in the heat race. “We drew a good spot in the heat, but on the first lap, the motor went sour on us,” says Brian. “That put us behind the 8-ball the rest of the night. Andy (Anderson), Joey and Austin Martin and Scott Mackie got in there and got the motor changed for the B.”
Starting towards the back of the B, Brian was able to charge to second and a transfer to the main event. “Starting 14th in the B can be tough,” he says. “But we were able to get up through there and get to second. Going into the A though, you’re starting far back and you don’t want to get caught in someone else’s mess.”
Brian would post outside of row nine for the feature. “We were able to get a good start,” he says. “With about six or eight laps to go, we were about four-wide for the lead there. We had a couple yellows late that benefited us.”
One of those yellows came with three laps to go, and Brian sitting second. “We got behind (leader) Brad Loyet,” he says. “We were able to get by him on the restart, but he got back by. We were able to counter his move and take it home for the win. It was a great feeling.”
The fans were also on the roller coaster ride that the FVP team was experiencing. “It didn’t start like we wanted, but it couldn’t have ended any better,” says Brian. “They were cheering when we blew and they were cheering when we came from the back to win it! That is all understandable. No driver is going to be the favorite of every fan. At the end of the night, if they didn’t enjoy that race…they aren’t a sprint car fan! Hopefully, they’ll pack that place for the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial in September!”
A Friday night rainout with the Monster series in Granite City caused a change of plans. The ASCS-Midwest/Warriors event at US36 Raceway near Cameron, Missouri was the best option. “Cameron hasn’t been my favorite track over the years, but Mike Franks did a good job with the track on Friday,” says Brian. “We started fifth in our heat, but we messed up and had to restart at the tail. We were able to come back to fourth and sneak into the A main.”
Starting 13th in the feature, Brian charged into the top ten before pulling off late in the event. “The way the track is, even if it slicks off a bit, it’s tough to pass,” he says of the high-banked ¼-mile. “When Danny (Lasoski) and I are racing for ninth with (Jonathan) Cornell and Loyet, you know it’s a tough night. Some of the guys were acting like they were racing for a million bucks, and I wasn’t going to wad it up.” Brian is excited to get back to Jackson Speedway where he has a number of fans in Minnesota that he only gets to race in front of a couple times a year. The feature will pay $12,000 to the winner. “Tod Quiring and Big Game Treestands are giving us a great opportunity at Jackson,” says Brian. “We all need to show our appreciation by packing the place Friday night…both drivers and fans
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