(Bill W) September 4, 2012 – Brian Brown – Victory in Hays!
Brian Brown – Victory in Hays!
(Bill W) September 4, 2012 – Brian Brown found Victory Lane at the RPM Speedway in Hays, Kansas on Friday night with NCRA to record his ninth win of the season. He followed it up with solid third place showings in two nights with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series at Dodge City Raceway Park. This weekend will find the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team in Grain Valley, Missouri, McCool Junction, Nebraska and Eagle, Nebraska.
Things started in Hays on Friday with a heat win from row three. “We haven’t run with NCRA much this year,” says Brian. “We were looking forward to three shows last weekend in western Kansas. It started off well with that heat win. It was as good as our car has felt in about a month.”
The Grain Valley, Missouri driver led every lap from the pole to take the win. “We were able to get out there in the lead,” says Brian. “There was a yellow about eight laps in. On the restart, Don Droud got beside us. We were able to hold the lead and win by about a straightaway. It was good to kick off the Holiday weekend with a win.”
It was on to Dodge City, Kansas Saturday. Brian would win his heat from the pole. “It seems every time we draw the front row of a heat there is someone stout beside us,” he says. “This time it was Wayne (Johnson). We were able to get in front of him, but he got beside us and kind of showed us we needed to be a little higher on the track.”
Brian drew the worst number for the feature, eighth. But he was able to race to the front with the leaders quickly. “We were able to get a good start and get to fourth pretty quick,” he says. “We were in third when the leader, Joe Wood Jr., got into an infield tire. I was able to slide in front of Jeff Swindell on the restart and lead for about a lap. He was able to get us back.”
He would checker third. “Our car was really good the first ten laps,” says Brian. “It was really too free the last 15 laps. We got passed by Logan Forler. It was good to get in the top four and get locked in. That’s what we wanted if we couldn’t get the win.”
Locked into Sunday’s finale, Brian would redraw fourth to start the main event. “I felt really good in hot laps,” he says. “We made a few changes. We knew it would lay rubber at some point in the 30 laps, we just didn’t know when. We were able to go from fourth to the lead, and I felt our car was really good.”
Once out front, Brian used the whole track. “We had a yellow and a red. (Crew chief) Chad (Morgan) was able to tell me under the red that we were looking pretty good,” he says. “Sometimes leading these races is not as fun as it sounds. I was running at a pretty good clip, and then I was searching around for a little bit.”
As it turned out, it was better to be running second. “I got into the back of Ricky Montgomery in traffic while I was on the bottom,” says Brian. “That allowed Jeff Swindell and Tony Bruce to get back by me. That one stung as much as any race the last couple of years. To be that good, and to give it away…you can’t do that. You have to win those. I didn’t do my job as a driver.”
A busy weekend lies ahead. “Chad Morgan and Chad Ely were working on the car this weekend, and they are working their butts off,” says Brian. “We’re looking forward to some extra people coming out at Grain Valley. Saturday we’re at McCool Junction, which is a track we like. Sunday we’ll be at the Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway. We haven’t had success there, but I think we’ve found some things with our cars the past couple months that will help us. We’re looking forward to going to Eagle this time.”
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, News
