Brian Brown – Deuces Wild!
(Bill W) May 14, 2012 – Second was the name of the game for Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 race team Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway. Not only were they second quickest in qualifying, they added second place finishes in both their heat and the feature. They will try to improve one spot this week at Knoxville as they seek their first win of the year there.
With 25 410’s in the field Saturday, Brian came out second to last in the order. “At Knoxville, unless you are running for points, the only time you want quick time is at the Nationals or when the Outlaws are there,” he says. “The way the format is, you are inverted in the feature. You’d like to be sixth quick. It is quick to slow down though.”
Still, it is good practice for August’s Nationals. “Our Charlie Garrett Motor ran really well,” says Brian. “We almost got quick time, but didn’t quite get it. It’s good to know you can go out nearly last and lay a good lap down.”
Brian got a break when Dusty Zomer didn’t start the heat on the front row. Starting fourth, he followed Lynton Jeffrey to the checkers. “At that point, you just want to get some good laps in,” he says. “You’ve got one tire, and you have to take care of them and not overdrive them. I felt like we used them too much at the Outlaw show and that cost us. Lynton did a good job and it was good to see him get a win.”
The Grain Valley, Missouri driver started seventh in the main event. “On the first lap, Ian Madsen took our line a bit,” says Brian. “I missed the bottom in one and two and slid up into the middle. I think at one time, I was running ninth or tenth. We did get going, and got rolling on the bottom of three and four. We were able to get by some cars there.”
Moving towards the front, Brian came upon a great battle for the top five positions. “We got up to (Bronson) Maeschen, Lynton Jeffrey and Terry (McCarl),” he says. “(Leader) Davey (Heskin) was right there too. With the racing that was going on, I don’t know how the fans wouldn’t love it. That’s the best marketing tool that Knoxville Raceway could ever have for a fan to come back.”
Brian would find his way to second. “I got to them, and I felt if I made the right decisions, I could win,” he says. “I was able to sneak up on Terry and Lynton without them knowing I was coming. I was able to get by them, but then I made a mistake and let Terry get me back. I was able to get back by him, and at that point, I found a little bit of rubber.”
Heskin was in his sights, but he would settle for the runner-up finish. “At that point, I thought I could sneak up on Davey,” says Brian. “I got there, but made a little mistake, and then a couple laps later, the red came out. He did what he needed to do to stay out front. It’s hard to believe that he hasn’t won in a couple of years, because he has a strong team. He runs the same motor we do, so it was great to see Charlie Garrett finish first and second at Knoxville.”
Every night at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” gives the team the information they need for August. “Overall, I think we’re where we need to be at Knoxville,” says Brian, who led twelve laps at the Outlaw show in April. “It was a different car from the Outlaw show. We’ve put that one away for the Nationals. We’re going to bring a third car out (Saturday) to try and find something we can be competitive with every week. These Goodyear tires make you do some different things, and we’re trying to figure that out.”
Category: Brian Brown, Driver Updates, Iowa, News
