12/8/2014
Sprint Source
Brian Brown – 2014 in Review – Part 3 of 3!
(Bill W) December 8, 2014 – Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team capped off their 2014 season with some big wins. Wins included the Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway, a preliminary night at the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the capper, his first World of Outlaws win at the World Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Grain Valley, Missouri driver looks back on the season following the Knoxville Nationals.
Labor Day weekend saw you win $4,000 for the second year in a row at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri.
Unfortunately, with all the rain, the track at the Jackson Nationals (in Minnesota) just wasn’t what we had hoped for. Where you started was where you finished. We had the long tow from Jackson to Moberly on Sunday, and to win that was great. I think we started 13th or 15th and to drive by (Jonathan) Cornell and Jason Johnson at an awesome facility on an awesome racetrack like that, was huge for us. It was our second year in a row winning that show. The Claypoole’s do an excellent job with that facility, and we’re looking forward to going there with the NSL next year.
The very next weekend, you won with the MOWA series at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa.
Anytime you go race with the MOWA series, you have your work cut out for you. To win at a great facility like Burlington, it’s always special. I’m looking forward to racing there with the NSL this year too.
The next night, you towed to Eagle Raceway and won the Nebraska Cup at a track you’ve never really been strong at.
If you sit down at the beginning of the year and say, ‘These are the ten events I want to win’…the Nebraska Cup is one of them. It’s a place that I haven’t been really great at. I usually have quite a bit of input on what we do with the car, but that night I just told (crew chief) Chad (Morgan) to go for it. He was able to get the job done as always and we were able to win that thing for the first time.
In October, you won your prelim at the Short Track Nationals.
Little Rock is an event you want to win as well. We really kind of stole one on the preliminary night. We had a car that was going to run third to fifth. There were a couple of guys who had trouble in front of us. Then there were a couple of guys who didn’t know the track was coming in on the top. We were able to get it going, and went from third to first on a green, white, checker finish, winning by a half a tire length. That was special. We felt a little like Jesse James when we stole that one.
Everything lined up for you for winning the big finale there, but unfortunately, it didn’t’ end up that way.
We were able to win the Dash and start on the pole. We took off in the feature and I really felt like our car was phenomenal. We got through traffic pretty well and built a big lead. We had a red with about fifteen laps down. I either had a tire down a bit, or just got in the corner wrong, but we had a bad restart and lost three or four spots. We were able to get back to third. It was a real different feeling in 24 hours. We stole one the first night, and we felt like we had one taken from us in the finale. It wasn’t a good drive home knowing that you let probably the second biggest 360 win in the country slip through your fingers.
There’s no doubt your win at the World Finals in Charlotte made up for the disappointment!
It’s no secret that we’ve given a few of them away (World of Outlaws features) the last few years. I think we have twelve seconds with the Outlaws or something along those lines. To be able to finally put a whole feature together…especially after losing the lead with three or four to go and getting it back from Daryn (Pittman) there…other than winning the Knoxville Nationals or an Outlaw show at Knoxville, you couldn’t pick a better event to do it at than the World Finals.
“The King” Steve Kinser even gave you his helmet after the race.
That topped it all off. When one of your heroes gives you his helmet from that night. I told my wife, Heather, that if we stopped at Casey’s and played the lottery on the way home, we’d probably win it. It was an awesome night. It was a testament to my crew chief, Chad Morgan, who’s been through all of the heartbreak we’ve had with the Outlaws. It would have been easy for him to get down on me, but he always has had such a positive outlook.
I know it was special to have so many of your fellow drivers congratulate you afterwards as well.
When you have your peers come by to congratulate you…the money will be gone, the trophy will be in the corner, but those are the memories you’ll never forget.
When you look back on 2014, what will you remember?
I think we’re prouder of 2014 than any year we’ve had. We’ve had more wins some years, but we haven’t had the ups and downs that we had this year. To win the Jackson Spring Nationals, the Front Row Challenge, the 360 Nationals, the preliminary night of the Knoxville Nationals, the Nebraska Cup, the preliminary night of the Short Track Nationals and to end up with the win at Charlotte…those are career wins. It’s probably my best year ever, I’d have to say. You don’t really think about those wins, until now when you’re talking about them really.
I know you are very thankful for what you have under the hood!
It doesn’t happen without great engines. Charlie Garrett and Jaymie Moyle’s engines that are supplied by Don Long…not one engine failure all year long. That’s unheard of and a testament to the hard work those guys put in all year long. They are really a part of the team. When we win, they win. It’s hard to find engine builders who do everything in their power to help the team win, and we are very lucky to have those guys.
Your product partners are also part of the team.
All of our component partners are right there too. Maxim chassis, Weld Wheels, Vortex Wings, Schure Built Suspension, Pro Shocks, Rod End Supply, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions…all of our product sponsors who help us are the best. All it takes is one little hiccup and you don’t win a race. I want to thank all our partners for believing in us.
Most importantly, I know your family and team mean the most!
Chad Morgan and his fiance Barb, Zac Thomas and his family, my wife, Heather, my mom and stepdad, my dad and stepmom, my grandparents…they let us go out and do this for a living. It’s a sacrifice for us, but really more of a sacrifice for the women and the families. They could be doing things with us that don’t involve spending the night at the racetrack. Without our family, friends and fans, the wins wouldn’t nearly be as special. We want to thank all of them for being there for us. They are what this is all about!
Follow Brian on the Web, Twitter and Facebook!
Follow Brian at his website located at www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
Also keep up with FVP, Casey’s and Brian on Facebook and Twitter at the following links…
Twitter Links – @BrianBrown21, @FVPRacing, @CaseysGenStores
Facebook Links
Brian Brown Racing – www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Brown-Racing/200630163294222
Casey’s General Stores – www.facebook.com/pages/Caseys-General-Stores/112073528804354
FVP Racing - http://www.facebook.com/FVPRacing?ref=ts&fref=ts
Other Web site info
Casey's: www.caseys.com
FVP: www.fvpparts.com
Brown’s Bits
Brian had fourteen wins in 2014. Six came at the Knoxville Raceway. Two were in 360 competition, one being the 360 Nationals. Four were in 410 competition. One of those came in a Knoxville Nationals prelim. Other wins came at the Jackson (MN) Speedway Spring Nationals, with the JSTS in Sioux Center, Iowa, at the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa, Iowa, at the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Missouri, at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, in the Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway, in a prelim at the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas, and at Charlotte with the World of Outlaws.
15% off of Enco Tools Purchase!
Receive 15% off of your order with Enco Tools! Just go to www.UseEnco.com and use the coupon code “BBR21”!
About Casey’s General Stores
Casey’s General Stores is a Fortune-500 company (NASDAQ CASY) operating nearly 1700 convenience stores in 11 states through the Midwest. Known for its “Homemade-To-Go” pizza, sandwiches, donuts and bakery items, Casey’s strives to consistently deliver quality gas, fresh kitchen-prepared food, clean environments and friendly service at every retail location. Casey’s is currently the 12th largest c-store chain and sixth largest pizza chain in the United States.
About FVP
We are very excited to introduce our new line of automotive chemicals, oils and fluids to our product offering. These new products will be available at many retailers across the country. We continue to offer a full line of high quality oil, air, cabin air and fuel filters, plus a complete line of high quality batteries for multiple applications including cars, trucks, SUV’s, commercial and other specialty vehicles. All products are made to OE manufacturer fitment specifications. FVP products are engineered to provide our customers with quality products that are equal or superior in performance to the major national brands at a competitive price. To learn more about our FVP products or to find out where you can have FVP products installed in your vehicle, visit us at www.FVPparts.com! FVP…The Confident Solution
Marketing Partner of the Week – Weld Wheels
Weld ®. The word is virtually synonymous with racing wheels. Their heritage is unmatched; their product is the choice of champions in most forms of motorsports. Founded in 1968 by Greg Weld out of the pure love of racing, the company has undergone many changes over the last forty years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that the product is still designed and manufactured in Kansas City, USA. In November 2008, the heritage and future became one, as Weld Racing, LLC was formed by current Weld management and Granite Creek Partners, LLC, to place ownership and leadership of the company back in the hands of racers. Visit them at www.WeldRacing.com!
Associate Marketing Partner of the Week – RateWin.com
RateWin.com strives to bring you the best online auto insurance shopping experience possible. Unlike many other sites that promise the ability to compare quotes between multiple companies, but simply sell your information to telemarketers as a hot lead, RateWin.com gives you the ability to choose which of the major companies you wish to do business with.
The people behind RateWin.com have been in the online insurance marketplace for a number of years. Through that experience they have learned that for long term success, they have to ensure their visitors are satisfied with their experience - both while on the website and after. They firmly believe that by simply suggesting the companies offering car insurance in your area they allow visitors to have a degree of control over their private information that most other online auto insurance comparison sites simply can't offer.
Brian Brown Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, FVP, Searsboro Telephone Company, MC Power, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps / impact4800.com, Champion Brands, DNA Energy, Ditzfeld Transfer, Maxim Racing, Smiley’s Racing Products, Enco Tools, Weld Wheels, Housby Trucks, www.RateWin.com, Arctic Cat, K&N, www.hostiowa.net, FSR Race Products, TI64, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Bell Helmets, Hinchman, CP Pistons, Carrillo Rods, Vortex Wings, Penray, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Butler Built Seats, AkzoNobel, Kenny's Components, www.AllDayParts.com, Tru Square, Jack Links, Deli Express, Snap-On Tools, Rod End Supply, KSE Racing Products, Winters Performance, Cometic Gaskets, Shell Shock, Donovan, ISC Racers Tape, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Racing Optics, Mothers Wax, Hoosier Tires, Klein RV, XYZ Machining, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Red Devil Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers, Six-B Apparel, Bosch, Garrett Racing Engines, MSD, Moyle Racing Engines, Fortress Wealth Management, Legacy, Flexzilla and WSIB Insurance for all their support!
Article Credit: Bill Wright
