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Brian Brown- Lakeside Win Part of Seven Straight Podium Runs!

The Brian Brown Racing Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team continued their hot streak over three events last weekend. On Thursday, the Grain Valley, Missouri driver picked up his first win at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. He also finished second both Friday at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska with the NSL, and at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa Saturday. Since returning from the west coast with the World of Outlaws, Brian has recorded ten top fives and eight podium finishes (seven straight) in ten starts.

You started well at Lakeside on Friday, driving from fourth to second in the heat.

We started off well. In my opinion, we had the toughest heat of the night. We had good drivers in front of us, and good drivers behind us. We were able to get by Seth (Bergman) there in the beginning. We were able to run down (Kyle) Bellm, we just couldn’t get by him. It was barely enough to get us in that redraw.

The eighth spot in the redraw meant you had to take what was left, which worked out as a spot outside row one.

That was good knowing the type of field we had. We had to get going. Blake (Hahn) did a good job of getting out there and setting a really good pace. The cushion was pretty close to the wall.

The feature was 30 laps. How hard can you run early in the race?

With the track being slick in spots, you want to run as hard as you can to stay in contention and not run the tires off it. We got into traffic, and here came (Aaron) Reutzel. I knew at that point, I needed to get up on the wheel and try to make something happen. We were able to get back by him.

There was a caution close to the halfway point, and you took a shot at the leader.

On the restart, we tried to make something happen and came up short. We settled back in and got in line. I was fortunate enough to get a good run a little later in turn four and change my angle. We were able to get the lead and go ahead and win. Blake did a phenomenal job. There’s nothing he did wrong, it was just a case of me getting a good run and making something with it. He’s come a long way. He’s going to be a good racer.

Although you’ve been close, that was your first win at Lakeside.

It was nice to win in front of so many friends and family. We had Weld Wheels on our nose wing that night. They’ve been with me since day one. It was good to have them in Victory Lane with us. A lot of people on our car, Ditzfeld Transfer, Champion Oil, Impact, MC Power, Rockwell Security and others don’t get to see us race as often. When we’re that close to home, it’s nice to see them there and get them a win.

The Dirt Classic Qualifier was up next for you on Friday.

I’m thankful that I-80 Speedway and the Durst family were a part of that race. It was a different format. We weren’t really happy with fifth quick, but we were content with it after not unloading really well. We went on to win our first heat from the front row, which was really important.

The second round of heats were a complete invert and you started in row three. What was your game plan?

We felt like we needed to run first or second in that one, and we had a good start. It worked out where the guys were on a different part of the track than us and we were able to move up and get the win.

That gave you high points for the night and put you on the pole for the feature.

There weren’t fifty cars there, but the ones that were there were really stout. It was really important to start up front. We were able to get going and lead the first couple of laps. But I felt mediocre, and Terry (McCarl) passed us. He was definitely the class of the field.

You seemed to struggle in the middle stages before winning some battles and getting back through there.

I got to where I was searching around and I was back in fifth at one point. I was still not sure where I needed to be on the track. We had a red and I was able to gain my composure back and kind of figure out what I needed to do after a quick chat with (crew chief) Chad (Morgan). We were able to get back up to second in a really great race with (Craig) Dollansky and (Dale) Blaney. By the end of the night, maybe we didn’t have a second place car, but we were excited to get a second place finish out of it. Sometimes it happens that way.

You were quick to start the night on Saturday.

We went out hot-lapping and we ran at 14.5 (a tenth off the track record). We ended up second quick in time trials after going out late. That’s a testament to our motor builder, Charlie Garrett.

You are thinking about the Nationals when you run your heat, aren’t you?

We look at the heats wanting to go from sixth and win them. That’s what you need to do at the Knoxville Nationals. It’s not good enough to start sixth and run sixth. We had a tough heat Saturday and made it to third. We felt we were in contention for a good finish after that.

You started inside the second row with Danny Lasoski on the pole. What were you thinking heading into the feature?

I knew it was going to be tough with Danny on the front. There were a lot of good cars behind us. It was narrow, and I knew we had to get going. We made a good first corner and we were able to get by Ian (Madsen).

You ran the first six or eight laps side by side with Danny for the lead.

It was really fun, and it had to be for the fans too. He was making some nice laps on the bottom. We were o.k. on the top, but there were a couple times I just needed to be better to get past him. To stay with him when we weren’t perfect was a good sign for us. Then we got in traffic, and one wrong move can cost you. I got tight a couple times and let Terry get by us.

What were your thoughts running third?

I thought my chance to win the race might be over. We had a yellow with a couple to go, and my thinking was we needed to be second. We got a good restart and got back to second. We made up a little ground on Danny, but we had to settle for second. When I look back at it, to run that many laps beside Danny and then battle Terry…I think about how many races those guys have won at Knoxville. When you think of Knoxville, you think of them. That was cool to be in that position.

This podium run has been incredible for your team!

It’s a testament to Chad Morgan, Michael Williams and Wyatt Burks, and how hard they’re working. As hard as they’re working, we should be winning every night. This is the best team I’ve had around me. It shows when you put stats out like we have. Where we’re running, the wins will come. Everyone is working together, and we’re set up for a very good year.

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