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Brian Brown- Focus on Hockett/McMillin After Outlaw Weekend!

Three events with the World of Outlaws have Brian Brown and the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 team ready for this weekend’s Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri. Two of the WoO events last weekend were supported by FVP, and plenty of customers were in attendance in Calhan, Colorado and near Cameron, Missouri.

Things started for you on Wednesday at El Paso County Raceway in Calhan, Colorado.

It was a unique track. The shape of it was something we’d never seen. It’s a small track with a “D” shape to it. It was almost like racing a non-wing track. The elevation was the highest we’ve raced at, and the car laid on the right rear all night.

You made it through the prelims o.k., timing in 11th quick and finish fourth in the heat.

We had a tough time getting the car balanced to where it was comfortable for me though. We were tight all night long. For the feature, we loosened it up, but we went too far. Then it wanted to spin out. We ended up finishing 14th.

I know FVP was a partner in the race.

That was the best part of the night. FVP is going to have some new locations in that area. We had a great customer attendance there. It’s always good to get to their new markets, meet those customers, thank them for their business, and show them a good time. It was a great crowd.

Clay County Fair Speedway was up next on Friday.

The track conditions were a lot wetter than we’ve seen in the past. We really didn’t get any hot laps in as the sun was really bad heading down the backstretch. We drew a late number and guessed at qualifying. We ended up 19th quick.

You finished fifth in the heat and lined up 19th for the feature.

We felt like our car was pretty good in the heat. We just needed some fine tuning. We got a good start in the feature. We were able to get by four or five cars. But we’ve had a tough time lately finding the right balance once we put a fuel load on. These tires have us pretty good or out in left field trying to find something to feel better. We’re kind of searching now. We were running in the 15th to 18th range and got into the back of Wayne Johnson. That spun us and knocked the nose wing off.

Racing at Cameron, Missouri Saturday gave you a venue that was close to home and had plenty of FVP customers and employees.

I think that was one of our best FVP turnouts ever. I think there were 150 to 200 customers there. We had a Q&A at the hospitality area, and it was good to see those people and thank them for the business they do, and the support they give to FVP.

I know the night started out with a struggle.

As soon as I got on the gas, we hurt an engine. We didn’t even make a quarter of a lap. Fortunately, Chad (Morgan), Michael (Williams), Grandpa (George Lasoski) and Heather (Brown) pitched in to get the thing changed. We were able to do that, but we didn’t get a look at the track for qualifying. I felt we made a pretty good lap for the conditions we were in, timing in tenth quick and being within a tenth of a second of quick time.

You finished fifth in the heat and twelfth in the feature.

We had a lot better car than twelfth. The heavy conditions there really aren’t my forte. Chad is doing a good job of making me feel as comfortable as I can. In those conditions, you can’t be afraid to tear something up, but owning your own stuff, it’s not smart to do that…especially after hurting an engine to start the night.

This Thursday through Saturday, you have the Hockett/McMillin Memorial.

This race is important to me personally, of course, with the relationship with Jesse, Jack and the whole family. It’s an event that’s now gone to three days. We’ll have a little different mindset going into it, because there are going to be heats, qualifiers and features the first two nights. You have to be consistent, because points are going to line you up for Saturday.

You performed well there in 2015.

We had a good balance with the car there last year. We won the first night, and felt like we were good enough to win the last night. Unfortunately, we got crashed before we got going. This and Charlotte are probably the two races I’m looking forward to the most finishing out the year.

Check Out Brian’s Interview at Open Wheel 101!

Head to www.OpenWheel101.com to check out the in depth interview with Brian. Brian talks about his life and career in depth. You can find Open Wheel 101 with Brian Brown in the “Interviews” section.

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