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Brian Brown – Working Towards August!
(Bill W) July 9, 2008 – Brian Brown and the Doogs SuperClean #21 team had one of the fastest entries on the track Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway. A pair of solid runs on Twin Features Night was just one more building block in the team's quest for success in August. 360 runs at Lakeside and Eldora both involved unrelated power steering problems deterring Brian's progress, but he'll be back at it this weekend on Friday and Saturday.
One of the struggles at Knoxville has been qualifying, but Saturday night, Brian brought his Maxim chassis across with the 6th quick time of the night for Wells Fargo Twin Features. "Going out early really helped us there, with as bad as we've been qualifying," he says. "If we can come early on Friday and qualify, we'd probably do that if we needed to!"
After running third in his heat (from 5th), Brian started outside row three of the first of two features. The chase to catch leader Danny Lasoski was on, but he settled for second. "I was in second by lap nine or ten," says the Grain Valley, Missouri driver. "We were actually catching Danny there for awhile, but he snuck through traffic a little better than I did there and got away. For a second, I thought we had a shot at the win. With two seconds in a row, we're gaining some consistency at least."
Starting inside row ten for the second feature, Brian surged forward immediately, but met some resistance after a caution period and settled for ninth. "Starting as far back as we did, I thought we started well," he explains. "We got into the top ten fairly early, and after a caution, three or four cars got by me and with the race only 16 laps, we got back up to ninth."
The SuperClean team headed to Lakeside Speedway near Kansas City for Friday night's American Sprint Cars on Tour contest. Things were tough from the start. "Pushing off to hot lap, we broke a power steering pump," says Brian. "So we didn't get any practice laps. Fourth to second in the heat wasn't too bad after that."
Brian kept pace with the feature leaders early on, but mechanical failure followed. He was able to hold on to a sixth place finish. "We ran about 10 or 12 laps and the whole power steering box went out," he relates. "I ran the last 15 laps or so with no power steering. I thought about pulling off a couple of times, but we weren't horrible out there. We just kind of cruised around there and got what we got."
The team hit the road on Tuesday night for the Ollie's NASCAR 360 Challenge at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio. Brian was strong in winning his heat from row two on the high-speed ½ mile. "We ran well in the heat," he says. "We were in the lead by turn one. We were turning similar lap times as (Donny) Schatz, so we felt like we had a top five car going into the feature."
A miscalculation in setup hurt early on in the main event. "We got ourselves a little too tight by putting a bigger left rear tire on and not adjusting the car accordingly," says Brian. "At that place, you've got to get it where it just rolls into the corners and you turn it every once in awhile. We didn't nail that. It's not fun to embarrass yourself with a setup like that."
Still he was hanging around in the top ten until another power steering problem emerged. "It looked like we'd run about tenth, but the pressure line in the power steering blew off," he says. "So we had power steering issues a couple of nights this weekend. Fluid was all over me and I couldn't see. At Eldora, you definitely want your night-vision goggles on, so we pulled off. It was disappointing. After the heat, we thought we'd have a shot at the top five or maybe even better."
Brian will run the ASCS-Midwest show at US36 Raceway near Cameron, Missouri on Friday before heading back to the dog-eat-dog 410 class at Knoxville on Saturday. "The bar has risen at Knoxville this year," says the defending champ. "We're just plugging along trying to get better each week. It seems like anything that could happen to us, has this year. You can't let the disappointments overshadow the good things. We put a new car together a couple of weeks ago, and it seems to be working really well right now. Motors are running better, and the driver is getting better too."
Bill W Takes a Break
Family vacation calls the next two weeks, but all of those on the mailing list will be getting updates on Brian's goings on!
Brian on KGGO Friday Mornings
…by a radio station. Brian will be joining Lou, the Round Guy and Heather on KGGO "Classic Rock that Rocks" at 94.9 on the FM dial. He is calling each Friday morning at 6:45 a.m. during the race season to keep them apprised of his latest outings. Be sure to listen in!
Website
For up to date information on Brian Brown, visit the revamped www.BrianBrownRacing.com!
T-shirts
New t-shirts are available and can be ordered at Brian's website (www.BrianBrownRacing.com), www.Racingthreads.com, or catch us at the races!
Brian's Q&A
Tiny in Des Moines asks: What does the team need to do between now and August to get ready for the big shows?
Brian answers: That's the $150,000 question. All we can do is continually prepare and lighten up the car a bit. I think it's a little heavier than we need to be. We need to get our best possible motor fresh and ready to go for the Nationals. We need the newest stuff we can get on the car. You don't run the Nationals with 25-night old rear ends and stuff like that. Everyone knows that week in August is about 60% luck, and the other 40% is what you do with that luck. We could work 24/7 up to that day, but if luck isn't with us, it's not going to matter.
Got a question for Brian? Send it to us at [email protected], and we may answer it in this section! Put "? for Brian" in your subject line.
Brown's Bits
Brian heads into US36 Raceway near Cameron, Missouri, with an impressive record in "Show Me" State starts in 2008. In eight starts in his home state this season, he has recorded three wins (38%), seven top fives (88%) and eight top tens (100%). His wins have come at Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, the Bob Ramey Memorial at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway and at the Michael Ross Foundation race at Sedalia. According to www.OpenWheelTimes.com, he recorded four Missouri wins in 2007.
SuperClean
SuperClean is the "super product" for your home, auto, outdoor and marine cleaning jobs. Whether it is grease, oil, wax, tar or dirt that you need to clean from concrete, wheels or just about anything else, SuperClean is the product for you! To learn more about SuperClean, visit www.SuperClean.com!
SuperClean Products include:
Tough Task Cleaner-Degreaser
If you have tough, caked-on grease, then SuperClean Tough Task Cleaner-Degreaser is the multipurpose cleaner you need. This concentrated, industrial strength formula quickly removes grease, oil, wax, tar, and dirt on contact leaving your surface as clean as new.
All Wheel Cleaner
If you love your car more than you love your…well you know, then SuperClean All Wheel Cleaner is for you. This custom-blend formula instantly releases road grime and brake dust, leaving wheels clean to the original finish.
Concrete Cleaner
Great house…dirty driveway? Then you need SuperClean Concrete Cleaner. This concentrated, professional strength formula cuts away grease, grime, dirt, and organic stains leaving your concrete surface as clean as the original finish.
See Heather at a grandstand entrance near you or visit the team's trailer to get your free sample! Superclean is available at Wal-Mart, Autozone, O'Reilly Auto Parts, or to find a retailer near you visit www.superclean.com.
Brian's Updates
Brian's Releases are an up close look at the past, present and future of 2007 Knoxville Raceway track champion, Brian Brown. To receive Brian's weekly updates, send an e-mail to [email protected] with "Brian" in the subject line.
Brian would like to thank SuperClean, Ditzfeld Transfer, Boss Hogg Food Products, Maxim Racing, American Compressed Steel, Michael Ross Memorial Foundation, Champion Brands, Legend Suzuki, Housby Trucks, K&N Filters, Hostiowa.net, Yeager's Harley Davidson, Saldana Radiators, Fuel-Safe Tanks, Blue Springs Extreme Powersports, Awesome Racewear, Wolfe Eye Clinic, Shock Doctor, Weld Wheels, Fire-Down Graphics, Bell Helmets, CP Pistons, Paul's Auto Body Supply, Butler Built Seats, Rod End Supply, Winters Performance Products, ISC Racers Tape, Simpson, Racing Optics, Pro Shocks, Dake Law Office, Wes. Mo. Auto, Don's Truck Wash, Sunshack Tan, McCroskey Chevrolet, Gardner Farms and Hoosier Tires for all their help!
(Conrad Nelson Photo)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IAUSA[email protected]
If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me!
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com
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