By: Bill W
Sprint car ace Brian Brown will get the 2011 sprint car season underway this weekend at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The World of Outlaws event commences this Wednesday and Thursday, March 2 and 3. For the Grain Valley, Missouri driver, this means 2011 will begin where 2010 ended. He finished second to Tony Stewart in ASCS action in Las Vegas last November.
Preparations for the FVP Racing #21 team have been underway for this season since the checkered flag fell in 2010. “Anytime you’ve been cooped up in the shop all winter, you want to get out and see where you are,” says Brian. “We have two new crew guys who have been working hard getting ready, Andy Korte and Chad Cypart, along with Grandpa (George Lasoski). Hopefully, all our hard work will pay off this week.”
The 2010 Knoxville Raceway track champion knows the competition with the WoO will be stiff. “The Outlaws will have been running for a month, so they have an advantage on us there,” he admits. “We just hope we can be competitive. We have to be quick out of the box. We’ve been knocking on the door at winning one of those races, and we’d like it to be this weekend. Our strong finishes in Vegas with ASCS last Fall should be on our side.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That will be true for Brian Brown Racing in 2011. “Other than our new look, we really haven’t changed much at all from years past,” says Brian. “We feel like it’s a great look though. Impact Sign & Lighting did an awesome job with both our car and the trailer. Everything looks great.”
Primary marketing partner FVP has also been essential in providing stability. “We just signed another three year contract with them, so we are really excited!” says Brian. “Factory Motor Parts will have some customers and employees out in Las Vegas and it will be fun meeting with them. That’s always fun to meet and greet and we’ll let them know how much we appreciate them. Of course, we’d like to do well on the track for them too.”
The 2011 schedule is still tentative for the team. “I’m not sure exactly where the schedule will lead us,” says Brian. “We were thinking about staying out West with the Outlaws in California, but three races in three weeks really can’t justify staying out there that long. We’ll come back, and if all goes well, we’ll run with USCS in Malden, Missouri on March 19 before we head to the Devil’s Bowl with ASCS.”
Some hired drivers have Brian Brown Racing eighth in owner points with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. “Zach Zimmerly (in Arizona) and Bud Kaeding (in California) did a great job keeping Brian Brown Racing in the top ten in ASCS owner points, so hopefully, we can go to Texas and do some good.”
Many fans wonder if Brian will be there defending his championship at Knoxville Raceway every Saturday night. The competition will be fierce. “We’ll be there the first three or four nights and see where things are at,” he says. “We’re not 100% committed to the points, but there is definitely the possibility of that.”
Another addition this season will be Clarksburg, California driver Justyn Cox who will be competing in a team car in 20-25 shows. “We’re excited to have Justyn with us here this summer,” says Brian. “He has a lot of talent and desire. I think we can learn a lot from each other, and it should be a good fit. Hopefully, we can talk grandpa into helping him out quite a bit. It won’t get any better than that from a teaching standpoint.”
Follow Brian and FVP Racing on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube!
The FVP marketing team has launched a Twitter page, a Facebook page, and a Youtube page (make sure to subscribe to all!) to keep up to date with Brian and FVP racing! You can become a fan and follow along by clicking on the links below:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/fvpracing
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2rakgn
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=fvpracing
Web site
For up to date information on Brian Brown, visit www.BrianBrownRacing.com!