The Vault
A 2003 Q & A with Seymour IMCA modified veteran Brian Mullen
Posted on: Thursday October 8, 2020
Take a trip back to 2003 when I interviewed Seymour IMCA modified hotshoe Brian Mullen for my Checkered Flag Racing News column “Racing Around Titletown”
RACIN AROUND TITLETOWN by Joe Verdegan
Recently at the Luxemburg Speedway 2003 awards banquet I had the chance to talk with IMCA modified champion Brian Mullen. He talks about the the past, the present and the future.
Q When the 2003 racing season kicked off did you have intentions of securing a Luxemburg Speedway track championship?
A. Not really. I’d say we got about one-half to three-quarters of the way through the season. Seeing that I was leading the points at the point I just decided to stick it out and go for the title. When the season started that wasn’t really our plan with a few of the big shows we planned on running.
Q. What makes Luxemburg Speedway such a tough, weekly program for IMCA modifieds in your opinion?
A. The fact that it’s a smaller, shorter track. Also being a Friday night, you tend to get a bulk of tougher drivers heading into the weekend. Everybody runs there Friday night. On Saturday nights everybody splits up and some go up to Sturgeon Bay, others Shawano, others head down to Beaver Dam. By Sunday that tapers off and some guys by then are burnt out and tired of racing and just decide to stay home. The big shooters come around to race at Luxemburg because it’s the only place to race around here on a Friday night.
Q. Last season you hit a career milestone with your 100th career IMCA modified win at your home track Seymour Tri-Oval Raceway. How’d that feel getting the win in your own backyard?
A. It was good. A lot of the people I know were in the stands that night. That’s the track where I started racing in a street stock years ago. I won my first modified championship there and also won my 50th career win there, so it was fitting I guess.
Q. Would you like to see Seymour stay with the tri-oval or would you like to see it converted into a regular oval as is currently planned?
A. Myself, Pete Parker and RM Van Pay and others have had a ton of success on that tri-oval through the years. I still like ovals. My only concern with that is that it’s done right. We’ve been fortunate to travel around to several tracks across the United States. There are some tracks that are circles. There are some big perfect shaped ovals that give you some of the worst, one lane surfaces you’ll ever see. I think you gotta really look at that. My only concern is that it’s done right. Just because you make a circle doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to make things better.
Q. The technology of the IMCA modified chassis has evolved tremendously over the past decade. In your opinion what do you think has been the most significant advancement in that technology?
A. The biggest change there is the suspension types that are being run. Along with that you need good information on what to do with them. I used to build my own cars and have had a lot of success that way. But then there comes a point when you get so much technology that you need to get a hold of the chassis makers at the top. Two heads are better than one. We could probably still build our own cars. But I think in the long run you’re better off to have someone else you can call to talk about existing setups and improving on those setups.
Q. Can you name me two or three of the top modified wins in your career that stand out?
A. The win last spring at Cowtown, Texas was a big one. It paid $5,000 and all the big guns in the country’s modified ranks where there. That one stands out the most. The second biggest win was at Beaver Dam (Dodge County Fairgrounds) a few years ago. There were 68 modifieds and I beat Ken Schrader across the line. Then the following year he beat me. Schrader is one of the most down to earth guys I’ve met. Most of those big time NASCAR guys go fishing or hunting if they get some time off. In talking with Schrader I really think running these dirt track shows whether it’s in a modified, a sprint car or a late model are like his vacation. He really seems to enjoy running the dirt tracks. He’s a super nice guy, really one hundred percent personable. Dirt racing is his getaway.
Q. Most of your career wins have come with the IMCA sanction. Overall, what are your
thoughts with the Iowa based sanctioning body?
A. It’s a pretty good deal. It keeps cars pretty competitive. We’re all racers. If you asked ten racers what rule they’d like to change you’d get 10 different answers. If you don’t have some type of sanctioning body keeping things under control, you wouldn’t have as many modifieds as you do around here.
Q. If you had the power to change one thing in IMCA what would it be?
A. If I changed anything in IMCA I’d readjust the claim rule, and I’m not saying get rid of it, either. I understand why they have it. I think it should be some type of an exchange. If a guy is claiming your motor and he feels the only reason you’re beating him is because of the motor, well then he shouldn’t have any problem giving you his. (IMCA’s) theory is if all big motors show up then you’ll need a big motor to make the show. And nobody wants to claim because they are all big motors and no one wants to give them away. I’ll argue that theory because I really think the best rule that IMCA has is the tire rule, which really does wipe out any chance of a big motor dominating anywhere. If a track gets real dry slick and smooth like a lot of them do, the motor’s out of it. The guy who does well with those track conditions is the one who does his
homework and works harder on his chassis. I always tell guys that a wheelbarrow would be fast on a tacky track. It may be an over-exaggeration buy that’s how I feel. You get them dryslick on a crummy, hard tire you really gotta work on your stuff. And in that case the guy who works harder on his setup generally does end up winning.
Q. Describe what makes the IMCA Supernationals at Boone, Iowa so special?
A. It may sound corny but most everybody that heads down there wants to get their name on that shirt that lists all the champions. It’s just a big ego trip that we’re all after to be honest with you. We all wanna win. We’ve been getting pretty close at it and it’s ticking me off. Last year we were fast and we had a tire problem there when we clipped some bolts sticking out of a fence.
(Johnny) Logue ended up winning and we were running ahead of him and were actually pulling away a little bit. Not to say we would have won it or anything. But we were one of the top four who were pulling away from the pack and we were competitive. The year before we’ve run second and I’ve run second before. We’ve been knocking on the door down there. We’ll get there eventually. The only bad thing about that is their engine operation can cost you quite a few thousand dollars through the auction. But when you run up front competitively it helps because wheel companies, chassis companies, major-type parts sponsors do notice you and the product deals help tremendously. I’ve gotten a lot of support through these companies through running up front down there.
Q. Who do you see locally as the “rising stars” in IMCA modified competition?
A. That’s a tough one. You know when these cars first came about locally it was guys like myself, Van Pay and Eddie Muenster and a couple of other guys who won a lot. Now there are a lot more guys who can win on any given night because they’re buying top notch equipment.
I don’t wanna name names and have people think that I don’t think they’re worth mentioning. It’s a pretty big pack. I mean my brother Scott and Felix (Todd Dart) run real good but if you take a list of say 40 guys, probably half of those have a shot of winning. You’ve got guys like Benji LaCrosse who came in and won two features at Luxemburg. He turned some heads. There are a lot of them, put it that way.
Q. You mentioned your brother Scott. How much information do you share with him?
A. He’ll ask me stuff like just about everybody else. He knows everything I do pretty much. But he also does stuff on his own, too. No matter how much you can help somebody the point I like to get across to them is that everybody drives the track differently and everybody also reads that track differently. I can tell someone what to do to make their car loose of tight or whatever. But ultimately, it’s up to the individual. They don’t necessarily scale their cars the same way. Just like Mike (Mashl). He and I race together a lot and travel. But there are times when our setups are pretty different, mainly because driving styles can differ. When you run a car on different areas you gotta race it different. That all comes with seat time. You learn that stuff over the years.
Q. What is your plan of attack for 2004 and will you be defending either of your track titles at Luxemburg or Seymour?
A. We don’t plan on it. We’re probably done with the points, at least this year anyway. We’ve got a lot of specials we’ve gotta hit and I’ve got a brand new car to boot. Some of these big money specials around the country have some bigger, heavier tracks on the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS). Therefore, you’ve gotta step up your motor program. We’ve been outmotored there in the past. I think we’ve got that taken care of so far. We’ve stepped up our motor program. I don’t wanna sound arrogant but I’ve run well. But if I’m going to run with the big guns consistently there’s no better time than now. I don’t want to wait until I’m sixty. I have the equipment now to run with those guys. I’ve got good manufacturers support so there’s no better time than now.
Q. Does this mean fans at Luxemburg and Seymour won’t be seeing you as much this
year?
A. I’ll still be there much of the time. We’ve just gotta miss several nights. We’ve got a
$100,000-to-win show in Batesville Arkansas in early May. We might miss the first two
weeks of both Luxemburg and Seymour to get some laps in down there and prepare for
that big one.