Saturday April 28,2012

Saturday night found the DMS 32 team arriving at Sunny South Raceway shortly after 5 PM.  Although we left  early enough we ran into construction on I 10 before the twin spans, it took us over an hour to go just 3 miles, I was fit to be tied as was Connelly.  This would not give us the time we needed to properly set the car up.  Before you knew it practice was over and we still had a few things we wanted to try, but we won last race with the car the way is was, so we'll give it a shot.  The problem with that philosophy is BRIAN MCARDLE.  He was to drive the #44jr, with Joseph his son driving the #44.  When you go into McArdle "land" against Brian (4time track champion) and Joseph last year's champion and current point leader, you had better bring your "A" game and your best car, set up right.  In addition to the two 44's the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #55r of Ronnie Osmer, the #39 of Daniel Thompson, the #94 of Brad West, the #59 of Terry Myers, the #04 of Dawson Kenner, and last but not least the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson were in competition.

I was not comfortable that we had not done all that we could have done to have the car perfect.  And against a field of this quailty????  Truth is, I don't know enough to get it perfect, so I guess I had it about as good as I could get it.  In qualifying Brian McArdle in the #44jr sat on the pole with a 13.08, Joseph McArdle in the #44 was second with a 13.10, and Connelly was third with a 13.11.  The top 3 cars only separated by .03 of a second.  I thought to myself, we aren't too far off.  In the heat race we started 3rd hung there for a while but Connelly had started the air pressures in the tires too high and when they built up we were too loose.  The #7 got by for third and  we wound up 4th.

During the intermission Brian threw the dice for the invert and rolled a 6 meaning that the first 6 cars would be inverted.  We wound up starting 3rd, with the #55r on pole and the #94 on the outside row 1, the #7 outside of us in 4th, with Joseph in the #44 5th and Brian in the #44jr 6th, the #39 started 7th, the #04 8th with the #59 in 9th.   Connelly got a good start and had the lead by the end of the first lap.  He went on to lead the first five laps with Brian in the #44jr right on his rear bumper.  I knew we were on borrowed time, Connelly was trying his best, but we just didn't have anything for the skill, experience and speed of the #44jr.  He got by us and we got "freight trained"  by the #7 with us now in 3rd.  Connelly was pressing the #7 when he got into his rear bumper, and we almost lost it, and slowed a bit and Joseph shot by in the #44, in the next turn Joseph got into the #7 and spun him.  Connelly went to the outside and just about had the accident cleared when the #7 came up toward the outside wall and hit us in the left rear tire cutting it down.  Now we had a flat to deal with.  I began running toward our pit area as Connelly left the track.  When I got to our pit the car was up on the jack, the tire removed and about 6 people looking for the spare left rear.  It was still in the bed of the pickup.  For the last 3 races we had laid out our jack and spare tires in the pit area for just such a problem,  but not tonight, so we had to thrash.  Many thanks to our friends and competitors Cliff Osmer and his crew along with the #37 Bando crew as they changed the tire once I found it and had Connelly back on the track in 1 minute and 50 seconds.  That ain't bad considering he had to drive all  the way around the pits at very reduced speed.  When he got back on track it was just in time to take the "choose" and he started outside second row in 4th.  By the time he was able to get to the bottom where he could pass he was 5th, plus he wanted to feel the  car out as we had mismatched set of tires on the car and had no idea of what the air pressure was on that replacement tire.  He said the left rear was the only tire that had any grip, so it took some driving.  He made a couple of nice passes, he was able to get by the #94 coming out of turn 4 and got the 39 coming out of turn 2, so now he is third again and angry.  He was gaining ever so slightly on Joseph, don't know if he could have done anything with him if he had caught him.   However he was really over driving the car in his attempt to catch Joseph and spun right in the middle of turn 3 and 4.  Now back to the rear again.  He took the "choose" and moved back up to the outside of row one, after the green flag he was able to manage to get to the bottom in third place and hold on to it to the finish although the #7 was literally on our rear bumper.  Connelly wasn't handling well at all, but that new motor we got through Mr. Joe was making plenty of horse power to keep us in third place down the straightaways.  At the finish we were about 5 to 6 car lengths behind Joseph, with Joseph another 5or 6 back from his father, Brian.  The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  Rounding out the field at the finish was the #39 in 5th, the #55r in 6th, the #04 in 7th, the #56in 8th with the #94 leaving the track with 4 to go.  All in all a very eventful night.  Connelly got some practice driving an ill handling race car,  He got to lead a few laps while driving against some of the best drivers in the Southeast.  In the end we just didn't have anything for the 44's and they just spanked us, but we are trying, and to be able to compete against and learn from drivers like the McArdles is truly special.  We are already looking forward to the next race on May 12, come on out to SSR and treat yourself to some truly exciting racing