Well the 2014 racing season is in the books and as we always do, it is time to look back and assess our performance. Our objectives at the start of the season were:
1. Win the track championship in the Pro Division--last year's performance dictated we move up.
2. Win at least 2 races.
3. To be competitive with consistent podium finishes.
4. To race everyone fairly without having to foul to pass.
5. To have Connelly grow his racing skills.
In order to give Connelly the best equipment we could we had our engine rebuilt, after the rebuild it dyno'ed real strong. We went through the chassis and replaced all of the trailing arm bolts, replaced the rear trailing arms out of an abundance of caution, and checked everything to within an inch of its life. We also ordered two new sets of tires. At the open test session in Feb. the car was very strong, and we felt like we had done all we could do in preparation for 2014. At the test session Hunter Lewis showed up with a "new" '34 Ford coupe. I recognized this car as one I had seen out of the Atlanta area and it was indeed a strong car. We thought that we had stepped up our game, but so did Hunter. In this game if you are standing still, you are going backwards.
The first race of the season had us running fourth for most of the race behind Brian, Joseph and Hunter, when Hunter got a little loose (he didn't quite have it dialed in to SSR yet) and we got by him right at the end for third, but it was obvious that he was going to be a force to be dealt with. The next several races saw Hunter in the #7 totally dominate the Pro division, so much so that I called our setup man and told him what was going on and we needed some more speed. He made a couple of suggestions which we implemented and we picked up a few hundredths of a second--good, but not good enough. Finally he suggested that we buy the sister car to Hunter's that was available as a roller and put our engine and seat in it, as we had this freshly rebuilt engine, and see what happens.
In the meantime Hunter had become so dominant that they put a bounty out on him. It was a three race deal where whoever could fairly beat him would get an extra $100 in the first race $200 if you beat him in the 2nd race of the bounty and $300 if you got him in the 3rd race, if nobody beats him in any of the three bounty races then Hunter got the $300.
We went with the Atlanta area coupe had our "stuff" put on it got it home had it painted put numbers on it and rented the track for a test session. The car was good, the next night was a race. We managed a very close third. The next race rained out which brought us to Aug 1st. That race was our break out race, we won the whole thing including the bounty. Our first win of the season. We then went on to win two more races for a total of three. Of the 16 races that were run at Sunny South Raceway we wound up with 3 first place, 3 seconds and 7 thirds, 13 podium finishes out of 16 races. Not bad!!!!
We also made a "road trip" to Monroe, La and raced at Revolution Raceway a 3/8 mile banked concrete oval track. We got a 6th (should have been a 4th) in the first race, a 5th in the second feature and a 3rd in the last race of the weekend (was right on the rear bumper of the second place car and moving up at the finish). As Connelly learned the track his speeds picked up considerably and we came home with a sense of accomplishment.
Achieving our goals:
1. We finished second in the championship by 35 points.
2. We won 3 races.
3. We were definitely competitive with 13 podium finishes of 16 races.
4. We raced everyone clean.
5. Connelly made tremendous gains in his racing skills.
If we could have another year like 2014 we would take it in a heartbeat. We are already looking forward to 2015, can't wait.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
October 3rd and 4th--The last weekend of the 2014 Racing Season
October 4th.
After last night's performance by both car and driver, we will be hard pressed to repeat or come close to repeating. But it is our job to get the most out of both car and driver. We got to the track early at around 2:pm as the motel allowed us to check out at 1:pm. Connelly went over the car with a fine tooth comb, nut and bolted everything lubricated all the necessary areas, fueled the car and even put a coat of wax on it. During the night a front had come through and the temp was almost cool. Nothing to do now but to wait until the track opened for testing. After registering and going through tech we finally got on the track to practice, the car was good, Connelly said that it didn't quite have the grip that it had last night and maybe he would tighten it up a little, I told him "you touch that car I'll break both of your arms". The track temp was 77 degrees and cooling off all the time, by race time it will be perfect. We practiced one more time before qualifying and track had indeed "come to us" in practice we ran a 13.00. In the driver's meeting Mr. Joe reminded us that there would be double first place prize money if we could win tonight's feature--just a little added pressure.
Qualifying: There were 14 cars tonight mostly the same participants as last night. We went out and laid down a blistering lap of 12.892 a pick up of 5 hundredths of a second from last night--had to be that coat of wax?? Hunter #7 second with a 12.936 good for the pole on most nights, and Brian #44 with a 13.047 the top 5 were all within 3 tenths of a second with the top 10 within a half second.
Heat Race: Tonight's program called for the same format as last night, so we started on the pole for the heat. We got a good start but Brian snookered us on the first lap and we ran second to him for the first two laps, on lap three we got past him and led the remaining laps of the heat race. Top 5 in the heat was #32, #44, #44jr, #7 and #09 from Monroe. After Connelly's heat I wanted to watch the second heat so I just stayed in my spot under the flag stand, Connelly parked the car in our pits, put the fans on the engine to cool it down and joined me to watch the other heat. As he walked up he had a scowl on his face, I said man you should be smiling ear to ear after a race like that. His response was "I still have work to do." Very mature for someone who had just turned 18 two days earlier.
Feature Race: Again the heat race win gave us pole position for the feature, the early part of the feature was closely contested, we were able to lead the race through the halfway point, with Brian in the #44 right on our rear bumper, one slip by Connelly and he is around us. Joseph in the #44jr. and Hunter in the #7 are in hot pursuit with the #09 of Ronny Freeland from Monroe a close 5th. Then "yellow fever" hits, after running 2/3 of the race with just one early caution, we now were beset with a plague of cautions. Cautions bunch cars up and that is when "things happen" we would stretch it out a little, get a 3 or 4 car length lead then another caution, back to bumper to bumper with your competition right on your tail, stretch it out another couple of length then another caution. It starts becoming frustrating especially when you have led the whole race and with only a few laps left for the win. Will this race ever get over with??? I'm sitting there on my chair under the flag stand timing the laps with my hand held stop watch "managing the race" (mostly worrying) when I remember Mr. Joe's words at the driver's meeting about the double prize money if you could win both nights. It hadn't even crossed my mind until that last caution now the pressure really sets in, Mr. Joe's curse now start to work on me, now I am really worrying, fortunately the race goes green for the last 5 laps and we win it by about 6 or 8 lengths. Top 5 were #32, #44, #44jr, #09 and #7. After the race I asked Connelly if he was thinking about the double prize money and he said "the whole time, why do you think I was driving so hard?" Young kids, pressure don't mean squat to them. All in all a remarkable weekend, won two poles, two heat races, two features, ran our fastest lap ever, lead all but two laps of the 70 that were run, come away with two really nice trophies and $670 of Mr. Wayne's money, you really couldn't ask for more. Only 4 and a half months before we start all over.
October 3rd.
Well here it is the end of the 2014 racing season at Sunny South Raceway. It has been a long season, but it seems to have flown by. So that brings us the second annual "Dixie Clash" to be run Fri, Oct 3rd and Sat, Oct 4th. There were a couple of things that were changed for this race. First of all the Legends purse for Friday's race was increased by $200 to be spread over the first 3 finishing positions. Additionally if Friday night's Legends winner can also win Saturday night's race the first place prize money would be doubled, definitely sweetened the pot. Being the last race of the season they gave us a lot of racing, there would be normal qualifying then two 10 lap heat races with a 25 lap feature. The 7 fastest qualifiers would run the first heat and all the finishers would start on the inside row for the feature, the remaining 7 cars would run the second heat and all finishers would start the feature on the outside row, with no invert. We had 15 cars registered with several from Monroe that we had raced against a couple of weeks ago plus the normal contingent from SSR. One car from Texas on his way back from a race in Florida stayed over and was going to race with us, but blew his engine in practice and had to withdraw.
We got to the track got registered went through tech and got on the track. The car wasn't bad but the track was still hot,89 degrees. We made a slight chassis adjustment made one more practice run and logged a 12.970 lap, Connelly brought it in and let it rest up for qualifying. Connelly qualified on the pole at a 12.948 which was the fastest lap we turned this year. Hunter Lewis qualified second at a 12.958 only 1 one hundredth of a second behind. The rest of the field qualified as follows with the top 10 cars all within 3 tenths of a second of the pole third was #44jr. 4th #44, 5th #66, 6th #96, 7th #94, 8th #14, 9th #09, 10th #4, 11th #99, 12th #91, 13th #01, 14th #18, the entire field was within 3/4 of a second of the pole sitter. Pretty sporty!!!
Heat Race: Starting from the pole Connelly got a really good start and set sail. He led every lap and was followed by Brian in the #44 Joseph in the #44jr. and Hunter in the #7. Those three traded positions several times in the 10 laps and put on a good show. The top 5 in the heat were #32, #44, #7, #44jr, and the #94.
Feature Race: Connelly' win in the heat race would give him the pole position start in the feature. Again Connelly got a good start and led the first few laps followed closely by Brian in the #44, Hunter in the #7 with seldom more than one car length of daylight separating each car. They ran very close until a caution came out at about halfway. The same process played out, very close racing in the front of the pack until with two laps remaining another caution waived. Since there were less than 3 laps to go, there would be a single file restart--no choose. On the restart Brian was right on the rear bumper of Connelly's car with Hunter almost touching Brian's rear. Coming out of turn 2 they hooked bumpers with Brian's right front hooking inside of Connelly's left rear. The potential for a really serious wreck was at hand, however both drivers continued to "drive" their cars and somehow they got unhooked, Brian slowed slightly causing Hunter to swerve to avoid hitting him and causing him to almost hit the wall and fall back several spots. Connelly ran to the finish winning the feature with Brian #44 in second, Joseph #44jr. third Conner #14 in 4th, and Andrew #66 rounding out the top 5. What a phenomenal night!!! we sat on the pole with the fastest time we had ever run, won the heat race, won the feature and led every lap of competition, plus won first place money plus the bonus money, a trophy and first place points--what a night?? Can't wait until tomorrow night.
After last night's performance by both car and driver, we will be hard pressed to repeat or come close to repeating. But it is our job to get the most out of both car and driver. We got to the track early at around 2:pm as the motel allowed us to check out at 1:pm. Connelly went over the car with a fine tooth comb, nut and bolted everything lubricated all the necessary areas, fueled the car and even put a coat of wax on it. During the night a front had come through and the temp was almost cool. Nothing to do now but to wait until the track opened for testing. After registering and going through tech we finally got on the track to practice, the car was good, Connelly said that it didn't quite have the grip that it had last night and maybe he would tighten it up a little, I told him "you touch that car I'll break both of your arms". The track temp was 77 degrees and cooling off all the time, by race time it will be perfect. We practiced one more time before qualifying and track had indeed "come to us" in practice we ran a 13.00. In the driver's meeting Mr. Joe reminded us that there would be double first place prize money if we could win tonight's feature--just a little added pressure.
Qualifying: There were 14 cars tonight mostly the same participants as last night. We went out and laid down a blistering lap of 12.892 a pick up of 5 hundredths of a second from last night--had to be that coat of wax?? Hunter #7 second with a 12.936 good for the pole on most nights, and Brian #44 with a 13.047 the top 5 were all within 3 tenths of a second with the top 10 within a half second.
Heat Race: Tonight's program called for the same format as last night, so we started on the pole for the heat. We got a good start but Brian snookered us on the first lap and we ran second to him for the first two laps, on lap three we got past him and led the remaining laps of the heat race. Top 5 in the heat was #32, #44, #44jr, #7 and #09 from Monroe. After Connelly's heat I wanted to watch the second heat so I just stayed in my spot under the flag stand, Connelly parked the car in our pits, put the fans on the engine to cool it down and joined me to watch the other heat. As he walked up he had a scowl on his face, I said man you should be smiling ear to ear after a race like that. His response was "I still have work to do." Very mature for someone who had just turned 18 two days earlier.
Feature Race: Again the heat race win gave us pole position for the feature, the early part of the feature was closely contested, we were able to lead the race through the halfway point, with Brian in the #44 right on our rear bumper, one slip by Connelly and he is around us. Joseph in the #44jr. and Hunter in the #7 are in hot pursuit with the #09 of Ronny Freeland from Monroe a close 5th. Then "yellow fever" hits, after running 2/3 of the race with just one early caution, we now were beset with a plague of cautions. Cautions bunch cars up and that is when "things happen" we would stretch it out a little, get a 3 or 4 car length lead then another caution, back to bumper to bumper with your competition right on your tail, stretch it out another couple of length then another caution. It starts becoming frustrating especially when you have led the whole race and with only a few laps left for the win. Will this race ever get over with??? I'm sitting there on my chair under the flag stand timing the laps with my hand held stop watch "managing the race" (mostly worrying) when I remember Mr. Joe's words at the driver's meeting about the double prize money if you could win both nights. It hadn't even crossed my mind until that last caution now the pressure really sets in, Mr. Joe's curse now start to work on me, now I am really worrying, fortunately the race goes green for the last 5 laps and we win it by about 6 or 8 lengths. Top 5 were #32, #44, #44jr, #09 and #7. After the race I asked Connelly if he was thinking about the double prize money and he said "the whole time, why do you think I was driving so hard?" Young kids, pressure don't mean squat to them. All in all a remarkable weekend, won two poles, two heat races, two features, ran our fastest lap ever, lead all but two laps of the 70 that were run, come away with two really nice trophies and $670 of Mr. Wayne's money, you really couldn't ask for more. Only 4 and a half months before we start all over.
October 3rd.
Well here it is the end of the 2014 racing season at Sunny South Raceway. It has been a long season, but it seems to have flown by. So that brings us the second annual "Dixie Clash" to be run Fri, Oct 3rd and Sat, Oct 4th. There were a couple of things that were changed for this race. First of all the Legends purse for Friday's race was increased by $200 to be spread over the first 3 finishing positions. Additionally if Friday night's Legends winner can also win Saturday night's race the first place prize money would be doubled, definitely sweetened the pot. Being the last race of the season they gave us a lot of racing, there would be normal qualifying then two 10 lap heat races with a 25 lap feature. The 7 fastest qualifiers would run the first heat and all the finishers would start on the inside row for the feature, the remaining 7 cars would run the second heat and all finishers would start the feature on the outside row, with no invert. We had 15 cars registered with several from Monroe that we had raced against a couple of weeks ago plus the normal contingent from SSR. One car from Texas on his way back from a race in Florida stayed over and was going to race with us, but blew his engine in practice and had to withdraw.
We got to the track got registered went through tech and got on the track. The car wasn't bad but the track was still hot,89 degrees. We made a slight chassis adjustment made one more practice run and logged a 12.970 lap, Connelly brought it in and let it rest up for qualifying. Connelly qualified on the pole at a 12.948 which was the fastest lap we turned this year. Hunter Lewis qualified second at a 12.958 only 1 one hundredth of a second behind. The rest of the field qualified as follows with the top 10 cars all within 3 tenths of a second of the pole third was #44jr. 4th #44, 5th #66, 6th #96, 7th #94, 8th #14, 9th #09, 10th #4, 11th #99, 12th #91, 13th #01, 14th #18, the entire field was within 3/4 of a second of the pole sitter. Pretty sporty!!!
Heat Race: Starting from the pole Connelly got a really good start and set sail. He led every lap and was followed by Brian in the #44 Joseph in the #44jr. and Hunter in the #7. Those three traded positions several times in the 10 laps and put on a good show. The top 5 in the heat were #32, #44, #7, #44jr, and the #94.
Feature Race: Connelly' win in the heat race would give him the pole position start in the feature. Again Connelly got a good start and led the first few laps followed closely by Brian in the #44, Hunter in the #7 with seldom more than one car length of daylight separating each car. They ran very close until a caution came out at about halfway. The same process played out, very close racing in the front of the pack until with two laps remaining another caution waived. Since there were less than 3 laps to go, there would be a single file restart--no choose. On the restart Brian was right on the rear bumper of Connelly's car with Hunter almost touching Brian's rear. Coming out of turn 2 they hooked bumpers with Brian's right front hooking inside of Connelly's left rear. The potential for a really serious wreck was at hand, however both drivers continued to "drive" their cars and somehow they got unhooked, Brian slowed slightly causing Hunter to swerve to avoid hitting him and causing him to almost hit the wall and fall back several spots. Connelly ran to the finish winning the feature with Brian #44 in second, Joseph #44jr. third Conner #14 in 4th, and Andrew #66 rounding out the top 5. What a phenomenal night!!! we sat on the pole with the fastest time we had ever run, won the heat race, won the feature and led every lap of competition, plus won first place money plus the bonus money, a trophy and first place points--what a night?? Can't wait until tomorrow night.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Friday Night September 26, 2014
Well here it is race day again we are almost recovered from last weekend at Monroe. Dawn was breaking as we crossed the Manchac bridge last Sunday morning on the return trip from Monroe, still 30 min. to go before home, plus Connelly had to work at 11 am at the Drago's rest at the Hilton. Don't know how he pulled it off--being 17 probably helped.
Today we got to the track at our regular time got set up went through tech and got on the track, the car was pretty good. We put a couple of test runs on it and Connelly came in halfway through the last session, he said the car was good so don't run it to death.
Qualifying:
Connelly qualified fourth, one tenth of a second behind Brian McArdle however they threw the dice for the invert and we got lucky as they rolled a 4 which put us on the pole.
Cars available for tonight's race: #44 Brian McArdle, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #7 Hunter Lewis,
#32 Connelly, #14 Conner Okrezeik, #96 Robbie Johnston, #94 Brad West, #4 Ramsey Whittington, #01 Treyce Capers and #18 Corry Devin, a very competitive field.
Feature Race:
A decision was made to only run a 20 lap feature for tonight's race, so 20laps or 25laps, you dance with "who brung ya". it's the same for everybody. Would rather have had 25 as our car is usually better on long runs, but it is what it is. On the start we got shuffled back to fourth (from the pole) don't know how that happened but it did, worked our way back to third, ran there for a good portion of the race. We closed up to the bumper of the #7 and got past him for second right at the white flag and held on to finish there. Car and driver both getting better. After the race a scuffle broke out on the back straightaway, two cars got together after the checkered flag, some pushing and shoving took place but cooler heads prevailed and things settled down. This was the second to last weekend of the season, with only the Dixie Clash remaining next Friday & Saturday nights, double points on Saturday and double prize money for winner of Legends on Saturday night if he wins both Fri and Sat features, and $200 bonus added to the purse for Friday night. Plus track points championships still up for grabs, so next weekend should be very interesting--a lot at stake. Looking forward to it, come out and treat yourself to some very close and entertaining racing.
Today we got to the track at our regular time got set up went through tech and got on the track, the car was pretty good. We put a couple of test runs on it and Connelly came in halfway through the last session, he said the car was good so don't run it to death.
Qualifying:
Connelly qualified fourth, one tenth of a second behind Brian McArdle however they threw the dice for the invert and we got lucky as they rolled a 4 which put us on the pole.
Cars available for tonight's race: #44 Brian McArdle, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #7 Hunter Lewis,
#32 Connelly, #14 Conner Okrezeik, #96 Robbie Johnston, #94 Brad West, #4 Ramsey Whittington, #01 Treyce Capers and #18 Corry Devin, a very competitive field.
Feature Race:
A decision was made to only run a 20 lap feature for tonight's race, so 20laps or 25laps, you dance with "who brung ya". it's the same for everybody. Would rather have had 25 as our car is usually better on long runs, but it is what it is. On the start we got shuffled back to fourth (from the pole) don't know how that happened but it did, worked our way back to third, ran there for a good portion of the race. We closed up to the bumper of the #7 and got past him for second right at the white flag and held on to finish there. Car and driver both getting better. After the race a scuffle broke out on the back straightaway, two cars got together after the checkered flag, some pushing and shoving took place but cooler heads prevailed and things settled down. This was the second to last weekend of the season, with only the Dixie Clash remaining next Friday & Saturday nights, double points on Saturday and double prize money for winner of Legends on Saturday night if he wins both Fri and Sat features, and $200 bonus added to the purse for Friday night. Plus track points championships still up for grabs, so next weekend should be very interesting--a lot at stake. Looking forward to it, come out and treat yourself to some very close and entertaining racing.
Monday, October 6, 2014
September 19th and 20th--Monroe LA
Connelly had been after me to take him to an out of town race, well Revolution Park Raceway in Monroe, La was having its final race of the season this weekend. They do a unique program for the first and last race of the year. They have a regular race on Friday night, and another regular program on Saturday night, then at 12:01 on Sunday morning they start another race. (INEX the sanctioning body for the Legends and Bandos) does not allow more than one points race at any track on the same day, so by starting one minute past midnight it is legal for INEX points, and you can get three races worth of points in 2 days--long days but still doable. We had never seen this track before and it is a good one, 3/8 of a mile high banked concrete, wicked fast. It does have a couple of really bumpy sections which can upset the cars, one is at the entrance to turn 3 the other is at the exit of turn 4, so you have to be real careful. It is a 4 1/2 hour drive from Metairie, but it is all interstate and a good portion did not have too much traffic so it wasn't too bad.
We checked into the motel only a mile away and went to the track. Picked our a pit stall, went through tech and walked out to look at the track. It was indeed impressive, it looked like Talledega compared to Sunny South, Connelly couldn't wait to get out on it. We fuelled the car checked air pressures and went out. Man that track was fast, he had to learn how to drive it, it was so much different from Sunny South. Fortunately Hunter Lewis #7 from Sunny South was there and he helped us with information on driving lines air pressures and setup. We ran several test sessions and improved our times each time out. They don't qualify at this track, you draw a chip with a number to determine your starting position in the heat race, and the finish in the heat determines your starting position in the feature.
Friday Night Race:
We drew a high number chip which started us last in the heat. There were 17 cars available so they had 3 heats. They only start 20 cars in the feature so tonight all cars will qualify. There were 6 cars in our heat and we started 6th due to our chip draw. Connelly worked his way up through the field while being very careful as we still had 3 points races at Sunny South and we are locked in a points race for second with an outside shot at first. Connelly finished a strong second which would start us 6th in the feature. In the feature he worked his way through traffic and was going for third and touched the left rear tire of the #91 with our right front tire causing Con to have to back off and we went from going for third to 6th. It was right after a caution and all the cars were bunched up and they "freight trained" us. Not too bad for our first attempt at this new venue. Sixth out of 17 first time out, would like to have had third, but the car didn't have a scratch on it so we'll take it. This was just a points race no trophy or money.
Saturday Night Race:
We drew high number for both the Sat night and Sunday morning race, same format as last night. Started last for the heat due to high chip draw, worked our way up to third which put us deep in the field for the feature. We had a good feature run going got up to 4th going for third when the #28 got into us, his left side tires slid into our right side tires causing a caution which knocked us back a spot or two. After the restart we worked our way back up to a fifth place finish, which paid out $125.00 with 15 or more cars. Connelly was beginning to figure out this track.
Sunday Morning Race:
12:01 a.m. had the pit manager calling for cars to the grid. This late race would not have a heat just a feature of 17 cars with starting positions determined by chip draw. We started slightly past mid pack and worked our way up toward the front. Slightly past mid race we were making the pass on Andrew Johnson #66 (a Sunny South driver) for third, after which we ran down the second place driver and got to his rear bumper but just ran out of laps, giving us a third place finish. If we had
3 or 4 more to go?? who knows. Overall a very good experience for Connelly and myself, we had to set the car up for a different track, with some help from #7, learn how to drive it, and appointed ourselves at this new track very respectfully and got three races of INEX points. Our fast lap of this feature was 16.39 second which equates to 82.37 MPH, our best Sunny South lap was 12.893 seconds which is 69.803 MPH on the 1/4 mile track, like I said this track is wicked fast.
We checked into the motel only a mile away and went to the track. Picked our a pit stall, went through tech and walked out to look at the track. It was indeed impressive, it looked like Talledega compared to Sunny South, Connelly couldn't wait to get out on it. We fuelled the car checked air pressures and went out. Man that track was fast, he had to learn how to drive it, it was so much different from Sunny South. Fortunately Hunter Lewis #7 from Sunny South was there and he helped us with information on driving lines air pressures and setup. We ran several test sessions and improved our times each time out. They don't qualify at this track, you draw a chip with a number to determine your starting position in the heat race, and the finish in the heat determines your starting position in the feature.
Friday Night Race:
We drew a high number chip which started us last in the heat. There were 17 cars available so they had 3 heats. They only start 20 cars in the feature so tonight all cars will qualify. There were 6 cars in our heat and we started 6th due to our chip draw. Connelly worked his way up through the field while being very careful as we still had 3 points races at Sunny South and we are locked in a points race for second with an outside shot at first. Connelly finished a strong second which would start us 6th in the feature. In the feature he worked his way through traffic and was going for third and touched the left rear tire of the #91 with our right front tire causing Con to have to back off and we went from going for third to 6th. It was right after a caution and all the cars were bunched up and they "freight trained" us. Not too bad for our first attempt at this new venue. Sixth out of 17 first time out, would like to have had third, but the car didn't have a scratch on it so we'll take it. This was just a points race no trophy or money.
Saturday Night Race:
We drew high number for both the Sat night and Sunday morning race, same format as last night. Started last for the heat due to high chip draw, worked our way up to third which put us deep in the field for the feature. We had a good feature run going got up to 4th going for third when the #28 got into us, his left side tires slid into our right side tires causing a caution which knocked us back a spot or two. After the restart we worked our way back up to a fifth place finish, which paid out $125.00 with 15 or more cars. Connelly was beginning to figure out this track.
Sunday Morning Race:
12:01 a.m. had the pit manager calling for cars to the grid. This late race would not have a heat just a feature of 17 cars with starting positions determined by chip draw. We started slightly past mid pack and worked our way up toward the front. Slightly past mid race we were making the pass on Andrew Johnson #66 (a Sunny South driver) for third, after which we ran down the second place driver and got to his rear bumper but just ran out of laps, giving us a third place finish. If we had
3 or 4 more to go?? who knows. Overall a very good experience for Connelly and myself, we had to set the car up for a different track, with some help from #7, learn how to drive it, and appointed ourselves at this new track very respectfully and got three races of INEX points. Our fast lap of this feature was 16.39 second which equates to 82.37 MPH, our best Sunny South lap was 12.893 seconds which is 69.803 MPH on the 1/4 mile track, like I said this track is wicked fast.
Friday Night September 12, 2014
Friday Sept 12th found us at the pit gate of Sunny South Raceway at around 5:30. We got to our pit stall got set up, registered went through tech and got ready to go on the track for a test session. The car felt good but the track was still hot, and we decided to let it cool down some before going back out. We waited until the last session and the track came to us a little, so we ran it as was for qualifying. Connelly qualified second behind Hunter Lewis by .055 of a second, close but no cigar. However they threw the dice and inverted two which gave us the pole. We have been lucky on that lately. The cars available tonight were Connelly in the #32, Hunter in the #7, Conner in the #14, Robbie in the #96, Brad in the #94, Joseph in the #44jr, Ramsey in the #4, Treyce in the #01, and Corry in the #1 a good solid field of cars, missing tonight was Brian McArdle , who was deer hunting with the kidney transplant group (Brian is a kidney receipent).
Qualifying Order: #7, #32, #14, #96, #94, #44jr., #4, #01, and #1.
Feature Race, As a result of the invert the #32 and #7 swapped position on the front row and every one else fell in place behind. At the start Connelly held on to 1st but did not lead the first lap, he fell to third, got back to second and ran real close to the #7 for most of the race which was caution free. He got to the #7's rear bumper on the white flag lap, and made an attempt to get under him on the last lap but finished second with less than a car length separating Connelly and the #7. The remainder of the top 5 were the #44jr. in third, the #94 in fourth and the #96 in fifth. There weren't a lot of position changes, but a lot of good close racing none the less. We as a team are getting a lot closer to being where we need to be to start winning these races but we're not there yet. Looking forward to the next race already.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Friday Night Aug 29, 2014
Well the weather bug caught up with us again this past Friday night. Forecast had the track wet for most of the day and evening, so the race scheduled for tonight will be rescheduled for Oct 4, double points and all. Next race at Sunny South is scheduled for Sept 12, 2014.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Friday Night August 15, 2014
Friday night Aug 15 found the #32 crew at the pit gate for about 5:20. We got to our pits, set up, went through registration and tech and got the car ready to break in tires. We were breaking in a new set of right sides. Two heat cycles with a water cool down in between got us halfway there. Need another two cycles at the next race, OK for now. We put our race tires on and did a test set, then put another set on trying to decide which to use in qualifying. We got some real good times in practice on the second set and decided to qualify on those. In qualifying we didn't get close to our practice times, and we qualified second a full tenth of a second behind Hunter Lewis who won the pole. I think Connelly was overdriving the car, trying too hard.
There were 14 cars registered for tonight's event, they were in order of qualifying: Hunter Lewis #7, Connelly Dubuisson #32, Bred West #94, Robbie Johnston #96, Conner Okrzesik #14, Ramsey Whittington #4, Andrew Johnson #66, Dustin Harvison #15, Joseph McArdle #44jr, Brian McArdle #44, Chad Robinson #10, Michael Beasley #1, Treyce Capers #01, and Jayme Corry #18, a very capable and fast field.
After qualifying the race director threw the "big dice" and rolled a four meaning that they would invert the top four qualifiers, which put us starting from position #3. We would rather start from the #3 position than the #2 spot as it is sometime tough getting to the inside lane where you can actually race and pass someone.
At the start there was a spin before all the cars had taken the green flag, so a complete restart. The restart was clean and by the end of lap one Connelly was only about 3 feet from the lead. by the end of lap #2 we had the lead, a spin brought out another caution, restart went well. We only lead two laps when Hunter Lewis in the #7 got by us for the lead. So on to plan "B", fall back and ride saving our tires for a run at the lead late in the race. So much for plan "B" a late caution let everybody's tires cool off, but no big loss we were still in second place and we would see if we had anything for the #7. The race restarted with nine laps to go, Connelly latched on to the rear bumper of the #7 and stayed within 3 or 4 car lengths of him for the remainder of the race--we just didn't have anything for him--don't know if we missed something in the setup or we ran our tires off the car but we just couldn't get our lap times down to where they needed to be. Giving us a second place finish. Connelly was very disappointed as he felt he hadn't driven hard enough. He is still learning the coupe but he is getting it. We will try to improve for the next race. The top 5 finishing order was the #7, #32, #96, #44 and I believe the #94 wound up 5th. All in all a good race, not a lot of passing up front, but back in the pack there was some really good racing, hey--good racing is good racing no matter where you find it.
On another note we had a professional photographer come to the track and take a bunch of photos. I'll post some when we get them back. Looking forward to the Aug. 29th race already
There were 14 cars registered for tonight's event, they were in order of qualifying: Hunter Lewis #7, Connelly Dubuisson #32, Bred West #94, Robbie Johnston #96, Conner Okrzesik #14, Ramsey Whittington #4, Andrew Johnson #66, Dustin Harvison #15, Joseph McArdle #44jr, Brian McArdle #44, Chad Robinson #10, Michael Beasley #1, Treyce Capers #01, and Jayme Corry #18, a very capable and fast field.
After qualifying the race director threw the "big dice" and rolled a four meaning that they would invert the top four qualifiers, which put us starting from position #3. We would rather start from the #3 position than the #2 spot as it is sometime tough getting to the inside lane where you can actually race and pass someone.
At the start there was a spin before all the cars had taken the green flag, so a complete restart. The restart was clean and by the end of lap one Connelly was only about 3 feet from the lead. by the end of lap #2 we had the lead, a spin brought out another caution, restart went well. We only lead two laps when Hunter Lewis in the #7 got by us for the lead. So on to plan "B", fall back and ride saving our tires for a run at the lead late in the race. So much for plan "B" a late caution let everybody's tires cool off, but no big loss we were still in second place and we would see if we had anything for the #7. The race restarted with nine laps to go, Connelly latched on to the rear bumper of the #7 and stayed within 3 or 4 car lengths of him for the remainder of the race--we just didn't have anything for him--don't know if we missed something in the setup or we ran our tires off the car but we just couldn't get our lap times down to where they needed to be. Giving us a second place finish. Connelly was very disappointed as he felt he hadn't driven hard enough. He is still learning the coupe but he is getting it. We will try to improve for the next race. The top 5 finishing order was the #7, #32, #96, #44 and I believe the #94 wound up 5th. All in all a good race, not a lot of passing up front, but back in the pack there was some really good racing, hey--good racing is good racing no matter where you find it.
On another note we had a professional photographer come to the track and take a bunch of photos. I'll post some when we get them back. Looking forward to the Aug. 29th race already
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Friday Night August 1, 2014
The #32 team arrived at SSR at about 5:30 pm got to our pit stall got it set up, got the car out and went through registration and safety inspection. We had a couple of things we had to check as we had made a couple of slight adjustments to the car before the feature race on July 12th and the car was trying to "step out" when Connelly pushed it really hard going into turn 3. He went out and gave it a quick run and the loose condition was still there. We un-did the change and it was back to normal. This new car is very sensitive to even minute changes, so you have to be careful of what you do. The track temp was blistering hot 118 degrees so we waited to go out for another test run until 20 min. before testing was over. When we went out again we tried a set of tires we had run on the sedan and they were fast, high 12.9's and low 13.0's, then we tried the set that had come with the car. Connelly said that even though this set wasn't quite as fast only one 12.99 and the rest of the laps 13.0's the second set was more comfortable. We discussed which set to qualify on and he wanted the second set. I told him in qualifying you go with your best stuff, you can hold onto anything for 3 laps but lets get a good qualifying lap. He insisted he would get us a lap with the second set--OK--Mr. race car driver show us what cha got!!! Well what he had was a 13.027, not a bad lap but on a night when the top 3 cars were all in the 12.9's it was only good enough for 4th place. When they threw the dice for the invert they threw a 2 meaning we would start 4th on the outside with three really fast cars in front of us. So much for the driver dictating to the car owner what tires to use. Since the "more comfortable" set would be more appropriate for a 25 lap race we were in agreement to go with that set in the feature race.
Tonight we had 12 cars competing; Hunter Lewis #7, Brian McArdle #44, Andrew Johnson #66, Connelly Dubuisson #32, Robbie Johnston #96, Joseph McArdle #44jr, Brad West #94,Conner Okrzesik #14, Dustin Harvison #15, Ramsey Whittington #4, Chad Robinson #10, and Treyce Capers #01, a very fast field with the top four qualifiers all within a tenth of a second of each other and the top six within a tenth and a half. We were starting fourth with three 12.9 second cars in front of us. Good luck with that. Connelly has a tendency to "get down" on himself when he makes a mistake and he felt terrible about the tire selection thing, so I reminded him of something that happened in a race earlier in the season, we had a solid second place going with a few laps to go and he made a mistake on a restart and fell to third, he then started pushing too hard made another mistake and fell to fourth. So I told him we can't change the qualifying thing and he had come from 9th and 10th in the last two races to finish third, so just go out drive your race like you know you can and have fun and everything will take care of itself. Did it ever!!!
At the start Conner in the #14 broke something in the rear end and spun in turn one of the first lap, every one was able to avoid hitting him, so we had a complete restart minus the #14. Connelly got a good start and stayed in 4th place on the outside for 2 1/2 laps when he was finally able to get to the inside where he could race, the next back straightaway he got buy Hunter #7 (who was on the far outside) and really abusing his tires and Andrew #66 to take second place. He stayed very close to Brian #44 and was able to pass him for the lead on lap 8. Brian stayed glued to Connelly, never separated by more than one car length with Hunter a equally close third for the next 12 laps or so. It was a very entertaining race. At about lap 20 or so Brian and Hunter had overheated their tires to the point that they were unable to challenge for the win. Had we had a caution, they both would have been able to cool down their tires as well as us, and things might have been different, but we didn't get a caution and no tires were cooled and we won our first Legend race of the season. What a race? Connelly really redeemed himself and probably drove the best race of his career.
The final order of finish was the #32, #44, #7, #44jr, #66, #96, #94, #4, #10, #15, #01, a very competitive and exciting race. Looking forward to the next race already August 15.
Tonight we had 12 cars competing; Hunter Lewis #7, Brian McArdle #44, Andrew Johnson #66, Connelly Dubuisson #32, Robbie Johnston #96, Joseph McArdle #44jr, Brad West #94,Conner Okrzesik #14, Dustin Harvison #15, Ramsey Whittington #4, Chad Robinson #10, and Treyce Capers #01, a very fast field with the top four qualifiers all within a tenth of a second of each other and the top six within a tenth and a half. We were starting fourth with three 12.9 second cars in front of us. Good luck with that. Connelly has a tendency to "get down" on himself when he makes a mistake and he felt terrible about the tire selection thing, so I reminded him of something that happened in a race earlier in the season, we had a solid second place going with a few laps to go and he made a mistake on a restart and fell to third, he then started pushing too hard made another mistake and fell to fourth. So I told him we can't change the qualifying thing and he had come from 9th and 10th in the last two races to finish third, so just go out drive your race like you know you can and have fun and everything will take care of itself. Did it ever!!!
At the start Conner in the #14 broke something in the rear end and spun in turn one of the first lap, every one was able to avoid hitting him, so we had a complete restart minus the #14. Connelly got a good start and stayed in 4th place on the outside for 2 1/2 laps when he was finally able to get to the inside where he could race, the next back straightaway he got buy Hunter #7 (who was on the far outside) and really abusing his tires and Andrew #66 to take second place. He stayed very close to Brian #44 and was able to pass him for the lead on lap 8. Brian stayed glued to Connelly, never separated by more than one car length with Hunter a equally close third for the next 12 laps or so. It was a very entertaining race. At about lap 20 or so Brian and Hunter had overheated their tires to the point that they were unable to challenge for the win. Had we had a caution, they both would have been able to cool down their tires as well as us, and things might have been different, but we didn't get a caution and no tires were cooled and we won our first Legend race of the season. What a race? Connelly really redeemed himself and probably drove the best race of his career.
The final order of finish was the #32, #44, #7, #44jr, #66, #96, #94, #4, #10, #15, #01, a very competitive and exciting race. Looking forward to the next race already August 15.
July 18, 2014
Well the rain bug bit us again, due to heavy rain coming out of Texas and Louisiana and falling on the track, the race was called before we even left for Sunny South. I have suggested that an alternate name could be "Rainy South Raceway", just kidding we have been very lucky this season and have had only one rainout, which was made up last Saturday. This race will be made up some time in Sept. So now it is on to the next race on Aug 1st.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Saturday Night July 12, 2014
We got to the track about 2:30 as late checkout at LaQuinta was 1 pm. We got let in to the track by the snack bar cook bringing supplies. We used our time wisely, nut and bolted the car and Connelly waxed it, it had to look good for it's introduction. It was so hot you could hardly breathe but we stayed in the shade and kept hydrated. The track gates opened, we went through tech--with a new car they went through safety tech really close--we decided that with the track so hot we would wait until 20 min before practice ended to even go out. We got out, made some hot laps and came in, the car was still good. Then guess what, it starts to rain. It just rained for about15 minutes and with the track so hot and just a small amount of rain it shouldn't take too long to dry. 10 to 15 minutes of several street cars making laps then another 20 hot laps with 8 legends and the track was ready. Since we had no qualifying they decided to line up all the cars by points, and invert the entire field then throw the big dice and double invert whatever that throw indicated. There were 11 cars in the show for tonight and since the big dice only has six spots we were going to start 10th out of 11 no matter what the invert roll came up with. Another wrinkle--Hunter Lewis the #7 had a hundred dollar bounty placed on him--anyone who could legally and cleanly beat him would get an extra $100, if no one beats him tonight, next week it goes to $200, and if it goes to a third week it becomes $300, if he wins all three he gets the $300. All that aside, we are still starting 10th out of 11 with an unfamiliar car, with this total field invert the higher points cars (faster) are at the rear and will take some work to get by. Well we came from the back last week with the sedan so we will give it a try with the coupe. In our pre-race instructions I told Connelly be safe, give the car a respectable run and have fun.
At the start we are almost dead last, within a few laps we are up to 6th, few more laps 5th. The car looked like it was really hooked up and appeared to be handling well. Then a caution comes out, Connelly takes the "choose" and works his way up to 3rd. Brian McArdle and Hunter are going hard at each other for about 5 laps making 4 or 5 crossover passes in those laps, Connelly was able to close up to the back bumper of whoever was second. For a while I thought these two are going to wreck each other and we are going to win this thing. Finally Hunter got about 2 car lengths advantage over Brian with two laps to go. Connelly got a couple of real good runs on Brian and almost got by him for second place right at the finish. All in all a very respectable run for our first time out, came from 10th to third and looked good doing it, no "gimmie" here Connelly earned it. In tech Connelly kept looking under the left front suspension saying it felt like the left front brake was grabbing upon entry to the turns and he couldn't drive it as hard as he wanted to. He had hit Joseph McArdle rear bumper with his left front tire in the turn three of lap one and drove the whole race like that. I looked at the in-car electronic timer and we has several low 13.00's I told Connelly there couldn't be too much wrong turning those kind of lap times. Upon checking the car at home we found that we had knocked the "toe" completely out of the front end giving the feel of the car not wanting to turn as easily. All in all I felt that Connelly had driven a very good race, the car looked really good and with a little tweeking I feel that we will be competitive with anybody. We have a short week as the next race in next Friday July 18. Cant wait.
At the start we are almost dead last, within a few laps we are up to 6th, few more laps 5th. The car looked like it was really hooked up and appeared to be handling well. Then a caution comes out, Connelly takes the "choose" and works his way up to 3rd. Brian McArdle and Hunter are going hard at each other for about 5 laps making 4 or 5 crossover passes in those laps, Connelly was able to close up to the back bumper of whoever was second. For a while I thought these two are going to wreck each other and we are going to win this thing. Finally Hunter got about 2 car lengths advantage over Brian with two laps to go. Connelly got a couple of real good runs on Brian and almost got by him for second place right at the finish. All in all a very respectable run for our first time out, came from 10th to third and looked good doing it, no "gimmie" here Connelly earned it. In tech Connelly kept looking under the left front suspension saying it felt like the left front brake was grabbing upon entry to the turns and he couldn't drive it as hard as he wanted to. He had hit Joseph McArdle rear bumper with his left front tire in the turn three of lap one and drove the whole race like that. I looked at the in-car electronic timer and we has several low 13.00's I told Connelly there couldn't be too much wrong turning those kind of lap times. Upon checking the car at home we found that we had knocked the "toe" completely out of the front end giving the feel of the car not wanting to turn as easily. All in all I felt that Connelly had driven a very good race, the car looked really good and with a little tweeking I feel that we will be competitive with anybody. We have a short week as the next race in next Friday July 18. Cant wait.
"New" #32 coupe
Well we took delivery on the coupe, got it home, pulled the body off and got it over to Terry at Manhattan Collision Center for paint. He did a spectacular gloss black and orange paint job. He also did a royal blue distressed pinstripe accent that made the whole thing really POP. We got the body home and very carefully re-installed it, placed the numbers and graphics, the result is excellent. Now that the numbers are on it is officially the #32 coupe. Our plan was to be able to go get the car home, get it painted, get the graphics on and get it to the track for a test session before the 7-12-14 rainout make up race. Mission accomplished!!!!
We called Mr. Joe got the track reserved for Fri. night the 11th, booked a motel in Mobile, planning to test Fri. and race Sat the 12th. We were praying for no rain as the skies looked ripe. We got to SSR about 6 pm unloaded got on the track and as you might suspect it starts to rain--a heavy drizzle at first then a light shower, then it stops, just enough to remind you who is really in charge. We had some company at the track, Joseph and Brian McArdle were there with their cars Conner with his #14 Legend and #14 Pro Challenge and a couple of go karts, just enough activity to keep things interesting.
The track dried quickly and we only lost about 20 min or so, Connelly got back out and said the car felt really good. We wanted to try 3 or 4 different tire combinations which we managed to do, the fastest set was found out to be the one we weren't even trying to test, but because I laid out the wrong tires we learned something--sometimes being lucky ain't all bad. Connelly had to feel his way with the coupe as they handle quite a bit differently than the sedan. Most people describe the coupe as being a little "twitchy" when compared to the sedan. Connelly had gotten so comfortable in the sedan that he knew what it was going to do before it did it. He progressed quickly through the learning curve and was soon turning times in the low 13.00's. We put that "fast" set of tires on and Connelly said he was going to go out and "bust it". We had the electronic timing system set up and after 7 laps he shuts it down and comes off the track, which is unusual as you usually have to shoot him to get him off the track. I walked back down to the trailer and he says come see something. He scrolls through the times of those 7 laps and after his get up to speed laps he had a 13.02, 13.00, 13.00
12.97, and a 13.01, and that was with no tweeking or fine tuning the setup. Connelly said there was nothing else I could learn from running more laps, we are ready for tomorrow night. We slept well that night looking forward to Sat. night's race.
We called Mr. Joe got the track reserved for Fri. night the 11th, booked a motel in Mobile, planning to test Fri. and race Sat the 12th. We were praying for no rain as the skies looked ripe. We got to SSR about 6 pm unloaded got on the track and as you might suspect it starts to rain--a heavy drizzle at first then a light shower, then it stops, just enough to remind you who is really in charge. We had some company at the track, Joseph and Brian McArdle were there with their cars Conner with his #14 Legend and #14 Pro Challenge and a couple of go karts, just enough activity to keep things interesting.
The track dried quickly and we only lost about 20 min or so, Connelly got back out and said the car felt really good. We wanted to try 3 or 4 different tire combinations which we managed to do, the fastest set was found out to be the one we weren't even trying to test, but because I laid out the wrong tires we learned something--sometimes being lucky ain't all bad. Connelly had to feel his way with the coupe as they handle quite a bit differently than the sedan. Most people describe the coupe as being a little "twitchy" when compared to the sedan. Connelly had gotten so comfortable in the sedan that he knew what it was going to do before it did it. He progressed quickly through the learning curve and was soon turning times in the low 13.00's. We put that "fast" set of tires on and Connelly said he was going to go out and "bust it". We had the electronic timing system set up and after 7 laps he shuts it down and comes off the track, which is unusual as you usually have to shoot him to get him off the track. I walked back down to the trailer and he says come see something. He scrolls through the times of those 7 laps and after his get up to speed laps he had a 13.02, 13.00, 13.00
12.97, and a 13.01, and that was with no tweeking or fine tuning the setup. Connelly said there was nothing else I could learn from running more laps, we are ready for tomorrow night. We slept well that night looking forward to Sat. night's race.
Catch up on recent races
I have been terribly lax in keeping up with the race postings. A lot has been going on--I'll explain later.
Since last race we have had a fairly successful run of races, most of them ending with a third place finish with an average car count of about 10 to 11 cars. One of the most interesting races was the Friday night of May 23rd (The Memorial Day Classic) Joey Padgett from Charlotte was in for the weekend of racing--he is usually "blistering" fast. Connelly got a good start and worked his way up to second behind the #7, held his position for several laps. With about 6 laps to go a caution came out causing a double file restart. Connelly missed a shift on the restart going from second gear to fourth, which coincidently dropped him from second place to fourth in the running order. He just didn't have time to get past the cars in front of him. At the finish--one of the closest I can remember there were 4 cars within 25 feet of each other (remember these cars are only 10 feet from front bumper to rear) Joseph in the #44jr was second, Joey Padgett #83 in third and Connelly #32 in fourth with Brian McArdle #44 in fifth. All spread out across the track, it was very impressive. I hated to loose a second place finish, but it was almost worth it to see that scramble for the runner up spot--I said almost!!!
In the June 6 th. race we got another third place finish, a good podium finish, but we are trying for better, I feel that will come.
The June 20th race was a very interesting affair, we had some very good practice times in the low 13.00's so we felt good about qualifying. Connelly as he often does was going to go out last in the final qualifying group, as he rolled forward to go out onto the track the engine just quit. When I didn't see him come out, I rushed over to the grid and figured we must have a loose connection somewhere in the ignition harness. I gave the wire bundle a good squeeze and a little shake and it started. Magic!?!?!?! Mr. Joe said he could go out for three practice laps --the same as qualifying-- but he couldn't score him as he had missed his qualifying attempt leaving us to start last. We taped up the wiring harness after the three laps and hoped it would hold for the feature. In the feature we would have to start 9th of 9 cars, oh well sooner or later you have to learn to come from the rear might as well be now. So we started 9th, by the end of lap two we up to 6th, by lap 8 we were 4th. Shortly past halfway a caution came out we took the choose, by the time that all sorted out were third, which is where we finished. It was a very impressive run for the #32 sedan. It was fitting for the sedan to have such a good run, as this was to be its last. For the next race we will have a "new coupe" new for us. It comes out of the Atlanta area and has been campaigned very successfully throughout the country. We look forward to seeing what that brings. Can't wait!!
Since last race we have had a fairly successful run of races, most of them ending with a third place finish with an average car count of about 10 to 11 cars. One of the most interesting races was the Friday night of May 23rd (The Memorial Day Classic) Joey Padgett from Charlotte was in for the weekend of racing--he is usually "blistering" fast. Connelly got a good start and worked his way up to second behind the #7, held his position for several laps. With about 6 laps to go a caution came out causing a double file restart. Connelly missed a shift on the restart going from second gear to fourth, which coincidently dropped him from second place to fourth in the running order. He just didn't have time to get past the cars in front of him. At the finish--one of the closest I can remember there were 4 cars within 25 feet of each other (remember these cars are only 10 feet from front bumper to rear) Joseph in the #44jr was second, Joey Padgett #83 in third and Connelly #32 in fourth with Brian McArdle #44 in fifth. All spread out across the track, it was very impressive. I hated to loose a second place finish, but it was almost worth it to see that scramble for the runner up spot--I said almost!!!
In the June 6 th. race we got another third place finish, a good podium finish, but we are trying for better, I feel that will come.
The June 20th race was a very interesting affair, we had some very good practice times in the low 13.00's so we felt good about qualifying. Connelly as he often does was going to go out last in the final qualifying group, as he rolled forward to go out onto the track the engine just quit. When I didn't see him come out, I rushed over to the grid and figured we must have a loose connection somewhere in the ignition harness. I gave the wire bundle a good squeeze and a little shake and it started. Magic!?!?!?! Mr. Joe said he could go out for three practice laps --the same as qualifying-- but he couldn't score him as he had missed his qualifying attempt leaving us to start last. We taped up the wiring harness after the three laps and hoped it would hold for the feature. In the feature we would have to start 9th of 9 cars, oh well sooner or later you have to learn to come from the rear might as well be now. So we started 9th, by the end of lap two we up to 6th, by lap 8 we were 4th. Shortly past halfway a caution came out we took the choose, by the time that all sorted out were third, which is where we finished. It was a very impressive run for the #32 sedan. It was fitting for the sedan to have such a good run, as this was to be its last. For the next race we will have a "new coupe" new for us. It comes out of the Atlanta area and has been campaigned very successfully throughout the country. We look forward to seeing what that brings. Can't wait!!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
APRIL 19, 2014
We were supposed to race last night, but the race rained out so it was pushed back to Saturday, either way tonight is race night and we are here to race.
QUALIFYING:
We got un loaded, registered and went through tech, I thought that tonight would not be a difficult night as the car was pretty good last race and all we did was to scale it nut and bolt it and load up, however the car must have caught a virus, because it was awful. In practice it was loose entering, wasn't rolling the center very well and the rear end was stepping out upon braking. It was a mess. We tried a couple of adjustments with very little gain. in qualifying we were way off in 4th place. Qualifying order was 1. #7 Hunter Lewis, 2. 44jr. Joseph McArdle, 3. #14 Conner Okzresik, 4. #32 Connelly, 5. #96 Robbie Johnston, 6. #94 Brad West, 7. #44 David Pickett (substituting for Brian McArdle), 8. #4 Ramaey Whittington, 9. #33 Dustin Smith, 10. #01 Treyce Capers, 11. #18 Devin Corey. A very fast field of competitors.
FEATURE RACE:
In qualifying, the car was terrible, Connelly went to Brian McArdle and explained what the car was doing and asked for some help, he made a couple of suggestions which were pretty aggressive fixes, but when you don't know what to do you ask for advice and follow it. We made the changes that Brian suggested and lined up for the feature. The invert was a 4, now we are on the pole again with a car that we don't know exactly what it is going to do when you run it down into turn one hard with 10 snarling cars behind you at full throttle. Connelly felt that being on the pole gave him an escape route in that he could run it down into the infield if it got away from him. The car stuck, and did it ever stick. Connelly led the first 16 laps, the # 7 finally got clear of traffic and got to us and got by. We then ran second for all but the last three laps. With three to go there was a wreck involving the #96, #14 and the #4 with the #96 having to go on the roll back and retire from the race. With three to go there would be a double file restart Connelly got a good start and tried to go inside of the #7 for the lead, but he covered the move and we got a little too close to the grass and got the left front into the grass and almost lost the car coming out of turn two, and we lost a position to the #44, So now one mistake puts us third, on the next lap he tries to get it back and gets into the back of the #44 and has to check up allowing the #44jr. to get by putting us in 4th place. On the last lap we ran very close to the #44jr. almost pushing him down the back straight a way, going into turn 3 he got very loose, we could have tried to pass him but would have probably wrecked us both. A third place trophy and a check for $40.00 just ain't worth it, so we just settled for fourth. We lead the race for 16 laps ran second for another 6 only to make a mistake with 3 to go and finish fourth. Again we had a solid second place car and didn't get the finish we should have. We will have to get our "stuff" together if we want to reach our goals.
Final finishing order:#7, #44, #44jr., #32, #14, #94, #4, #01, #96, #33, #18. Got to get better at finishing these races.
QUALIFYING:
We got un loaded, registered and went through tech, I thought that tonight would not be a difficult night as the car was pretty good last race and all we did was to scale it nut and bolt it and load up, however the car must have caught a virus, because it was awful. In practice it was loose entering, wasn't rolling the center very well and the rear end was stepping out upon braking. It was a mess. We tried a couple of adjustments with very little gain. in qualifying we were way off in 4th place. Qualifying order was 1. #7 Hunter Lewis, 2. 44jr. Joseph McArdle, 3. #14 Conner Okzresik, 4. #32 Connelly, 5. #96 Robbie Johnston, 6. #94 Brad West, 7. #44 David Pickett (substituting for Brian McArdle), 8. #4 Ramaey Whittington, 9. #33 Dustin Smith, 10. #01 Treyce Capers, 11. #18 Devin Corey. A very fast field of competitors.
FEATURE RACE:
In qualifying, the car was terrible, Connelly went to Brian McArdle and explained what the car was doing and asked for some help, he made a couple of suggestions which were pretty aggressive fixes, but when you don't know what to do you ask for advice and follow it. We made the changes that Brian suggested and lined up for the feature. The invert was a 4, now we are on the pole again with a car that we don't know exactly what it is going to do when you run it down into turn one hard with 10 snarling cars behind you at full throttle. Connelly felt that being on the pole gave him an escape route in that he could run it down into the infield if it got away from him. The car stuck, and did it ever stick. Connelly led the first 16 laps, the # 7 finally got clear of traffic and got to us and got by. We then ran second for all but the last three laps. With three to go there was a wreck involving the #96, #14 and the #4 with the #96 having to go on the roll back and retire from the race. With three to go there would be a double file restart Connelly got a good start and tried to go inside of the #7 for the lead, but he covered the move and we got a little too close to the grass and got the left front into the grass and almost lost the car coming out of turn two, and we lost a position to the #44, So now one mistake puts us third, on the next lap he tries to get it back and gets into the back of the #44 and has to check up allowing the #44jr. to get by putting us in 4th place. On the last lap we ran very close to the #44jr. almost pushing him down the back straight a way, going into turn 3 he got very loose, we could have tried to pass him but would have probably wrecked us both. A third place trophy and a check for $40.00 just ain't worth it, so we just settled for fourth. We lead the race for 16 laps ran second for another 6 only to make a mistake with 3 to go and finish fourth. Again we had a solid second place car and didn't get the finish we should have. We will have to get our "stuff" together if we want to reach our goals.
Final finishing order:#7, #44, #44jr., #32, #14, #94, #4, #01, #96, #33, #18. Got to get better at finishing these races.
APRIL 4, 2014
Tonight was Betty and my 50th wedding anniversary, we were married 4-4-1964, the miracle is that she put up with me for all of those years. We were prepared to go to the track and race and celebrate later, but the rain gods made it possible to celebrate tonight. So we went for a fantastic dinner at Drago's restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. we will be ready for the next race.
MARCH 21, 2014
On a sad note we learned tonight upon arriving at the track that Brian McArdle had been injured at work. He was using a hand held high speed grinder and the grinding wheel shattered and struck him in the inside of his left forearm and severed an artery and some nerves and tendons. He had to be rushed to the hospital and have emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. He is in a sling and cannot drive his personal street car let along a race car. We will keep him in our prayers and hope he can be back in the #44 soon. He is at the track observing--once you get racing in your blood you've just got to be there.
QUALIFYING:
Tonight in qualifying the #7 laid down a blistering qualifying lap of 12.888 the #32 was at 13.108 a full .2 of a second off. Wow that is huge, but who knows, we just will have to run the race and see how it shakes out. The rest of the field qualified at #96 3rd, #14 4th, #44jr. 5th #4 6th and #01 7th.
Participants tonight are: #7 Hunter Lewis, #32 Connelly, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okrezesik, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #4 Ramsey Whittington, #01 Treyce Capers. A very stout field.
FEATURE RACE:
The invert was thrown and was a two which put Connelly on the pole, we had been adjusting on the car and didn't have a chance to try it (that is the problem with no heat race you loose that "test session"). So now we are on the pole and I know he will drive it in there to try and keep the position the question now becomes "will it stick"? Connelly got a good start and just as I expected drove it in deep and the car stuck perfectly and he came out of turn two with the lead and was able to lead for half the race. Then #7 spun us entering turn three, that put us to the back for bringing out the caution but they also put the #7 to the back for spinning us, so now we are 6th and the #7 is behind us. We worked our way back up to third with the #7 still behind us and with two laps to go, he was on out tail, we gave him enough room to pass us on the inside but he spun us again. leaving us to finish 5th. What a bummer. The #7 felt that we were blocking him, but we drive the same line as him and he is so much faster he should have been able to get by without spinning us. We had a solid second place car but wound up 5th. The finishing order was 1st #96, 2nd #44jr, 3rd #7, 4th #14, 5th #32 6th #4, 7th #01.
QUALIFYING:
Tonight in qualifying the #7 laid down a blistering qualifying lap of 12.888 the #32 was at 13.108 a full .2 of a second off. Wow that is huge, but who knows, we just will have to run the race and see how it shakes out. The rest of the field qualified at #96 3rd, #14 4th, #44jr. 5th #4 6th and #01 7th.
Participants tonight are: #7 Hunter Lewis, #32 Connelly, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okrezesik, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #4 Ramsey Whittington, #01 Treyce Capers. A very stout field.
FEATURE RACE:
The invert was thrown and was a two which put Connelly on the pole, we had been adjusting on the car and didn't have a chance to try it (that is the problem with no heat race you loose that "test session"). So now we are on the pole and I know he will drive it in there to try and keep the position the question now becomes "will it stick"? Connelly got a good start and just as I expected drove it in deep and the car stuck perfectly and he came out of turn two with the lead and was able to lead for half the race. Then #7 spun us entering turn three, that put us to the back for bringing out the caution but they also put the #7 to the back for spinning us, so now we are 6th and the #7 is behind us. We worked our way back up to third with the #7 still behind us and with two laps to go, he was on out tail, we gave him enough room to pass us on the inside but he spun us again. leaving us to finish 5th. What a bummer. The #7 felt that we were blocking him, but we drive the same line as him and he is so much faster he should have been able to get by without spinning us. We had a solid second place car but wound up 5th. The finishing order was 1st #96, 2nd #44jr, 3rd #7, 4th #14, 5th #32 6th #4, 7th #01.
OPENING NIGHT MARCH 7, 2014
This season the track has made a change to the racing format. Instead of having qualifying, a 10 lap heat race, then a 20 lap feature, the new format is qualifying, no heat race and a 25 lap feature. This was done to try and get the out of town drivers, like us home at a reasonable time. Many times it is 3:30 or 4:00 Sat morning before we get to bed, so we will see how this works out.
QUALIFYING:
After all the planning for no heat races the electronic timing equipment failed so we had to draw chips for a 5 lap qualifying heat, won by Joseph McArdle, Connelly Dubuisson second and Brian McArdle third. The invert was accomplished by the race director choosing a number (3 tonight) and that was the number of cars to invert. It has since been changed to a dice being thrown after the qualifying to determine the invert.
Tonight's competitors were the #44 of Brian McArdle, #44jr. with Joseph McArdle at the wheel, #32 with Connelly Dubuisson driving, #7 of Hunter Lewis, #96 of Robbie Johnston, #4 of Ramsey Whittington, #14 of Conner Okrezesik, and the #01 driven by Trecye Capers, a very competitive field.
FEATURE RACE:
After the invert, the starting positions for the field was: #44 pole, #32 second, #44jr. third, #7 fourth, #96 fifth, #14 sixth, #4 seventh, and #01 eighth. At the start it took Connelly 3 laps to get to the bottom, by that time he was 4th. he stayed there for several laps when the #7 got loose around halfway Connelly made the pass for 3rd. Brian in the #44 "ran off and hid" from the field with Joseph #44jr. a distant 2nd. we were within 2 car lengths of Joseph and the #7 one length behind us. There was a caution with the #7 taking the choose, we were able to race our way to a third place finish behind Brian McArdle and Joseph McArdle. The #7 was 4th, the #96 5th, the #14 6th with the #4 next followed by the #01. The car wasn't perfect, but Connelly was able to drive it to a podium finish. We were OK with the results, but Connelly wanted a better finish, but with that kind of competition, we have to drive harder or get faster. Looking forward to next race.
QUALIFYING:
After all the planning for no heat races the electronic timing equipment failed so we had to draw chips for a 5 lap qualifying heat, won by Joseph McArdle, Connelly Dubuisson second and Brian McArdle third. The invert was accomplished by the race director choosing a number (3 tonight) and that was the number of cars to invert. It has since been changed to a dice being thrown after the qualifying to determine the invert.
Tonight's competitors were the #44 of Brian McArdle, #44jr. with Joseph McArdle at the wheel, #32 with Connelly Dubuisson driving, #7 of Hunter Lewis, #96 of Robbie Johnston, #4 of Ramsey Whittington, #14 of Conner Okrezesik, and the #01 driven by Trecye Capers, a very competitive field.
FEATURE RACE:
After the invert, the starting positions for the field was: #44 pole, #32 second, #44jr. third, #7 fourth, #96 fifth, #14 sixth, #4 seventh, and #01 eighth. At the start it took Connelly 3 laps to get to the bottom, by that time he was 4th. he stayed there for several laps when the #7 got loose around halfway Connelly made the pass for 3rd. Brian in the #44 "ran off and hid" from the field with Joseph #44jr. a distant 2nd. we were within 2 car lengths of Joseph and the #7 one length behind us. There was a caution with the #7 taking the choose, we were able to race our way to a third place finish behind Brian McArdle and Joseph McArdle. The #7 was 4th, the #96 5th, the #14 6th with the #4 next followed by the #01. The car wasn't perfect, but Connelly was able to drive it to a podium finish. We were OK with the results, but Connelly wanted a better finish, but with that kind of competition, we have to drive harder or get faster. Looking forward to next race.
2014 RACING SEASON
The 2014 racing season is upon us. In preparation for the new season we tore the car all the way down, went completely through the chassis, replaced all of the stress area bolts, inspected and replaced any bars-trailing arms that even suggested they had been stressed (a $10 bar is cheap insurance against it breaking and putting the car in the wall along with a couple of thousand dollar repair bill).
OPEN TEST DATE--FEB 8, 2014
We had our open test date on Feb 8th, I don't know how Joe did it, but the weather was perfect--it had rained almost all week and on Saturday it was beautiful and on Sunday it rained again--way to go Joe. We had two sets of tires to break in so we set about the task of doing that. It took us almost all day to get that done, but we did have time to get in one set of "hot laps". The car handled really well and appeared to be fast. So we felt like we were ready, however--and there always seems to be a "however" the #7 sold both of his sedans and showed up with a really fast coupe he got out of Atlanta. He seemed to be really fast. Brian McArdle was back with a new coupe--really fast. The #96 Robbie Johnston had Mr. Joe build him a brand new coupe in the off season, and he appears to be quick, also there is always Joseph McArdle. There will be plenty of challenges this season, we will just have to see what we can do. Looking forward to opening night on March 7th.
OPEN TEST DATE--FEB 8, 2014
We had our open test date on Feb 8th, I don't know how Joe did it, but the weather was perfect--it had rained almost all week and on Saturday it was beautiful and on Sunday it rained again--way to go Joe. We had two sets of tires to break in so we set about the task of doing that. It took us almost all day to get that done, but we did have time to get in one set of "hot laps". The car handled really well and appeared to be fast. So we felt like we were ready, however--and there always seems to be a "however" the #7 sold both of his sedans and showed up with a really fast coupe he got out of Atlanta. He seemed to be really fast. Brian McArdle was back with a new coupe--really fast. The #96 Robbie Johnston had Mr. Joe build him a brand new coupe in the off season, and he appears to be quick, also there is always Joseph McArdle. There will be plenty of challenges this season, we will just have to see what we can do. Looking forward to opening night on March 7th.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
