Saturday afternoon found us running late getting to the track, Connelly's younger sister had a soccer game that we had to attend, by the time we got out of town we were an hour late. By the time we got to the track, got registered and teched we only had a little over a half hour of practice left. It wouldn't have been too bad, but the car that was handling so well last race went to junk on us. It just wouldn't roll through the center of the turns and was sliding the front end up the track. The track temp was 94o and we should have been loose. I made a slight adjustment which helped some, but we were still tight, made another adjustment, still tight, then practice ended. The track finally got the transponders in so we were able to qualify on time. Connelly laid down a pretty fair lap, 13.20 for a fourth starting spot out of 11 cars. As usual we had a very good field of cars. The very fast #53 of Jeremy Lundy, Both of the 44's the blue driven by Joseph McArdle, with Billy Elmore, Jr. in the silver car. In addition Joey Padget in his very quick #83, the always fast #7 of Hunter Lewis, of cource the #32 with Connelly Dubuisson doing the driving. The much improved #4 of Tucker Yance, along with the #39 of Daniel Thompson, the #55r of Ronnie Osmer, the #59 of Terry Myers, and Andrew Johnson driving the #66. A very strong field again this weekend. Connelly's fourth qualifying spot gave him the outside front row in his heat race, alongside of #83 of Joey Padgett. At the start Connelly was able to get to the bottom in a half a lap, then coming out of turn four got under the #83 they touched and Connelly got dead sideways (you could read his number from up the track) he was able to maintain 2nd position for a couple of laps then coming out of turn two spun, which put him last, since there were only three laps to go there was no "choose", in three laps he was able to work his way up to 3rd. Which gave him outsde of third row (6th) starting position in the feature race.
Eleven cars answered the call for the feature, after the start it took Connelly a full lap to get to the bottom of the track where he could race, by then he was 8th, he then worked his way back up to 5 th when he got into a long slide down the back stretch and lost 3 positions, worked his way back up to about 6th when the 55r and 66 got together and as a result of a case of mistaken identity by the race director, Connelly got sent to the back for causing the accident?? oh well, all this and the car is handling worse (the track is cooling off and getting tighter)--just what we didn't need. We get back to racing Connelly just completes a pass on the 39 for 5th and Joey Padget blows an oil line off his engine and oils the track down causing the silver #44 to spin right in front of Connelly leaving just a narrow lane between the car and the wall on the back straightaway, Connelly managed to squeeze through and not hit anything or anybody. Joey was finished for the night. After a lengthy cleanup delay we got back underway with a "green, white, checker" Connelly wound up finishing 6th. It could have been a lot worse, we put ourselves in position to get run over by the #4 on two occasions, Tucker skifully avoided us, and that squeeze between the silver #44 and the wall was too close for comfort. Considering we were dealing with an ill handling race car and several near misses, I was overjoyed to just be able to push the #32 back on the trailer in one piece. Oh well, we'll give it another try next race on the 31st. Come on out to Sunny South Raceway and treat yourself to some very exciting and action filled racing.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
OPENING NIGHT 3-3-2012
This past Saturday night was opening night at Sunny South Raceway for the 2012 season. Everyone was really looking forward to the opening especially Connelly. He has worked hard getting his grades in order as well as working very hard getting the car ready. There have been a couple of private test sessions and one open test date and everyone was all tested and practiced out and ready to go RACING. There have been a couple of new entries in the Legends class in the Young Lions division. Ronnie Osmer has moved up from Bandoleros with his #55r and Daniel Thompson has also moved up from Bandoleros with his #39. We raced Bandoleros with them and they are both good competitors and great friends. We welcome them to the Legends class and look forward to racing with them both.
The field of 12 Legends that presented Saturday was a very strong one. In addition to Ronnie #55r, and #39, Jeremy Lundy #53 with his wicked fast '34 coupe, Joseph McArdle blue #44, (2011 Young Lions track champion), his dad Brian McArdle three time track champion in the Pro division in his silver 44jr coupe. Terry Myers with his '37 sedan #59 was sporting a new paint scheme, looks like gloss black that has been in the rain also he has a new engine, Obviously Connelly with his '37 sedan, new engine and all, Also competing was the #4 of Tucker Yance, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, who has a new motor and is super strong. The #66 is also a new driver here for his first race, the #04 whose name I do not have at this time (but I'll get it) and finally another Louisiana driver from Harahan, LA driving his #8 again I do not have his name.
HEAT RACE
We were not able to qualify this Saturday as the transponders did not arrive in time, hopefully they will be in for the next race. I drew the chip for starting position and drew a high number so we would start 5th out of 6 for our heat. The #39 who was scheduled to start ahead of us opted to start last (his first race) to try and get his "racing feet" under him before starting up in the middle of the pack, smart thing to do. That moved us up to starting 3rd as they just moved the whole line up. We were in the first heat with the #53, #44jr, #66, #4, #39 and Connelly in #32. At the start we were able to move up to second held it for a short time when Brian in the #44 got past us. We ran 3rd for a few laps behind the #53 and#44jr when Brian spun the #44jr right in front of Connelly, Brian being the professional driver he is locked the car down and gave Connelly a good lane to get buy without any contact. That brought out the caution, Brian took the "choose" which put Connelly back to third. After a couple of laps of hard racing the #39 got into the #4 and spun him, another caution. We again started 3rd., Brian made a great pass on the white flag lap for the win, the #53 finished second Connelly third with the #4 fourth followed by the #39 and #66. Connelly drove a good heat, fairly conservatively but he was in some fast company with the #44jr and the #53
FEATURE RACE
In the feature we started inside second row behind the #53, the blue #44 of Joseph McArdle outside pole, the #59 was outside of us with the #4 inside 3nd row, the #08 outside of the3rd row, with the #39 inside 4th row and the #55r outside 4th row, the#66 inside row 5 with the #7 outside of him. Brian McArdle wasn't feeling well after the heat race so he put a relief driver Billy Elmore in the #44jr for the feature which put him starting last. Connelly started third and finished third, but had to pass about twelve cars to do that. (The "choose" cone is put out after each caution except on the last three laps and allows all the drivers behind the leader move up to the outside of the 1st row, then the next car that "chooses" goes to the outside of the 2nd row and so on.) So when the caution comes out if you are in third place and do not "chosse" you are now in 5th place, however the outside is the long way around the track and the slower line, but the driver who was third and is now 5th has to pass all those outside cars again. There were a number of spins, some one car spins about three others that someone got spun by someone else, so there were a lot of "choosers". Connelly even got into the act. Going into turn one on one of the many restarts the #44jr came down on Connelly and they just barely touched and the #44jr went around, however it knocked Connelly's fender loose, I had to bring him in for repairs, before I got to him Cliff Osmer just snaped the fender back in place and Connelly got back out and didn't loose a lap, but now he is dead last. One lap after the restart Connelly had passed one car when the #39 spun and was black flagged (three spin rule) and withdrew. Connelly took the "choose" and went to the outside of the first row, by time he got to the bottom he was fourth behind the#53, the#7, and Joseph in the blue #44. Connelly got by Joseph in the #44 on a restart, I think Joseph missed a shift. Connelly was able to maintain his position and finish third. He almost got to second when the #7 thought the white flag was the checker and backed off, then realized his error and got back in it, Connelly got to the side of him and was third by less than a 1/2 car length. Joseph in the#44 was 4th, Billy Elmore in the #44jr was 5th with the #4 finishing 6th, the #08 was 7th, with the #59 came in 8th, and the #55r in 9th. After the race in the tech barn Billy Elmore showed what a class act he is when he came up to Connelly and accepted full responsibility for their little "get together" the mirrors in the #44jr were set for Brian and he just couldn't see. All in all a very eventful race, with several spins a couple of slight fender benders and some real good racing. I thought Connelly had a very good race, he got to race against the best drivers and equipment in the deep south and held his own, he is coming along and shows real promise. Our next race is at Sunny South on March 17. Come out to Grand Bay, AL and see some really good racing.
The field of 12 Legends that presented Saturday was a very strong one. In addition to Ronnie #55r, and #39, Jeremy Lundy #53 with his wicked fast '34 coupe, Joseph McArdle blue #44, (2011 Young Lions track champion), his dad Brian McArdle three time track champion in the Pro division in his silver 44jr coupe. Terry Myers with his '37 sedan #59 was sporting a new paint scheme, looks like gloss black that has been in the rain also he has a new engine, Obviously Connelly with his '37 sedan, new engine and all, Also competing was the #4 of Tucker Yance, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, who has a new motor and is super strong. The #66 is also a new driver here for his first race, the #04 whose name I do not have at this time (but I'll get it) and finally another Louisiana driver from Harahan, LA driving his #8 again I do not have his name.
HEAT RACE
We were not able to qualify this Saturday as the transponders did not arrive in time, hopefully they will be in for the next race. I drew the chip for starting position and drew a high number so we would start 5th out of 6 for our heat. The #39 who was scheduled to start ahead of us opted to start last (his first race) to try and get his "racing feet" under him before starting up in the middle of the pack, smart thing to do. That moved us up to starting 3rd as they just moved the whole line up. We were in the first heat with the #53, #44jr, #66, #4, #39 and Connelly in #32. At the start we were able to move up to second held it for a short time when Brian in the #44 got past us. We ran 3rd for a few laps behind the #53 and#44jr when Brian spun the #44jr right in front of Connelly, Brian being the professional driver he is locked the car down and gave Connelly a good lane to get buy without any contact. That brought out the caution, Brian took the "choose" which put Connelly back to third. After a couple of laps of hard racing the #39 got into the #4 and spun him, another caution. We again started 3rd., Brian made a great pass on the white flag lap for the win, the #53 finished second Connelly third with the #4 fourth followed by the #39 and #66. Connelly drove a good heat, fairly conservatively but he was in some fast company with the #44jr and the #53
FEATURE RACE
In the feature we started inside second row behind the #53, the blue #44 of Joseph McArdle outside pole, the #59 was outside of us with the #4 inside 3nd row, the #08 outside of the3rd row, with the #39 inside 4th row and the #55r outside 4th row, the#66 inside row 5 with the #7 outside of him. Brian McArdle wasn't feeling well after the heat race so he put a relief driver Billy Elmore in the #44jr for the feature which put him starting last. Connelly started third and finished third, but had to pass about twelve cars to do that. (The "choose" cone is put out after each caution except on the last three laps and allows all the drivers behind the leader move up to the outside of the 1st row, then the next car that "chooses" goes to the outside of the 2nd row and so on.) So when the caution comes out if you are in third place and do not "chosse" you are now in 5th place, however the outside is the long way around the track and the slower line, but the driver who was third and is now 5th has to pass all those outside cars again. There were a number of spins, some one car spins about three others that someone got spun by someone else, so there were a lot of "choosers". Connelly even got into the act. Going into turn one on one of the many restarts the #44jr came down on Connelly and they just barely touched and the #44jr went around, however it knocked Connelly's fender loose, I had to bring him in for repairs, before I got to him Cliff Osmer just snaped the fender back in place and Connelly got back out and didn't loose a lap, but now he is dead last. One lap after the restart Connelly had passed one car when the #39 spun and was black flagged (three spin rule) and withdrew. Connelly took the "choose" and went to the outside of the first row, by time he got to the bottom he was fourth behind the#53, the#7, and Joseph in the blue #44. Connelly got by Joseph in the #44 on a restart, I think Joseph missed a shift. Connelly was able to maintain his position and finish third. He almost got to second when the #7 thought the white flag was the checker and backed off, then realized his error and got back in it, Connelly got to the side of him and was third by less than a 1/2 car length. Joseph in the#44 was 4th, Billy Elmore in the #44jr was 5th with the #4 finishing 6th, the #08 was 7th, with the #59 came in 8th, and the #55r in 9th. After the race in the tech barn Billy Elmore showed what a class act he is when he came up to Connelly and accepted full responsibility for their little "get together" the mirrors in the #44jr were set for Brian and he just couldn't see. All in all a very eventful race, with several spins a couple of slight fender benders and some real good racing. I thought Connelly had a very good race, he got to race against the best drivers and equipment in the deep south and held his own, he is coming along and shows real promise. Our next race is at Sunny South on March 17. Come out to Grand Bay, AL and see some really good racing.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Open Test Date SSR 2-11-12
We had our test date last Saturday, got to see a lot of old friends including Mr Dan who I met on my first visit to SSR, he has followed Connelly's progress throughout his brief career, it was great seeing him again.
We had a busy agenda for the test session, new engine to break in, new tires to break in. Mr. Joe said that the engine was ready to go as we had it dynoed in Charlotte, but I am so cautious I broke it in again, when you spend that much money you want to be sure. In our first time on the track there were about 7 cars out with us, I told the other drivers we were going to be running about half speed and that we would stay out of their way, which we did. We got a break as there were no cars in the grid and we got 20 laps before the next class was up. We did two more 10 lap sets gradually increasing speed. The car handled great and the enging felt really strong. In the next set I told Connelly to increase his speed and push it a little. He turned some pretty good times, He even practiced a restart. The car really looked good on the track, very smooth. We ran the whole practice without the front fenders or hood or grille in order to maximize air flow to new engine. It still got very hot. We put a fan on it between sets to bring it down which it did. In the final set I told Connelly to run it, he got some really good times, although the track was cold, the ambient air temperture was around 50 degrees with a 20 mph wind, it was more than cool. All in all we had a very successful test and are looking forward to the 3rd of March to start the season.
We had some liquid on the top of the engine and some oil drops on the left rear fender and running board. I thought that the head bolts were leaking, so I called Mr. Joe Sun. morning all concerned. Mr Joe pointed out you were running too good to have an oil leak through the head bolts, you would be loosing compression. I was so paranoid about that new motor. Joe told me go out there and find your oil leak and you will be fine. The rear oil cooler line had worked about an eighth of a turn loose and there was just a slight drip, which accounted for the oil on the rear fender and running board. The liquid on the top of the engine was brake fluid, we had over filled the tank. Joe probablly thinks that I am a raving lunatic worrying about every little thing without checking it out first. O well that is what us neophites do. Again Joe sorry for being such a pest.
We had a busy agenda for the test session, new engine to break in, new tires to break in. Mr. Joe said that the engine was ready to go as we had it dynoed in Charlotte, but I am so cautious I broke it in again, when you spend that much money you want to be sure. In our first time on the track there were about 7 cars out with us, I told the other drivers we were going to be running about half speed and that we would stay out of their way, which we did. We got a break as there were no cars in the grid and we got 20 laps before the next class was up. We did two more 10 lap sets gradually increasing speed. The car handled great and the enging felt really strong. In the next set I told Connelly to increase his speed and push it a little. He turned some pretty good times, He even practiced a restart. The car really looked good on the track, very smooth. We ran the whole practice without the front fenders or hood or grille in order to maximize air flow to new engine. It still got very hot. We put a fan on it between sets to bring it down which it did. In the final set I told Connelly to run it, he got some really good times, although the track was cold, the ambient air temperture was around 50 degrees with a 20 mph wind, it was more than cool. All in all we had a very successful test and are looking forward to the 3rd of March to start the season.
We had some liquid on the top of the engine and some oil drops on the left rear fender and running board. I thought that the head bolts were leaking, so I called Mr. Joe Sun. morning all concerned. Mr Joe pointed out you were running too good to have an oil leak through the head bolts, you would be loosing compression. I was so paranoid about that new motor. Joe told me go out there and find your oil leak and you will be fine. The rear oil cooler line had worked about an eighth of a turn loose and there was just a slight drip, which accounted for the oil on the rear fender and running board. The liquid on the top of the engine was brake fluid, we had over filled the tank. Joe probablly thinks that I am a raving lunatic worrying about every little thing without checking it out first. O well that is what us neophites do. Again Joe sorry for being such a pest.
Off Season Prep for 2012
The #32 team began preparing for the 2012 season in early fall. We tore the car down to the last nut and bolt, had the chassis clipped and powdercoated -gloss black. The old clip was out a bunch, 1/2 inch in on the right side and almost 3/4 inch up on the right side, probablly a result of three too close encounters with the #4. We just seemed to have an attraction to each other. We ordered a new engine from Mr. Joe which is now installed, changed all of the brake lines, put all new bolts in the controll arms, new steering collum (we had already replaced the steering box last August), changed all fluids. It took us forever to get the car scaled as the front clip was so far out that we had to go back to the measurements we took of the car when we first got it. We have it pretty close. It was a lot of work but the car looks good and we are waiting to get to the track on the 11th of Feb. The new engine sounds strong, we will see how strong. We are certainly looking forward to the 2012 season.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Final Points Results
The final points have been tallied and Connelly has in fact finished third in the Young Lions points for the 2011 season at Sunny South Raceway. Even though he missed two races with one being a double points night he was able to race his way to third place. Eighteen cars posted finishes that earned points in the Young Lions division and another fourteen posted points in the Pro-Masters division. Since both divisions ran together this season Connelly was competing against some very experienced drivers. His goal at the beginning of the season was to win one race and finish third in points in this his first season in Legend Car racing. Fortunately he was able to accomplish both of his goals. This was supposed to be his learning season and learn he did. In his last race he was turning some very respectable times against some very tough competition. We are all very proud of him and we are already looking forward to next season.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Saturday Night September 17, 2011--Last Race of Season
iThis past Saturday night found the #32 team at Sunny South Raceway for the final time this season. Since it was the last race of the year, a couple of new wrinkles were in store. First they were going to qualify the Legends and Bandoleros, it was also a double points race, which was good for us as we were trying to get into the top 3 in Young Lions points. We were 103 points behind, which would be too many to make up in one race, but because of the double points it was mathematically possible.
There was a very strong field of 15 cars on hand to contest the last race of the 2011 season. In addition to the usual strong contenders; Brian McArdle two time track champion and current track record holder, his son Joseph current points leader in Young Lions, Cody Logan current points leader in the pro division and last year's semi pro champion, the #53 who won the pole in qualifying with a blistering lap in the low 13.1's, Cody Karl currently in second place in points behind Joseph (-30 pionts back). The wild card in this mix was Joey Padget who we were chasing for third place in Young Lions was racing in Kentucky and was not competing. Also racing was the #4,#7,#59, #97, #8, #1 and of course the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson.
When we went on the track for practice, Connelly discovered the toe had been knocked out in our altercation with the #4 in the last race. We lost about 30 min of practice time fixing it. We got on the track and the car felt good to Connelly. He ran some respectable times. We wanted to try a set of tires that we had used earlier in the year as they appeared to have a better stagger than the ones we had been running. We got the tires changed and presented the car to the gate for a test run but the track had just closed to practice. I asked Connelly what he wanted to do about tires for qualifying, he said lets try the ones we had not practiced, bad decision. We had run a number of laps on the old tires in the low to mid 13.20's. In qualifying the car just wouldn't handle and we posted a 13.53 good enough for only 9th place out of 15 cars. You just can't leave .3 of a second on the table in qualifying. We started 5th out of 8 cars in our heat race, made two passes got to third, got passed back by Cody Logan and wound up 4th in the heat. We started in the 7th position out of 15 cars for the feature. Connelly drove a great race and worked his way up to 4th by lap 7, the red flag came out for an accident at that point and it took 15 min to clear the track. During the cleanup, an accidental fire extinguisher discharge by the safety vehicle put a huge amount of dry chemical on the track. They blew it off and ran a few hot laps to finish the job, and got back to racing. Several cars took the "choose" which relegated Connelly to 8th. He worked his way back up to 6th then got into a slow slide and went through the infield at the entrance to turn one and knocked the toe out again and the car quit handling. The slide began right where all of that dry chemical from the fire extinguisher was dropped, could be that contributed to the slide. Before the spin he had run a lap of 13.11 and after the best he could do was a 13.78. We wound up with an official finish of 9th. I did the math and it appears that we might have gotten 3rd place in Young Lions points since Joey Padget was not racing. We picked up 104 which would give us the lead for third by one point. Each driver will have to drop his lowest point race and I don't know what Joey's lowest race was, so the jury is still out.
From my prespective, the 2011 season was a great one for us. We began with a new class of car that I knew little about, and with a driver who was totally new to legend racing. These cars are a complete different animal than the old bandolero. The setup is totally different, but with the help of a lot of people were were able to learn a lot about the car. I brought Connelly along slowly at first, but he grew into the position of driver and by the end of the season was really doing well. We are already looking forward to next season.
There was a very strong field of 15 cars on hand to contest the last race of the 2011 season. In addition to the usual strong contenders; Brian McArdle two time track champion and current track record holder, his son Joseph current points leader in Young Lions, Cody Logan current points leader in the pro division and last year's semi pro champion, the #53 who won the pole in qualifying with a blistering lap in the low 13.1's, Cody Karl currently in second place in points behind Joseph (-30 pionts back). The wild card in this mix was Joey Padget who we were chasing for third place in Young Lions was racing in Kentucky and was not competing. Also racing was the #4,#7,#59, #97, #8, #1 and of course the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson.
When we went on the track for practice, Connelly discovered the toe had been knocked out in our altercation with the #4 in the last race. We lost about 30 min of practice time fixing it. We got on the track and the car felt good to Connelly. He ran some respectable times. We wanted to try a set of tires that we had used earlier in the year as they appeared to have a better stagger than the ones we had been running. We got the tires changed and presented the car to the gate for a test run but the track had just closed to practice. I asked Connelly what he wanted to do about tires for qualifying, he said lets try the ones we had not practiced, bad decision. We had run a number of laps on the old tires in the low to mid 13.20's. In qualifying the car just wouldn't handle and we posted a 13.53 good enough for only 9th place out of 15 cars. You just can't leave .3 of a second on the table in qualifying. We started 5th out of 8 cars in our heat race, made two passes got to third, got passed back by Cody Logan and wound up 4th in the heat. We started in the 7th position out of 15 cars for the feature. Connelly drove a great race and worked his way up to 4th by lap 7, the red flag came out for an accident at that point and it took 15 min to clear the track. During the cleanup, an accidental fire extinguisher discharge by the safety vehicle put a huge amount of dry chemical on the track. They blew it off and ran a few hot laps to finish the job, and got back to racing. Several cars took the "choose" which relegated Connelly to 8th. He worked his way back up to 6th then got into a slow slide and went through the infield at the entrance to turn one and knocked the toe out again and the car quit handling. The slide began right where all of that dry chemical from the fire extinguisher was dropped, could be that contributed to the slide. Before the spin he had run a lap of 13.11 and after the best he could do was a 13.78. We wound up with an official finish of 9th. I did the math and it appears that we might have gotten 3rd place in Young Lions points since Joey Padget was not racing. We picked up 104 which would give us the lead for third by one point. Each driver will have to drop his lowest point race and I don't know what Joey's lowest race was, so the jury is still out.
From my prespective, the 2011 season was a great one for us. We began with a new class of car that I knew little about, and with a driver who was totally new to legend racing. These cars are a complete different animal than the old bandolero. The setup is totally different, but with the help of a lot of people were were able to learn a lot about the car. I brought Connelly along slowly at first, but he grew into the position of driver and by the end of the season was really doing well. We are already looking forward to next season.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Saturday August 27,2011
Saturday night found us at Sunny South Raceway with saddened hearts. My Mother and Connelly's Great Grandmother passed away, and we had just buried her on Thursday. She lived a full and complete life and at 94 1/2 was ready to join her maker. She was active and lucid to the very end but had fallen and fractured her hip the Saturday before and had to have surgury or be confined to a bed for the rest of her life, which she refused. We, in concert with her, chose the surgury and it resulted in her passing. We will all miss her greatly. This puts a lot of things in prospective.
THE RACING:
We had to replace the starter, which we killed when Connlly spun in last weekend's race, turned the engine backwards and that took care of the starter. He reported that the brakes were getting "soft" after last week's feature. Upon inspection I found that the left rear hard brake line had suffered from metal fatigue and fractured. So we replaced both and adjusted the brakes, now we hoped we had a car that would both start and stop.
During practice, the track was slick and everybody was loose, with the track temparature at 118.7 that was to be expected. We did not adjust the car as we felt the track would "come to us" once it cooled down. Which it did.
The field of cars that was on hand was very impressive. Brian McArdle (2 time track champion and track record holder) was there as was his son Joseph (current young lions points leader) with his new super strong '34 coupe. Joey Padgett (# 8 in the US in young lions points) Cody Logan (last year's track champion in young lions and current points leader in the Pro division) as well as the usual SSR participants. We felt like we were probablly a top 5 or 6 car.
In the heat race we faced Cody Logan and Joey Padgett, the #1, #4, and #59 for a first heat consisting of 6 cars. We started outside front row. Connelly got a good start and fell in behind Cody and ran second for about half the race when Joey Padgett got by sending us to 3rd which is where we finished.
In the feature 13 cars answered the starter's call. We started 5th due to the invert and settled in and ran in the top 5 or 6 for most of the race. With 3 laps to go while in 7 th place Connelly spun going into turn 3, his right rear brake locked up and sent him around (he put too much brake in the right rear when he adjusted the brakes) that relegated him to last place. After the re-start he passed one car and in the last turn coming to the checker flag he attempted to pass the # 4, got under him they got together and Connelly spun into the infield and finished last. It was just one of those "racing things" with two agressive drivers going for the same piece of "reale estate" while looking at the finish line. When Tucker Yance (the driver of the #4, and really nice guy)came down to our pits after the race to talk, I jokingly told him I would have to keep him and Connelly separated because they don't play well together. We knocked off the right rear fender so we will have to re attach it before the next race which will be on the 17 of September, it will be the last race of the season. Come on out and watch some really exciting racing.
THE RACING:
We had to replace the starter, which we killed when Connlly spun in last weekend's race, turned the engine backwards and that took care of the starter. He reported that the brakes were getting "soft" after last week's feature. Upon inspection I found that the left rear hard brake line had suffered from metal fatigue and fractured. So we replaced both and adjusted the brakes, now we hoped we had a car that would both start and stop.
During practice, the track was slick and everybody was loose, with the track temparature at 118.7 that was to be expected. We did not adjust the car as we felt the track would "come to us" once it cooled down. Which it did.
The field of cars that was on hand was very impressive. Brian McArdle (2 time track champion and track record holder) was there as was his son Joseph (current young lions points leader) with his new super strong '34 coupe. Joey Padgett (# 8 in the US in young lions points) Cody Logan (last year's track champion in young lions and current points leader in the Pro division) as well as the usual SSR participants. We felt like we were probablly a top 5 or 6 car.
In the heat race we faced Cody Logan and Joey Padgett, the #1, #4, and #59 for a first heat consisting of 6 cars. We started outside front row. Connelly got a good start and fell in behind Cody and ran second for about half the race when Joey Padgett got by sending us to 3rd which is where we finished.
In the feature 13 cars answered the starter's call. We started 5th due to the invert and settled in and ran in the top 5 or 6 for most of the race. With 3 laps to go while in 7 th place Connelly spun going into turn 3, his right rear brake locked up and sent him around (he put too much brake in the right rear when he adjusted the brakes) that relegated him to last place. After the re-start he passed one car and in the last turn coming to the checker flag he attempted to pass the # 4, got under him they got together and Connelly spun into the infield and finished last. It was just one of those "racing things" with two agressive drivers going for the same piece of "reale estate" while looking at the finish line. When Tucker Yance (the driver of the #4, and really nice guy)came down to our pits after the race to talk, I jokingly told him I would have to keep him and Connelly separated because they don't play well together. We knocked off the right rear fender so we will have to re attach it before the next race which will be on the 17 of September, it will be the last race of the season. Come on out and watch some really exciting racing.
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