Wednesday, May 13, 2015
WANTED!!!!!!!!!!!!
This afternoon I pulled up the track website and low and behold Connelly is a wanted man. As a result of him winning all the races at SSR so far this season, a BOUNTY has been placed on Connelly and the #32 Legend. If anyone can beat him fairly and cleanly that driver will win an additional $100, if no one wins the first week it increases to $200 in week two, and then to $300 in week three, if Connelly continues to win, and no one claims the money after week three then Connelly gets the #300. So pull up the face book page off of the sunnysouthraceway.org website and check it out. Now we have a bulls eye on our back---good problem to have.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Saturday Night May 2, 2015
Well here it is race night again and we are in line at the pit gate, about 10 minutes past opening time as we have a lot to do--break in a new set of right side tires. We got unloaded, set up our pit area, got registered and went through tech and were the first car in line to go onto the track. As planned we were the first car on the track got one good heat cycle on the new tires, cooled them down with water and got right back in line to go out again, got another good heat cycle on them then went to cool the engine down. Got that accomplished got back in line to go out again but another car blew off an oil line and oiled down turns 3 and 4 and the whole front straightaway along with turn 1, what a mess. It took a half hour to clean up but an oil down of that magnitude will impact the track for the rest of the night. We went back out under a yellow/green light with about 7 other cars--go about half throttle and be careful, which everyone did and let that count for another heat cycle. Finally got the last heat cycle in and got ready to qualify.
Cars available tonight were the #32 Connelly Dubuisson, #44 Brian McArdle, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #10 Chad Robinson, #94 Brad West, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Connor Okrzesik, #114 Michael Beassley, #15 Dustin Harvison, #6 Fred Laing, #18 Devin Corry, #30 William Wilson, and #01 Treyce Capers; a very strong and respectable field of competitors.
QUALIFYING: we had an early qualifying run and Connelly felt he had made a couple of mistakes which he did, and that we wouldn't have that good of a time, however with all of that we were still able to post a 12.974 which was good enough for the pole. Other qualifiers were
#44-13.058, #44jr-13.144,#10-13.155, #94-13.181, #96-13.289, #14-13.314, #114-13.396,
#15-13.462,#6- 13.518, #18-13.586,#30-13.797, #01-13.923. I feel the oil down of the track contributed to the slower times--we usually have at least 2 or 3 cars in the 12 second bracket. Even so the first 5 cars were within 2 tenths of a second of each other, good competitive field.
HEAT RACE: In our heat Connelly started on the pole due to our qualifying run, Joseph McArdle in the #44jr. started 2nd. with #94 of Brad West third, #14 Conner Okrzesik fourth, #15 Dustin Harvison fifth, #18 Devin Corry sixth, and #01 Treyce Capers.
Connelly got a good start from the pole and was able to lead all of the laps to win the heat race, Joseph McArdle finished second with #14 Conner Okrzesik rounding out the top three.
FEATURE RACE: Connelly rolled the big dice after the heat and rolled a 6 meaning that the cars scheduled to start in positions 1 through 6 would invert, the car scheduled to start 6th would now start first and the car scheduled to start on the pole--Connelly--would now start 6th, a tough starting spot-back in traffic and on the outside. It would be tough to get to the bottom and then get to the front. I told Connelly in our pre race talk just be patient, drive your race and above all else have fun.
He got a good start and was able to get to the bottom after turn 2 got to 4th by end of lap 1, then to third and by turn 3 of lap 3 and was passing the #10 for second. Connelly was clearly under the #10, but they got together #10 left front wheel contacted our right rear tire and the #10 lost his entire LF wheel, it rolled down the entire front straightaway and across the infield. Connelly's RR fender was knocked loose and was flapping like a beach towel in the breeze. The race went into a red flag situation, all cars stopped. We had to rip the remains of the fender off the car so he might be able to continue racing. The #10 didn't fair as well as he had to be taken off on the roll-back. I went down to check on the car (he stopped at the entrance to the pits) the RR wheel was bent in slightly but it was holding air, Connelly wanted me to change it, we had another RR but it was an older tire and wouldn't match up with the brand new RF on the car, so I opted to stay pat, "better devil you know" Connelly was so mad he needed help getting belted back in. Mr. Joe who was running the pit gate told him, "son chill, - chill you got a fast car just go out there and drive it". Connelly would have to start last 12 out of 12 because we had worked on the car which automatically sends you to the rear. As the red flag was replaced by the yellow the cars started rolling Connelly waited until they were well into turn three and he got on the backstretch and blasted it to see if it would handle, it seemed to be alright. At the restart he passed two cars before lap was completed, another caution-complete restart, back to last. Another restart still last, passed two in lap 1 got another in lap 2 and another in lap 3, gradually worked our way up to 6th when another caution came out. We took the choose which put us in 4th place but on the outside. He got a good restart got to third in one lap then passed Joseph for second and began to chase down Brian who had the lead. He got right to Brian's rear bumper when another caution came out, two cars took the choose so we now had Brian in front of us with two cars to our outside. After the restart Connelly was able to get by Brian for the lead, then Brian pulled a great "crossover move" which he is famous for and got by Connelly, who then returned the favor with a "crossover move" of his own, only to be followed by another one by Brian and another one by Connelly. It was fantastic to watch it was like a ballet on wheels. Another caution came out with 2 laps to go, Connelly was able to hang on to the lead for the final two laps to win the race. From last to first in 16 laps, it was truly on of the best races that Connelly has ever driven, I know it was one of the most entertaining and the fans got their money's worth. The top five finishing order were 1st Connelly Dubuisson #32, second Brian McArdle #44, third Joseph McArdle #44jr., fourth Robbie Johnston #96, fifth Conner Okrzesik #14.
I looked at the video of the incident with the #10 a number of times and I don't think there was anything intentional on either drivers part--as Richard Petty used to say "just one of those racing things" With all of that, we now need to go through the car with a fine tooth comb to make sure nothing is bent, need to replace a fender and be ready for the 16 of May oh by the way Connelly has final exams for his senior year of high school all next week. We will be ready I hope, looking forward to the 16 of May.
Cars available tonight were the #32 Connelly Dubuisson, #44 Brian McArdle, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #10 Chad Robinson, #94 Brad West, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Connor Okrzesik, #114 Michael Beassley, #15 Dustin Harvison, #6 Fred Laing, #18 Devin Corry, #30 William Wilson, and #01 Treyce Capers; a very strong and respectable field of competitors.
QUALIFYING: we had an early qualifying run and Connelly felt he had made a couple of mistakes which he did, and that we wouldn't have that good of a time, however with all of that we were still able to post a 12.974 which was good enough for the pole. Other qualifiers were
#44-13.058, #44jr-13.144,#10-13.155, #94-13.181, #96-13.289, #14-13.314, #114-13.396,
#15-13.462,#6- 13.518, #18-13.586,#30-13.797, #01-13.923. I feel the oil down of the track contributed to the slower times--we usually have at least 2 or 3 cars in the 12 second bracket. Even so the first 5 cars were within 2 tenths of a second of each other, good competitive field.
HEAT RACE: In our heat Connelly started on the pole due to our qualifying run, Joseph McArdle in the #44jr. started 2nd. with #94 of Brad West third, #14 Conner Okrzesik fourth, #15 Dustin Harvison fifth, #18 Devin Corry sixth, and #01 Treyce Capers.
Connelly got a good start from the pole and was able to lead all of the laps to win the heat race, Joseph McArdle finished second with #14 Conner Okrzesik rounding out the top three.
FEATURE RACE: Connelly rolled the big dice after the heat and rolled a 6 meaning that the cars scheduled to start in positions 1 through 6 would invert, the car scheduled to start 6th would now start first and the car scheduled to start on the pole--Connelly--would now start 6th, a tough starting spot-back in traffic and on the outside. It would be tough to get to the bottom and then get to the front. I told Connelly in our pre race talk just be patient, drive your race and above all else have fun.
He got a good start and was able to get to the bottom after turn 2 got to 4th by end of lap 1, then to third and by turn 3 of lap 3 and was passing the #10 for second. Connelly was clearly under the #10, but they got together #10 left front wheel contacted our right rear tire and the #10 lost his entire LF wheel, it rolled down the entire front straightaway and across the infield. Connelly's RR fender was knocked loose and was flapping like a beach towel in the breeze. The race went into a red flag situation, all cars stopped. We had to rip the remains of the fender off the car so he might be able to continue racing. The #10 didn't fair as well as he had to be taken off on the roll-back. I went down to check on the car (he stopped at the entrance to the pits) the RR wheel was bent in slightly but it was holding air, Connelly wanted me to change it, we had another RR but it was an older tire and wouldn't match up with the brand new RF on the car, so I opted to stay pat, "better devil you know" Connelly was so mad he needed help getting belted back in. Mr. Joe who was running the pit gate told him, "son chill, - chill you got a fast car just go out there and drive it". Connelly would have to start last 12 out of 12 because we had worked on the car which automatically sends you to the rear. As the red flag was replaced by the yellow the cars started rolling Connelly waited until they were well into turn three and he got on the backstretch and blasted it to see if it would handle, it seemed to be alright. At the restart he passed two cars before lap was completed, another caution-complete restart, back to last. Another restart still last, passed two in lap 1 got another in lap 2 and another in lap 3, gradually worked our way up to 6th when another caution came out. We took the choose which put us in 4th place but on the outside. He got a good restart got to third in one lap then passed Joseph for second and began to chase down Brian who had the lead. He got right to Brian's rear bumper when another caution came out, two cars took the choose so we now had Brian in front of us with two cars to our outside. After the restart Connelly was able to get by Brian for the lead, then Brian pulled a great "crossover move" which he is famous for and got by Connelly, who then returned the favor with a "crossover move" of his own, only to be followed by another one by Brian and another one by Connelly. It was fantastic to watch it was like a ballet on wheels. Another caution came out with 2 laps to go, Connelly was able to hang on to the lead for the final two laps to win the race. From last to first in 16 laps, it was truly on of the best races that Connelly has ever driven, I know it was one of the most entertaining and the fans got their money's worth. The top five finishing order were 1st Connelly Dubuisson #32, second Brian McArdle #44, third Joseph McArdle #44jr., fourth Robbie Johnston #96, fifth Conner Okrzesik #14.
I looked at the video of the incident with the #10 a number of times and I don't think there was anything intentional on either drivers part--as Richard Petty used to say "just one of those racing things" With all of that, we now need to go through the car with a fine tooth comb to make sure nothing is bent, need to replace a fender and be ready for the 16 of May oh by the way Connelly has final exams for his senior year of high school all next week. We will be ready I hope, looking forward to the 16 of May.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Saturday April 18, 2015
Well Mother Nature won this past Saturday. Rained out!!!!!! Race will be made up in July.
Next race will be Saturday May 2, 2015 Can't wait.
Next race will be Saturday May 2, 2015 Can't wait.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Saturday Night April 4, 2015
Well here it is race night again and Betty and My 51st wedding anniversary, what an understanding woman and here we are at the pit gate ready to racing. (promised her a chicken sandwich as our anniversary dinner). Our last two race weekends were very successful to say the least, hoping for a three-peat. We got checked in, registered, teched and got on the track for a short practice. The track felt very slick and our times were not where we wanted them to be, but everyone else said the same thing so we just waited for the track to cool down. Connelly went out again shortly before practice ended, it had cooled down and gotten better.
We had a very strong group of cars in competition tonight, there were #32 Connelly Dubuisson,
#44 Brian McArdle, #14 Conner Okrzesik, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #96 Robbie Johnston, #10 Chad Robinson, #01 Treyce Capers, #6 Fred Laing, #1 Michael Beasley, #5 Brandon Slater, #18 Devin Corry. A very good mix of drivers, should make for a very interesting race.
Qualifying:
The track had indeed cooled down and the times reflected that. Connelly got a really good lap and posted a pole position time of 12.928 seconds, second was #96 Robbie Johnston at 13.079 with Conner Okrzesik #14 at 13.092 third, #44 Brian McArdle fourth at 13.124, and Joseph McArdle #44jr. fifth at 13.209. A really close field with the top five separated by a tick over a quarter of a second, which equates to a little over one car length on the track. The rest of the qualifiers in order were not too far behind , #10 Chad Robinson, #01 Treyce Capers, #1 Michael Beasley, #5 Brandon Slater, #18 Devin Corry, #6 Fred Laing all posting times in the middle 13's.
Heat Race:
In our heat, Connelly had the pole, outside of him the #14 of Conner, #44 and 01 made up row two with the #5 and #6 making up row three. Connelly got a good start but there was a spin shortly after the start-- complete restart. We made another good start with Conner and Joseph in close pursuit. Connelly got about a 3 to 4 length lead over Conner and was able to hold the #14 off for the heat win. Treyce in the 01 was third followed by the #5, #44jr. and the #6. That #14 is really coming on, look for good things from Conner and the #14 team. Heat #2 was won by #96 Robbie Johnston, with #44 second, #10 third, #18 fourth, followed by #1.
Feature Race:
As the winner of heat # 1 Connelly threw the "big" dice to see how many cars would "invert" he threw a 2 meaning the first two starters would invert so Connelly would start on outside row 1 with #96 on the pole, row 2 #14 and #44, row 3 #01 and #10, row 4 #5 and #18, row 5 #44jr. and #1 with #6 on row 6.
At the start the #96 got loose and Connelly was able to get out front with the #44 and #14 right on our tail. On lap 3 the #18 had a suspension component fail bringing out a caution and forcing him to withdraw from the race. On the restart, again Connelly got a good start and got back out front with the #44 in second and #14 in third. On the third lap after the restart with the cars still all bunched up, in the middle of turn 4 someone in 4th or 5th position got loose and the whole field scattered like a covey of quail, there were cars going everywhere down the front straightaway. The drivers demonstrated extreme driving skills and there was no further contact and no spins. It was amazing to watch them all save their cars. That could have been one of those things where half the field was taken out. Again some really special driving. The race went caution free the rest of the way the #5, #6 and #1 were trading positions in the middle of the field, hey good racing is good racing whether it is for 1st position or 5th position it is still very entertaining. Connelly was able to hold on to first place and we won the feature, with #44 in second and #14 third, #44jr. in fourth and #96 rounding out the top 5. The finishing order for the rest of the field: #10 Chad, #01 Treyce, #6 Fred, #1 Michael, #5 Brandon and #18 Devin. Another great night for Connelly and the #32team, the "frog" has touched the "alligator" on the nose again and didn't get eaten. Folks, these cars are putting on some really good races. Come on out and treat yourself to a night of family fun and excitement. See you on the 21st.
We had a very strong group of cars in competition tonight, there were #32 Connelly Dubuisson,
#44 Brian McArdle, #14 Conner Okrzesik, #44jr. Joseph McArdle, #96 Robbie Johnston, #10 Chad Robinson, #01 Treyce Capers, #6 Fred Laing, #1 Michael Beasley, #5 Brandon Slater, #18 Devin Corry. A very good mix of drivers, should make for a very interesting race.
Qualifying:
The track had indeed cooled down and the times reflected that. Connelly got a really good lap and posted a pole position time of 12.928 seconds, second was #96 Robbie Johnston at 13.079 with Conner Okrzesik #14 at 13.092 third, #44 Brian McArdle fourth at 13.124, and Joseph McArdle #44jr. fifth at 13.209. A really close field with the top five separated by a tick over a quarter of a second, which equates to a little over one car length on the track. The rest of the qualifiers in order were not too far behind , #10 Chad Robinson, #01 Treyce Capers, #1 Michael Beasley, #5 Brandon Slater, #18 Devin Corry, #6 Fred Laing all posting times in the middle 13's.
Heat Race:
In our heat, Connelly had the pole, outside of him the #14 of Conner, #44 and 01 made up row two with the #5 and #6 making up row three. Connelly got a good start but there was a spin shortly after the start-- complete restart. We made another good start with Conner and Joseph in close pursuit. Connelly got about a 3 to 4 length lead over Conner and was able to hold the #14 off for the heat win. Treyce in the 01 was third followed by the #5, #44jr. and the #6. That #14 is really coming on, look for good things from Conner and the #14 team. Heat #2 was won by #96 Robbie Johnston, with #44 second, #10 third, #18 fourth, followed by #1.
Feature Race:
As the winner of heat # 1 Connelly threw the "big" dice to see how many cars would "invert" he threw a 2 meaning the first two starters would invert so Connelly would start on outside row 1 with #96 on the pole, row 2 #14 and #44, row 3 #01 and #10, row 4 #5 and #18, row 5 #44jr. and #1 with #6 on row 6.
At the start the #96 got loose and Connelly was able to get out front with the #44 and #14 right on our tail. On lap 3 the #18 had a suspension component fail bringing out a caution and forcing him to withdraw from the race. On the restart, again Connelly got a good start and got back out front with the #44 in second and #14 in third. On the third lap after the restart with the cars still all bunched up, in the middle of turn 4 someone in 4th or 5th position got loose and the whole field scattered like a covey of quail, there were cars going everywhere down the front straightaway. The drivers demonstrated extreme driving skills and there was no further contact and no spins. It was amazing to watch them all save their cars. That could have been one of those things where half the field was taken out. Again some really special driving. The race went caution free the rest of the way the #5, #6 and #1 were trading positions in the middle of the field, hey good racing is good racing whether it is for 1st position or 5th position it is still very entertaining. Connelly was able to hold on to first place and we won the feature, with #44 in second and #14 third, #44jr. in fourth and #96 rounding out the top 5. The finishing order for the rest of the field: #10 Chad, #01 Treyce, #6 Fred, #1 Michael, #5 Brandon and #18 Devin. Another great night for Connelly and the #32team, the "frog" has touched the "alligator" on the nose again and didn't get eaten. Folks, these cars are putting on some really good races. Come on out and treat yourself to a night of family fun and excitement. See you on the 21st.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Saturday Night 3-21-15
Here we are at the second race of 2015 season, we celebrated setting a new track record last race and winning both the heat and the feature race. It would be nice to be able to repeat, but you are racing
the McArdles and from sweet little Josie in her pink Bandolero (don't let her sweet smile and quiet demeanor fool you, she is a racer) to Brian and Joseph in their Legends, they are formidable competition. You might be able to outrun them now and then, but it is like a frog going up and touching an alligator on the nose, you might be able to pull it off now and then, but sooner or later the alligator (McArdle) is going to get you. As if that is not enough, you still have to deal with, Conner Okrzesik #14, Robbie Johnston #96, Fred Laing #6, Ernest Morris #3, Chad Robinson #10, Trace Capers #01, Devin Corry #18, Brandon Slater #5 and Connelly Dubuisson #32, plus throw in Brian McArdle #44, and Joseph McArdle #44jr. and you have your work cut out for you. All in all a very respectable field of cars, it will take a perfectly prepared car and a driver who has brought his "A" game to be able to win tonight.
In practice Connelly said the #32 just didn't feel very fast, I had forgotten to bring our in car electronic timer so we were relegated to the old hand held stop watch. With the hand held I had Connelly off of what we ran last race by one and a half tenths in practice. I timed some of the competition and no one was posting really good times, I think a combination of track conditions and air temp & humidity had everybody off by a few ticks. We checked over everything and all seemed OK so it was on to qualifying.
QUALIFYING:
Connelly won the pole with a 12.958 over a tenth slower than last race, Brian was second with a 13.131, Chad Robinson third with a 13.166, Joseph was fourth with a 13.167, one thousandth of a second out of third, and Robbie Johnston fifth with a 13.174. The top five separated by just a touch over 2 tenths of a second, pretty sporty.
HEAT RACE:
In the heat race Connelly started on the pole with Chad #10 outside, second row Robbie #96 inside and Treyce #01 outside, row three Ernest #3 inside and Brandon #5 outside. Connelly got a good start and led for the first 8 laps then a caution came out, with less than 3 laps to go, single file restart, again Connelly got a good start and led the green white checker run to the finish with Robbie and Chad in very hot pursuit. Finishing order #32, #96, #10, #01, #3, #5.
FEATURE RACE:
Connelly had to throw the big dice to determine the "invert" he rolled a 1 meaning no invert, starting positions determined by your heat race finish. Connelly started on the pole and since Brian had won his heat he started on the outside of the front row Robbie and Chad had the second row with Conner and Treyce covering the third row, the rest of the field was comprised of Fred, Everett, Devin and Brandon. Joseph had to tag (start last) due to him breaking a suspension component and not finishing the heat. He had to pull out a backup car for the feature, which had him starting last.
Connelly got a really good start from the pole and got about a 3 car length lead, then a couple of quick cautions on lap 2 and the subsequent restart, I thought "here we go again another caution plagued race"-- not so fast exhaust breath-- we ran the rest of the race, 18 laps under green. Connelly and Brian put on quite a show, with the lead never being more than a couple of car lengths, on about lap 5 or 6 Brian got a big run on us out of turn 2, got his right front wheel under our left rear, got loose had to correct and did a slight wheel hop--a big cloud of tire smoke erupted, both drivers displayed outstanding driving skills and neither lost control but could easily have wrecked. From that point on they were never more than 1 or 2 lengths apart. Some passing of lapped cars took place which tightened the front two up even more with Connelly prevailing at the checkered flag by about two car lengths. There was good racing throughout the entire field with multiple passes in the middle of the pack. It was a very entertaining race in all respects, except for the "wheel hop" which almost gave me a heart attack. Finishing order of the top five was Connelly in the #32, Brian McArdle #44 second, Conner Okrzesik #14 third, Joseph McArdle #44jr who had come through the field from 11th starting position to finish fourth, and Robbie Johnston #96 fifth. We had another sweep; won qualifying, heat race and feature. We touched the alligator on the nose again, and didn't get eaten. Next race is April 4, Betty and my 51st wedding anniversary. I told her that our anniversary dinner will be a chicken sandwich at the track snack bar--big spender right????? Come on out to Sunny South Raceway and treat yourself to some outstanding racing.
the McArdles and from sweet little Josie in her pink Bandolero (don't let her sweet smile and quiet demeanor fool you, she is a racer) to Brian and Joseph in their Legends, they are formidable competition. You might be able to outrun them now and then, but it is like a frog going up and touching an alligator on the nose, you might be able to pull it off now and then, but sooner or later the alligator (McArdle) is going to get you. As if that is not enough, you still have to deal with, Conner Okrzesik #14, Robbie Johnston #96, Fred Laing #6, Ernest Morris #3, Chad Robinson #10, Trace Capers #01, Devin Corry #18, Brandon Slater #5 and Connelly Dubuisson #32, plus throw in Brian McArdle #44, and Joseph McArdle #44jr. and you have your work cut out for you. All in all a very respectable field of cars, it will take a perfectly prepared car and a driver who has brought his "A" game to be able to win tonight.
In practice Connelly said the #32 just didn't feel very fast, I had forgotten to bring our in car electronic timer so we were relegated to the old hand held stop watch. With the hand held I had Connelly off of what we ran last race by one and a half tenths in practice. I timed some of the competition and no one was posting really good times, I think a combination of track conditions and air temp & humidity had everybody off by a few ticks. We checked over everything and all seemed OK so it was on to qualifying.
QUALIFYING:
Connelly won the pole with a 12.958 over a tenth slower than last race, Brian was second with a 13.131, Chad Robinson third with a 13.166, Joseph was fourth with a 13.167, one thousandth of a second out of third, and Robbie Johnston fifth with a 13.174. The top five separated by just a touch over 2 tenths of a second, pretty sporty.
HEAT RACE:
In the heat race Connelly started on the pole with Chad #10 outside, second row Robbie #96 inside and Treyce #01 outside, row three Ernest #3 inside and Brandon #5 outside. Connelly got a good start and led for the first 8 laps then a caution came out, with less than 3 laps to go, single file restart, again Connelly got a good start and led the green white checker run to the finish with Robbie and Chad in very hot pursuit. Finishing order #32, #96, #10, #01, #3, #5.
FEATURE RACE:
Connelly had to throw the big dice to determine the "invert" he rolled a 1 meaning no invert, starting positions determined by your heat race finish. Connelly started on the pole and since Brian had won his heat he started on the outside of the front row Robbie and Chad had the second row with Conner and Treyce covering the third row, the rest of the field was comprised of Fred, Everett, Devin and Brandon. Joseph had to tag (start last) due to him breaking a suspension component and not finishing the heat. He had to pull out a backup car for the feature, which had him starting last.
Connelly got a really good start from the pole and got about a 3 car length lead, then a couple of quick cautions on lap 2 and the subsequent restart, I thought "here we go again another caution plagued race"-- not so fast exhaust breath-- we ran the rest of the race, 18 laps under green. Connelly and Brian put on quite a show, with the lead never being more than a couple of car lengths, on about lap 5 or 6 Brian got a big run on us out of turn 2, got his right front wheel under our left rear, got loose had to correct and did a slight wheel hop--a big cloud of tire smoke erupted, both drivers displayed outstanding driving skills and neither lost control but could easily have wrecked. From that point on they were never more than 1 or 2 lengths apart. Some passing of lapped cars took place which tightened the front two up even more with Connelly prevailing at the checkered flag by about two car lengths. There was good racing throughout the entire field with multiple passes in the middle of the pack. It was a very entertaining race in all respects, except for the "wheel hop" which almost gave me a heart attack. Finishing order of the top five was Connelly in the #32, Brian McArdle #44 second, Conner Okrzesik #14 third, Joseph McArdle #44jr who had come through the field from 11th starting position to finish fourth, and Robbie Johnston #96 fifth. We had another sweep; won qualifying, heat race and feature. We touched the alligator on the nose again, and didn't get eaten. Next race is April 4, Betty and my 51st wedding anniversary. I told her that our anniversary dinner will be a chicken sandwich at the track snack bar--big spender right????? Come on out to Sunny South Raceway and treat yourself to some outstanding racing.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
MARCH 7, 2015--OPENING NIGHT FOR 2015 SEASON
Well it has finally arrived, opening night of the 2015 racing season. It seems like the off season went by in a flash and before we knew it the 2015 season was here. It felt like we never got to do all of the things we wanted to do before the season started, but we got all of the important things done. Saturday morning Connelly was nut and bolting the car and waxing it before we loaded it up and tied it down. We made the 1 hour and 47 minute trip to SSR without incident (always the best kind) got to the track got into our new pit location very close to the flag stand where I usually watch the race (trying to save the old sciatic nerve) got unloaded, went through tech and registration, checked air pressure, fueled it up and got on the track. He made about half a dozen laps to get some heat in the tires and "busted it" for about 5 laps. Connelly got some really good times and he said the car felt great, so much so that he said "I am done". Well he lied, because right before the track closed for practice he went to Mr. Joe and asked "do I have enough time for one more pass?" He got his pass and the car was still good--why wouldn't it be we hadn't changed it or done anything to it.
We had a very good field of 12 cars tonight. We had a group of cars down from Monroe as well as the usual local competitors. Tonight's lineup was Robbie Johnston #96, Chad Robinson #10, Treyce Capers #01, Conner Okrzesik #14, Dalon More #99, Devin Corry #18,
Connelly Dubuisson #32, Joseph McArdle #44jr., Brian McArdle #44, Ronny Freeland #9, Chris Freeland #91, Fred Laing #6, all in all a very strong and competitive field of cars which included several seasoned veterans as well as some up and coming newer drivers.
QUALIFYING:
In an attempt to get the racing program completed at a reasonable hour, qualifying was held before the drivers meeting--a great idea which saved at least 15 or 20 min. In qualifying Connellly laid down the lap of his life posting a time of 12.840 seconds for the quarter mile which calculates to 70.093 mph. I wasn't sure at the time as I couldn't remember what the old track record was, but I went up to Mr. Joe at the post qualifying tech inspection and told him I thought that we might have broken the track record. Obviously we qualified on the pole with Brian McArdle second and Robbie Johnston third. When we got home and I pulled up the records on the track website and found that Connelly had indeed broken the track record set by Hunter Lewis last season at 12.869
HEAT RACES:
Because we had 12 cars in competition there were 2 heat races of 6 cars each. Connelly#32 won his heat followed by the #96, #14, #10, #99, and #18. In the second heat race Brian McArdle #44 won his heat followed by the #9, #44jr., #91, #01, #6.
FEARURE RACE:
In the feature we had a two car invert--Connelly threw a 2 on the big dice which inverted two cars putting Brian on the pole with Connelly outside of him, the #96, #9, #14, #44jr. #10, #91, #99, #01, #18, and the #6 completed the starting lineup, in that order. A case of "yellow fever" broke out from the start. The #14 had a terminal mechanical issue on the first lap--red flag-- then a series of minor spins and mishaps ensued bringing our a number of cautions. It took 11 laps to complete 3 green flag laps. The drivers just fought through and a sense of normalcy finally prevailed. I don't know whether it was an opening night thing-- just being rusty, or the cold track. At the start of the feature the track temp was 52 degrees--probably a combination of both. It took Connelly a few laps but he finally got by Brian in the #44 for the lead. Some really good racing was taking place all around the track, they were two wide and in some cases three wide, really good stuff, some of which probably contributed to the cautions. Connelly won the feature race for his first sweep of the season. The top five finishers were Connelly in the #32, Joseph McArdle in his #44jr. (he beat his dad) Brian Mcardle #44, Ronny Freeland #9, and rounding out the top 5 was Chad Robinson in the #10.
It was a weekend made in heaven for Connelly and the #32 team, Broke the track record, sat on the pole, won his heat race and the feature race and was able to roll the car back on the trailer, which is the most important thing. Looking forward to next race already. Come on out to SSR and treat yourself to some really great racing on March 21.
We had a very good field of 12 cars tonight. We had a group of cars down from Monroe as well as the usual local competitors. Tonight's lineup was Robbie Johnston #96, Chad Robinson #10, Treyce Capers #01, Conner Okrzesik #14, Dalon More #99, Devin Corry #18,
Connelly Dubuisson #32, Joseph McArdle #44jr., Brian McArdle #44, Ronny Freeland #9, Chris Freeland #91, Fred Laing #6, all in all a very strong and competitive field of cars which included several seasoned veterans as well as some up and coming newer drivers.
QUALIFYING:
In an attempt to get the racing program completed at a reasonable hour, qualifying was held before the drivers meeting--a great idea which saved at least 15 or 20 min. In qualifying Connellly laid down the lap of his life posting a time of 12.840 seconds for the quarter mile which calculates to 70.093 mph. I wasn't sure at the time as I couldn't remember what the old track record was, but I went up to Mr. Joe at the post qualifying tech inspection and told him I thought that we might have broken the track record. Obviously we qualified on the pole with Brian McArdle second and Robbie Johnston third. When we got home and I pulled up the records on the track website and found that Connelly had indeed broken the track record set by Hunter Lewis last season at 12.869
HEAT RACES:
Because we had 12 cars in competition there were 2 heat races of 6 cars each. Connelly#32 won his heat followed by the #96, #14, #10, #99, and #18. In the second heat race Brian McArdle #44 won his heat followed by the #9, #44jr., #91, #01, #6.
FEARURE RACE:
In the feature we had a two car invert--Connelly threw a 2 on the big dice which inverted two cars putting Brian on the pole with Connelly outside of him, the #96, #9, #14, #44jr. #10, #91, #99, #01, #18, and the #6 completed the starting lineup, in that order. A case of "yellow fever" broke out from the start. The #14 had a terminal mechanical issue on the first lap--red flag-- then a series of minor spins and mishaps ensued bringing our a number of cautions. It took 11 laps to complete 3 green flag laps. The drivers just fought through and a sense of normalcy finally prevailed. I don't know whether it was an opening night thing-- just being rusty, or the cold track. At the start of the feature the track temp was 52 degrees--probably a combination of both. It took Connelly a few laps but he finally got by Brian in the #44 for the lead. Some really good racing was taking place all around the track, they were two wide and in some cases three wide, really good stuff, some of which probably contributed to the cautions. Connelly won the feature race for his first sweep of the season. The top five finishers were Connelly in the #32, Joseph McArdle in his #44jr. (he beat his dad) Brian Mcardle #44, Ronny Freeland #9, and rounding out the top 5 was Chad Robinson in the #10.
It was a weekend made in heaven for Connelly and the #32 team, Broke the track record, sat on the pole, won his heat race and the feature race and was able to roll the car back on the trailer, which is the most important thing. Looking forward to next race already. Come on out to SSR and treat yourself to some really great racing on March 21.
Monday, March 16, 2015
THE 2015 RACING SEASON
Well the 2015 racing season is upon us, on Valentines day we had the open practice at SSR. The weather was perfect after a week of rain. It was great to be back at the track after being "gone" for the off season. We had some work to do --break in tires-- got that done. Ms. Debbie served some awesome chili and soft drinks I understand there were roses for the "sweethearts" but since Ms. Betty didn't come with us we didn't get a rose since I am not anybody's sweetheart, but that is what happens when you are old and ugly.
We got our tires broken in, visited with old friends and just had a very relaxing afternoon at the track. Connelly only ran it hard for a few laps and he was very satisfied with the car. He said it was really good and was looking forward to March 7 --opening day-- See you there on the 7th.
We got our tires broken in, visited with old friends and just had a very relaxing afternoon at the track. Connelly only ran it hard for a few laps and he was very satisfied with the car. He said it was really good and was looking forward to March 7 --opening day-- See you there on the 7th.
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