We arrived at the track a few minutes after gates opened, as we had a lot to do. We had to partially break in a set of right side tires for the Legend (hopefully the last set of the season) and there is a new wrinkle for the #32 team. While driving back to school last Sunday Connelly called me and said, "Pops since we have the points almost wrapped up, call Mr. Billy Elmore (who owns a pro challenge car) and ask him what it would take for us to rent his car for the next race". Billy hasn't been racing every race so I gave him a call. He wasn't planning on racing the 19th race, so we were able to put something together. He bent over backwards for us, set the car up for Connelly 165# vs. his 210, got the stagger right, added lead to get the balance right and made his track assistant available to us. Connelly's statement to me was." I just want to see if I can drive a pro challenge" So in addition to breaking in tires on the #32 Legend we had to get the feel of a totally different car, scuff in a set of tires for it, qualify it and the Legend and race both cars. I was worn out before the race even started.
Connelly took to the Pro Challenge like a duck to water, his line on the track was good, his times with only a couple of laps under his belt were respectable. He got a couple more laps of practice and got ready to qualify.
QUALIFYING:
Connelly qualified the Legend on the pole, with Jeremy Lundy a very close second. He then qualified the Pro Challenge second by 2 one hundredths of a second behind Brad West. very respectable.
HEAT RACE:
In the Legends heat race Connelly started on the pole and led all laps for the win. In Pro Challenge he started outside front row but started in the wrong gear and got eaten alive going down the front straightaway, by the time the dust settled he was 4th. These cars are very vunenable to tire wear, since the heat race pays no prize money, Connelly just rode there saving his tires for the feature.
FEATURE RACE:
In the Legends, there were 10 cars competing, Connelly started third as a result of rolling a 3 on the invert dice. Conner Okresik in the #14 was on the pole and Jeremy Lundy #1j outside front row. By lap 3 Connelly had gotten the lead and held on for the rest of the raced for the win. Top 5 finishers were #32 Connelly, #1j Jeremy Lundy second, #14 Conner Okresik, third, #96 Robbie Johnston fourth, #15 Dustin Harvison,fifth. Conner and Jeremy put on quite a show for the fans racing for second/third, they changed positions more than once and were never more than one car length apart, good racing.
In the Pro Challenge feature we had 6 cars competing tonight. Brian McArdle on the pole, Connelly outside front row, Joseph McArdrdle third, Dave Nolan fourth, Brad West fifth and Conner Okrzesik sixth. At the start Connelly got the correct gear this time and was able to get a fender in front of Brian, although on the outside, he maintained the lead abusing his tires more than he wanted to. He was finally able to get to the bottom where he endured a couple of cautions and restarts and several laps of the #14 of Conner right on his rear bumper challenging hard, his spotter kept telling him, "he is there, just keep hitting your marks". This was the first time Connelly had a spotter, he said it really helped. Connelly held on for the victory. What an unbelievable night --swept the Legends and won the Pro Challenge the first time he sat in the car, a tribute to how well the car was set up and how well Connelly drove it. I keep expecting to wake up and find out I was dreaming. We will probably never forget tonight. The next race is the Dixie Clash on Oct 3rd and 4th, $500 to win both nights and they put a bounty on Connelly again in the Legends and OH! by the way, Connelly is driving the Pro Challenge again Sunday night. If you have the opportunity come out on the 3rd and 4th, come treat yourself to some really great racing and see if Connelly can "pull it off again" see you there.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Catch up on Races Aug 15, 29, Sept 12
Connelly has had an incredible run of races since the middle of June. Since the "big wreck" coming out of turn 4 on June 6th where we did extensive damage to the body of the car, Connelly has won every pole, every heat and every feature. In the Aug 29th race it was sort of un-officially announced that the McArdles would no longer compete in Legends. Joseph's car was said to have been sold, Brian's car had been prepped for the nationals and would not be raced until then and put up for sale after the nationals. The McArdles will be fielding 2 or 3 cars in the Pro Challenge division. In fact Joseph ran his car last race and won in a very impressive showing.
The effect of the McArdles leaving the Legend division has yet to be seen. They have been a fixture in that division since we have been racing, and a very dominant fixture I might add. We will certainly miss racing against them
The effect of the McArdles leaving the Legend division has yet to be seen. They have been a fixture in that division since we have been racing, and a very dominant fixture I might add. We will certainly miss racing against them
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Saturday Night Aug 1st, 2015
The DMS team got to the track in a timely fashion, got all of the prep things done; set up pits, check in, register go through tech and get ready to break in tires. We got a break in that what we needed to do, got done so we put our race tires on for a late test run as the track was still blistering hot--128 degrees. At 6:30 the track was still 118 degrees so we just decided to forego the last test session, we wouldn't learn much so we just "saved our stuff".
QUALIFYING: The track was still quite hot at qualifying, 106, coming down but still hot. Qualifying results were: On the pole, Connelly Dubuisson #32--13.081, 2nd, Conner Okrzesik #14, 3rd, Joseph McArdle #44, 4th Dustin Harvison #15, 5th, Robbie Johnston #96, 6th Treyce Capers #01, 7th Brad West #94, 8th Dawson Keener #04, 9th Brandon Slater #5, 10th William Wilson #30, 11th Fred Laing #6, and 12th Wyatt Heffington #1. Quite an impressive group--the whole field separated by less than a second.
HEAT RACE: In Connelly's heat race were the #32, #44 ( Joseph McArdle was driving his dad's car as Brian was not competing tonight, due to a medical issue) #96, #94, #6, #5. Connelly starting from the pole got a good start and led start to finish in what was an uneventful race (about time after last weeks marathon). The top five finishing order was #32, #96, #44, #94, and the #6. Now to get ready for the feature.
FEATURE RACE: Tonight's feature started out the exact opposite as last weekend's race. Last week we ran the first 10 laps in 3 1/2 minutes, this week it took us 15 minutes to record one complete lap, two red flags and three cars on the rollback. Our good friend Robbie Johnston #96 got loose coming out of turn 4 on the start spun and got "T" boned by the #5 both cars were taken of on the rollback. On the ensuing restart the #1 and #30 got together going into turn 1 and wound up against the wall at the entrance to the track where pit road comes in, another red flag. Now we are 15 -20 min past the original start and 0 laps completed, another restart--false start someone jumped the start, another restart--this time it "took" and we got a start. Conner #14 was on the pole and he was protecting the inside with Joseph #44 on his rear bumkper trying to keep Connelly #32 on the outside. It worked for a lap or two when #32 finally fell in behind Joseph and got to the inside where he could race, in another lap he got by Joseph #44, then another lap or so he got by Conner #14 for the lead, all three drivers gave each other plenty of room to pass and there was no incident. There was another caution when the #94 got loose and hit the wall almost head on right at the start/finish line. He took a really mean hit, thank goodness for all the safety equipment as Brad was fine. Another restart, again Connelly got a good restart and was able to keep the lead for the rest of the race. Conner #14 and Joseph #44 were always within striking distance should #32 have made a mistake they both were in a position to "pounce". The top 3 in Pro division were #32, #44, and #15, The top 3 in the young lions/semi pro division were #14, #04, and #01. All in all a very entertaining race, with a little too much action--hate to see all those cars get torn up. Looking forward to the next race on Aug 15, come on out and treat yourself to some really good racing.
QUALIFYING: The track was still quite hot at qualifying, 106, coming down but still hot. Qualifying results were: On the pole, Connelly Dubuisson #32--13.081, 2nd, Conner Okrzesik #14, 3rd, Joseph McArdle #44, 4th Dustin Harvison #15, 5th, Robbie Johnston #96, 6th Treyce Capers #01, 7th Brad West #94, 8th Dawson Keener #04, 9th Brandon Slater #5, 10th William Wilson #30, 11th Fred Laing #6, and 12th Wyatt Heffington #1. Quite an impressive group--the whole field separated by less than a second.
HEAT RACE: In Connelly's heat race were the #32, #44 ( Joseph McArdle was driving his dad's car as Brian was not competing tonight, due to a medical issue) #96, #94, #6, #5. Connelly starting from the pole got a good start and led start to finish in what was an uneventful race (about time after last weeks marathon). The top five finishing order was #32, #96, #44, #94, and the #6. Now to get ready for the feature.
FEATURE RACE: Tonight's feature started out the exact opposite as last weekend's race. Last week we ran the first 10 laps in 3 1/2 minutes, this week it took us 15 minutes to record one complete lap, two red flags and three cars on the rollback. Our good friend Robbie Johnston #96 got loose coming out of turn 4 on the start spun and got "T" boned by the #5 both cars were taken of on the rollback. On the ensuing restart the #1 and #30 got together going into turn 1 and wound up against the wall at the entrance to the track where pit road comes in, another red flag. Now we are 15 -20 min past the original start and 0 laps completed, another restart--false start someone jumped the start, another restart--this time it "took" and we got a start. Conner #14 was on the pole and he was protecting the inside with Joseph #44 on his rear bumkper trying to keep Connelly #32 on the outside. It worked for a lap or two when #32 finally fell in behind Joseph and got to the inside where he could race, in another lap he got by Joseph #44, then another lap or so he got by Conner #14 for the lead, all three drivers gave each other plenty of room to pass and there was no incident. There was another caution when the #94 got loose and hit the wall almost head on right at the start/finish line. He took a really mean hit, thank goodness for all the safety equipment as Brad was fine. Another restart, again Connelly got a good restart and was able to keep the lead for the rest of the race. Conner #14 and Joseph #44 were always within striking distance should #32 have made a mistake they both were in a position to "pounce". The top 3 in Pro division were #32, #44, and #15, The top 3 in the young lions/semi pro division were #14, #04, and #01. All in all a very entertaining race, with a little too much action--hate to see all those cars get torn up. Looking forward to the next race on Aug 15, come on out and treat yourself to some really good racing.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Saturday Night July 18, 2015
Saturday night found the #32 team at the pit gate at 5 pm. a little later than usual, but we had already done our tire break in and worked on our setup issues last Wednesday night when we rented the track, plus it was blistering hot, not a good time to tweak setups. Got our pits setup, went through registration and tech went out for a trial run--the only thing we could find out was "did it start? would it stop? would it turn left? Yes to all three. The track was so slick you could hardly run, track temp was 126.7 degrees, so we just parked it with the intention of getting another run in right before qualifying. The track temp only dropped by a couple of degrees, so we just went into qualifying with what we had.
Qualifying:
Connelly qualified on the pole by the narrowest of margins 11/1000 of a second over Brian McArdle #44 who was back after last week's absence, qualifying third was Joseph McArdle, #44jr., followed by Dawson Keener in the 04, Robbie Johnston, #96, Brad West, #94, Conner Okrzesik #14, Treyce Capers #01, Dustin Harvison #15, Brandon Slater #5, Fred Laing #6, Michel Beasley #114, William Wilson #16, Wyatt Heffington #1, and Devin Corry #18, all within one second of each other. If my math is correct--and it rarely is--that one second equates to 100 feet on the track and the top two qualifiers are separated by about 11inches--real close. So I look for a really competitive race. We have 15 cars available to compete tonight.
Heat Race:
Our heat race had 8 cars in it with Connelly starting on the pole, he got a good start and led all of the 8 laps, it was an uneventful race with only one quick caution on lap 3 caused by a spin. Top 5 in the heat race were: #32 Connelly, #96 Robbie, #44jr. Joseph, #15 Dustin, #14 Conner.
Feature Race:
After winning the heat race Connelly threw the invert dice and rolled a three putting him in the third starting position, with Robbie #96 on the pole and Brian #44 outside front row, Brad #94 outside second row, and Joseph #44jr rounding our the starting front five. Connelly got a good start then a quick caution before the completion of lap number one--complete restart. He got another good start and had the lead by the end of lap one. Brian and Joseph battled for second place for about four laps allowing Connelly to get away form both of them by about 8 car lengths. Right at halfway (10 laps) a car spun bring out the yellow. On the ensuing restart Connelly got a good start then right past the start finish line the #94 got into the side of Brian in the #44 which triggered a Daytona type "big one". I counted no less than 8 cars involved. Connelly was clear of the wreck and said he looked in his rearview mirror and all he saw was smoke and cars spinning and getting into each other. Resulting in a red flag which lasted the better part of 15 minutes, we had run the first half of the race in 3 1/2 min. at least 8 cars went off the track for repairs including Brian in the #44, so they all had to go to the rear, however they all came back on to run the rest of the race. The field then went into a "yellow fever" mode with the remainder of the race having 4 more yellow flags and two more red flags.
Brian worked his way back up to second, the repairs he made behind pit wall seemed to help because he then ran the fastest lap of the night for any legend including qualifying, with a 13.015 which was quick considering the track temp. It seemed to take forever to get the last 3 laps in. The top three in the Pro division were Connelly #32, Brian #44, and Brad #94. The top three in the Semi Pro division were Robbie #96, Dawson #04 and Conner #14. It should be noted that Treyce Capers in the #01 was exiting turn 4 looking at the checkered flag for his first podium finish when he spun dropping him to sixth, man you gotta keep that thing under you SSR began a new payout procedure tonight. Even though all the legend classes (4) run together they began paying separate prize money and trophies for each division--a really good idea. The race took over 55 minutes to run with the first half only taking 3 1/2 minutes. Long night we got home at 3:45 Sunday morning.
Qualifying:
Connelly qualified on the pole by the narrowest of margins 11/1000 of a second over Brian McArdle #44 who was back after last week's absence, qualifying third was Joseph McArdle, #44jr., followed by Dawson Keener in the 04, Robbie Johnston, #96, Brad West, #94, Conner Okrzesik #14, Treyce Capers #01, Dustin Harvison #15, Brandon Slater #5, Fred Laing #6, Michel Beasley #114, William Wilson #16, Wyatt Heffington #1, and Devin Corry #18, all within one second of each other. If my math is correct--and it rarely is--that one second equates to 100 feet on the track and the top two qualifiers are separated by about 11inches--real close. So I look for a really competitive race. We have 15 cars available to compete tonight.
Heat Race:
Our heat race had 8 cars in it with Connelly starting on the pole, he got a good start and led all of the 8 laps, it was an uneventful race with only one quick caution on lap 3 caused by a spin. Top 5 in the heat race were: #32 Connelly, #96 Robbie, #44jr. Joseph, #15 Dustin, #14 Conner.
Feature Race:
After winning the heat race Connelly threw the invert dice and rolled a three putting him in the third starting position, with Robbie #96 on the pole and Brian #44 outside front row, Brad #94 outside second row, and Joseph #44jr rounding our the starting front five. Connelly got a good start then a quick caution before the completion of lap number one--complete restart. He got another good start and had the lead by the end of lap one. Brian and Joseph battled for second place for about four laps allowing Connelly to get away form both of them by about 8 car lengths. Right at halfway (10 laps) a car spun bring out the yellow. On the ensuing restart Connelly got a good start then right past the start finish line the #94 got into the side of Brian in the #44 which triggered a Daytona type "big one". I counted no less than 8 cars involved. Connelly was clear of the wreck and said he looked in his rearview mirror and all he saw was smoke and cars spinning and getting into each other. Resulting in a red flag which lasted the better part of 15 minutes, we had run the first half of the race in 3 1/2 min. at least 8 cars went off the track for repairs including Brian in the #44, so they all had to go to the rear, however they all came back on to run the rest of the race. The field then went into a "yellow fever" mode with the remainder of the race having 4 more yellow flags and two more red flags.
Brian worked his way back up to second, the repairs he made behind pit wall seemed to help because he then ran the fastest lap of the night for any legend including qualifying, with a 13.015 which was quick considering the track temp. It seemed to take forever to get the last 3 laps in. The top three in the Pro division were Connelly #32, Brian #44, and Brad #94. The top three in the Semi Pro division were Robbie #96, Dawson #04 and Conner #14. It should be noted that Treyce Capers in the #01 was exiting turn 4 looking at the checkered flag for his first podium finish when he spun dropping him to sixth, man you gotta keep that thing under you SSR began a new payout procedure tonight. Even though all the legend classes (4) run together they began paying separate prize money and trophies for each division--a really good idea. The race took over 55 minutes to run with the first half only taking 3 1/2 minutes. Long night we got home at 3:45 Sunday morning.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Saturday Night June 20, 2015
Tonight found us arriving late as we encountered a huge traffic tie up outside of Slidell, we left an hour early but it took us 1hour and 40 min to go 4 miles 6 lanes of traffic reduced to one--what a nightmare. We had to shake down the car start breaking in tires. We got on the track and the car was not to Connelly's liking. Just couldn't get it to "feel right". He got it "close" but in a series as competitive as this one you really don't want close.
QUALIFYING: Connelly qualified on the pole with a relatively slow 13.122, however the track did not seem to have a lot of speed in it. The track was very hot at qualifying 126 degrees. The remaining competitors in order of qualifying were the #44jr Joseph McArdle, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okresik, #15 Dustin Harvison, #94 Brad West, #01 Treyce Capers, #6 Fred Laing, #5 Brandon Slater, and #1 Wyatt Heffington. The #32 was a sight to behold, a new unpainted white fiberglass body with a black and orange hood complimented by a black deck lid with an orange
fleur-de-lis on it, going down the straightaway away from you it looks like a car with the trunk open, all this with a blue painters tape #32 on the passenger side door. It desperately needs to go to the paint shop.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started on the pole and led start to finish. The top 3 were #32, #96, #01. It was a uneventful heat which was great after last race wreck fest.
FEATURE RACE: Connelly threw a 4 on the invert dice, starting us from outside row two. He got a good start, got to the inside by lap 2 and had the lead by lap 4. Connelly went on to win closely followed by the #44jr of Joseph McArdle, the #96 of Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okrzesik, who wrecked his primary car in his heat and had to go to a back up for the feature (lucky he has a backup) and #01 of Treyce Capers for his first feature top 5. Congratulations Treyce. We are looking forward to the July 18th race, but we have a lot to do before then, thankfully we have three weekends before then to get it done. It should be noted that #44 Brian McArdle was not here tonight to race.We look forward to seeing him soon.
QUALIFYING: Connelly qualified on the pole with a relatively slow 13.122, however the track did not seem to have a lot of speed in it. The track was very hot at qualifying 126 degrees. The remaining competitors in order of qualifying were the #44jr Joseph McArdle, #96 Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okresik, #15 Dustin Harvison, #94 Brad West, #01 Treyce Capers, #6 Fred Laing, #5 Brandon Slater, and #1 Wyatt Heffington. The #32 was a sight to behold, a new unpainted white fiberglass body with a black and orange hood complimented by a black deck lid with an orange
fleur-de-lis on it, going down the straightaway away from you it looks like a car with the trunk open, all this with a blue painters tape #32 on the passenger side door. It desperately needs to go to the paint shop.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started on the pole and led start to finish. The top 3 were #32, #96, #01. It was a uneventful heat which was great after last race wreck fest.
FEATURE RACE: Connelly threw a 4 on the invert dice, starting us from outside row two. He got a good start, got to the inside by lap 2 and had the lead by lap 4. Connelly went on to win closely followed by the #44jr of Joseph McArdle, the #96 of Robbie Johnston, #14 Conner Okrzesik, who wrecked his primary car in his heat and had to go to a back up for the feature (lucky he has a backup) and #01 of Treyce Capers for his first feature top 5. Congratulations Treyce. We are looking forward to the July 18th race, but we have a lot to do before then, thankfully we have three weekends before then to get it done. It should be noted that #44 Brian McArdle was not here tonight to race.We look forward to seeing him soon.
Saturday Night June 6th, 2015
Got to the track and went through our normal routine, got a practice session in, car was OK but not perfect. When they called the cars to the grid for qualifying it started to rain--dried the track than another shower, so qualifying was cancelled--dried the track again and drew pills for starting positions in the heat races.
HEAT RACE:
Connelly drew inside last row in heat #1, 7th out of 8, he got a good start and worked his way toward the front, by lap 5 he had the lead and went on to win the heat, followed by Brian in #44, Conner in #14, Dawson in #04, and Chad in #10. We had a total of 16 competitors going for the win tonight, a very respectable field of cars.
FEATURE RACE:
At the drawing for heat starting positions the announcement was made that there would be an invert of 4 cars. Connelly was to start from the outside of row #2 fourth place, but Brian failed to go through tech after the heat race and was disqualified for the heat race resulting in him having to start last in the feature, he was scheduled to start from the outside of row #1 allowing the entire outside line to move up one spot when he went to the rear. Now Connelly is starting outside row #1. We managed to get the lead and held on to it for the first 3 or 4 laps when the #01 spun and was collected by the #18 and #5 a red flag resulted and all three were retired having suffered significant damage. After the restart we continued to lead, with Brian in the #44 working his way up to second. We still had a nice lead but a caution bunched the field up putting the #44 right on our bumper. On the restart we got pushed all the way down the backstretch, missed our braking mark, in the next turn we had a "bump and run" executed against us and the #44 got under us going into turn #3 coming to the checker, the two cars got together coming out of turn #4, the #44 "wheel hopped" us--his right rear went over out left front---the #04 then slid sideways into the rear of our car, the #10 then got into the #04. The #44, #32, and #04 had significant damage. The race finished with the #14 winning and the #96 in second and I think the #94 third. The #44 finished 11th and Connelly finished 12th after leading the first 19 laps, but the lap that pays the prize money is the 20 th. We felt like we could have been raced a little cleaner, in fact the race director warned the #44 for the pushing incident, but the wreck still happened. Could both sides have "given a little" and avoided all of the "carnage", probably!! what caused the wreck???? opinions differ but it is what it is. We need to get a whole new body on the car and have it checked out. We will be at the next race if we can get it all done. This race took its toll on race cars, four had to be taken off on the roll back, the #18, the #01, the #32 and the #04, the #5, #10, #44 were able to limp off under their own power but had significant damage. Hopefully we will get it all done and be ready for the next race.
HEAT RACE:
Connelly drew inside last row in heat #1, 7th out of 8, he got a good start and worked his way toward the front, by lap 5 he had the lead and went on to win the heat, followed by Brian in #44, Conner in #14, Dawson in #04, and Chad in #10. We had a total of 16 competitors going for the win tonight, a very respectable field of cars.
FEATURE RACE:
At the drawing for heat starting positions the announcement was made that there would be an invert of 4 cars. Connelly was to start from the outside of row #2 fourth place, but Brian failed to go through tech after the heat race and was disqualified for the heat race resulting in him having to start last in the feature, he was scheduled to start from the outside of row #1 allowing the entire outside line to move up one spot when he went to the rear. Now Connelly is starting outside row #1. We managed to get the lead and held on to it for the first 3 or 4 laps when the #01 spun and was collected by the #18 and #5 a red flag resulted and all three were retired having suffered significant damage. After the restart we continued to lead, with Brian in the #44 working his way up to second. We still had a nice lead but a caution bunched the field up putting the #44 right on our bumper. On the restart we got pushed all the way down the backstretch, missed our braking mark, in the next turn we had a "bump and run" executed against us and the #44 got under us going into turn #3 coming to the checker, the two cars got together coming out of turn #4, the #44 "wheel hopped" us--his right rear went over out left front---the #04 then slid sideways into the rear of our car, the #10 then got into the #04. The #44, #32, and #04 had significant damage. The race finished with the #14 winning and the #96 in second and I think the #94 third. The #44 finished 11th and Connelly finished 12th after leading the first 19 laps, but the lap that pays the prize money is the 20 th. We felt like we could have been raced a little cleaner, in fact the race director warned the #44 for the pushing incident, but the wreck still happened. Could both sides have "given a little" and avoided all of the "carnage", probably!! what caused the wreck???? opinions differ but it is what it is. We need to get a whole new body on the car and have it checked out. We will be at the next race if we can get it all done. This race took its toll on race cars, four had to be taken off on the roll back, the #18, the #01, the #32 and the #04, the #5, #10, #44 were able to limp off under their own power but had significant damage. Hopefully we will get it all done and be ready for the next race.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Sunday 5-24-15 second half of Momorial day Classic
Well here we are at the pit gate of SSR for the Sunday race of Memorial Day Classic. We bedded down at the La Quinta Inn, I fell into a "coma" I was exhausted, ate the classic La Quinta continental breakfast and got to the track for opening time (12 noon). We still had a lot to do, had to change the oil and filter on the race car, nut and bolt it and check everything for today's race. The weather was threatening and I wasn't entirely sure we would be able to get the race in. We got in a practice session and the times were just fair, but every one else said the same thing, oh well we all have to race on the same track. We had the drivers meeting and qualifying was set for 3:30. At 3:29 it started to rain, the track got respectfully wet, Mr. Wayne got out his tractor with attached blower, and in about 30-40 minutes the track was ready. We got qualifying in and guess what--more rain-- got the track dried and started heat racing, more rain, more track drying. Finally got finished with the rain and started racing.
QUALIFYING: The cars available for today's racing in order of qualifying were the #44 Brian McArdle on pole 12.977, #32 Connelly Dubuisson 2nd, we had some brake issues and I think it got into Connelly's head, #96 Robbie Johnston 3rd, #44jr. Joseph McArdle 4th, #14 Conner Okrzesik 5th, #10 Chad Robinson 6th, #94 Brad West 7th, #15 Dustin Harvison 8th, #6 Fred Laing 9th, #114 Michael Beasley 10th, #01 Treyce Capers 11th, #30 William Wilson 12th, #5 Brandon Slater 13th, and #38 Jayme Corry. Again another strong field of cars the first 5 are all within a quarter of a second of each other. Should be a good race.
HEAT RACE: We were in the second heat due to our qualifying time, but we were starting on the pole. Got a good start and led from start to finish without incident, a good shakedown. The car felt better, the track had cooled down a little and had a little more grip, and I think Connelly got the brake issue out of his head. (somewhat) Finishing order for top 5: #32, #44jr., #14, #10, #30.
FEATURE RACE: As the winner of the first heat, Brian #44 had to roll the invert dice, he rolled a 6 putting him on the outside of row 3 with Connelly to his inside. The race started just fine with Connelly getting a good start, after one lap he was up to 3rd, after the second lap Brian got by and he was 4th, by lap 5 he was back to 3rd behind Brian who was second with Joseph on the lead. They rode like this for a few laps, which I found strange because Brian can and will pass Joseph at a moment's notice. At the crossed flags (halfway) Connelly said, "enough of this, it is time to go" and he passed Brian and Joseph. Brian immediately passed Joseph for second with Connelly now in the lead. It appeared to me that Brian and Joseph were trying to set up something where Brian could stay in front of Connelly until the last lap and shoot ahead of Joseph at the finish and gain some extra points. Who knows ?????? sounds like a plan that I would implement if we had a teammate. Connelly ran in front of Brian for a couple of laps, and then while going into turn one Brian got into the back of Connelly and spun him out. The race director, by rule sent them both to the rear. Now we are restarting 12 out of 13 with 6 laps to go. On the restart Connelly passed up one car #6 and coming out of turn 1 the #5 spun right in front of us and Connelly got into him--no big damage but the #6 then slammed into our left rear bumper bending the bumper and both rear frame horns. Pretty hard impact, Connelly thought he was finished but the car was still raceable. Because we did not complete a lap--complete restart--again starting 12th. We began to pick off cars in front of us with Brian "in tow" we both moved up to a 6th place finish for Connelly and 7th place finish for Brian.
The top five finishers were #44jr. with the win, #14 2nd, #96 3rd, #94 4th, and #10 5th. Connelly said he was so mad he didn't know who to be mad at. He finally cooled down and soon after we got home Brian texted Connelly and accepted responsibility for the accident. The good news we didn't lose any points to Brian in fact we gained two. However we did lose about $300 in prize money and points bonus. Well such is racing, if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen, but if the kitchen is where you want to be you have to learn to deal with it. We will have to go through several things on the car to get it back in top form for the next race on June 6th--we will be there if the good Lord allows us.
QUALIFYING: The cars available for today's racing in order of qualifying were the #44 Brian McArdle on pole 12.977, #32 Connelly Dubuisson 2nd, we had some brake issues and I think it got into Connelly's head, #96 Robbie Johnston 3rd, #44jr. Joseph McArdle 4th, #14 Conner Okrzesik 5th, #10 Chad Robinson 6th, #94 Brad West 7th, #15 Dustin Harvison 8th, #6 Fred Laing 9th, #114 Michael Beasley 10th, #01 Treyce Capers 11th, #30 William Wilson 12th, #5 Brandon Slater 13th, and #38 Jayme Corry. Again another strong field of cars the first 5 are all within a quarter of a second of each other. Should be a good race.
HEAT RACE: We were in the second heat due to our qualifying time, but we were starting on the pole. Got a good start and led from start to finish without incident, a good shakedown. The car felt better, the track had cooled down a little and had a little more grip, and I think Connelly got the brake issue out of his head. (somewhat) Finishing order for top 5: #32, #44jr., #14, #10, #30.
FEATURE RACE: As the winner of the first heat, Brian #44 had to roll the invert dice, he rolled a 6 putting him on the outside of row 3 with Connelly to his inside. The race started just fine with Connelly getting a good start, after one lap he was up to 3rd, after the second lap Brian got by and he was 4th, by lap 5 he was back to 3rd behind Brian who was second with Joseph on the lead. They rode like this for a few laps, which I found strange because Brian can and will pass Joseph at a moment's notice. At the crossed flags (halfway) Connelly said, "enough of this, it is time to go" and he passed Brian and Joseph. Brian immediately passed Joseph for second with Connelly now in the lead. It appeared to me that Brian and Joseph were trying to set up something where Brian could stay in front of Connelly until the last lap and shoot ahead of Joseph at the finish and gain some extra points. Who knows ?????? sounds like a plan that I would implement if we had a teammate. Connelly ran in front of Brian for a couple of laps, and then while going into turn one Brian got into the back of Connelly and spun him out. The race director, by rule sent them both to the rear. Now we are restarting 12 out of 13 with 6 laps to go. On the restart Connelly passed up one car #6 and coming out of turn 1 the #5 spun right in front of us and Connelly got into him--no big damage but the #6 then slammed into our left rear bumper bending the bumper and both rear frame horns. Pretty hard impact, Connelly thought he was finished but the car was still raceable. Because we did not complete a lap--complete restart--again starting 12th. We began to pick off cars in front of us with Brian "in tow" we both moved up to a 6th place finish for Connelly and 7th place finish for Brian.
The top five finishers were #44jr. with the win, #14 2nd, #96 3rd, #94 4th, and #10 5th. Connelly said he was so mad he didn't know who to be mad at. He finally cooled down and soon after we got home Brian texted Connelly and accepted responsibility for the accident. The good news we didn't lose any points to Brian in fact we gained two. However we did lose about $300 in prize money and points bonus. Well such is racing, if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen, but if the kitchen is where you want to be you have to learn to deal with it. We will have to go through several things on the car to get it back in top form for the next race on June 6th--we will be there if the good Lord allows us.
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