|
2007 news
October 26th 2007
How about that for a crystal ball? As we thought, the
field came back to us in qualifying (remove the use of special qualifying
set-ups and the
racing gets good!) we laid down a 18:34 early in qualifying and it held up for 4th
on the grid (talk about starting up front) there were over 50 cars
entered!! Our plan for the race held up too as we decided to stay near the
front, stay out of trouble and ride it out till the end. We ran 6th all
night in a lead pack freight train with less than .5 seconds separating
all 6 of us, only to get caught in a blown motor from the 4th place car on
lap 140 which spun us in the oil in turn 2. Restarting 12th (NASCAR
decided- go figure) we got back up to 8th when our good buddy Gary Jenkins
(79) spun us off turn 4 going to the checkers. We finished 15th on the
night, certainly a disappointment after running 6th for over 100 laps and
nose to tail with the top 6 cars. Did you see it live on SPEED???
October 11th 2007
The Toyota All Star Showdown on October 19th! We will
be there. A new format will insure that you race what you
qualify and there will be a tire impound rule to prevent tire cheating.
This benefits us- as all season long we have only used a race setup and
sticker tires. This format should bring the field back to us in
qualifying...Come out and see it live!
September 2007
Pretty much the same story. Top ten finishes yielded a 9th place
overall points finish for the season. It is very obvious we need to work
on a qualifying setup as we are very fast in the race, but we have to be
able to start further towards the front to have a chance at winning. We
also had the opportunity to participate in Grapeland Elementary Schools
Open House. Their theme was NASCAR night, and the line to sit in our car
stretched around the entire school! Everyone had a great time and left
with autographed pictures. I am sure we inspired at least one future
racer! See Picture here
August 11th 2007
.3 (3 tenths) off the pole yielded 8th on the grid again, but a blown
engine in the 25 car trapped us on the bottom of the track and we lost 1/2
lap and fell back to 14th. No cautions but a fast car caught us back to
the lead pack and we were able to pass a few lead group cars to finish
8th. If we only had a few more laps....
July 28th 2007
We are sneaking up on our qualifying setup and it gets better every
week. We worked all night Friday during open practice and the car was very
fast. Unfortunately during the last session we broke a rocker arm. Fearing
we had valve spring failure which led to the rocker arm failing, we
proceeded to spend all morning Saturday replacing all the valve springs.
We managed our best qualifying position of the year so far, 8th, but we
overlooked an unseated right rear shock spring and it completely upset our
balance and we went backwards in the main finishing 10th.
July 14th 2007
Well how about that! Our first podium of the year- 3rd place in the
first twin 50 of the year! We started practice off well being the fastest
car on track during practice but a mistake during qualifying netted only
15th on the grid. Then, the track officials decided to invert all the cars
in the 18 second range (19 cars total) putting us in 5th on the grid for
the start of the first 50 lap main. A chance to start up front is what we
have been working for all year long, clean air and a clear racetrack and
we were fast! After finishing third in the first race, we
were forced back to our original qualifying spot for the second 50 lap
feature, and after working our way up to 4th, an overaggressive and
downright pathetic move by the 12 car trying to make it 3 wide on the
inside bumped us into the 25 car causing the 25 car to go to the wall and
bringing out a caution, which as we all know, at Irwindale means all cars
involved go to the back. They sent us back, but they weren't going to send
the 12 car until everyone in the grandstands and all on the spotters tower
showed their displeasure (thanks everyone!) Restarting last, we were able
to race all the way back to 7th (the 12 car only got back up to 10th- :))) when the race ended being shortened to
only 35 laps due to time restrictions
June 30th 2007
From Dead Last to 8th- and another top 10! Well, our luck continues to
improve- let me illustrate: Everything was good in practice today, felt we
had a fast car and a good set up for qualifying but as we rolled up the
qualifying grid and it was our turn, we couldn't get the engine to fire.
Frantically we traced the problem to a failed steering wheel kill switch
(we run one after nearly killing Scott with a stuck throttle 2 years ago)
but, by the time we figured it out it was too late to qualify and we
posted no qualifying time- the only team to not post a time, and therefore
we had to start dead last. How is that improving luck you might ask? Well,
last year that switch would've failed during the main event, so failing in
Qualifying is good luck!
June 16th 2007
From 16th to 5th and our first top 5 of the season!! We had to start
from the back TWICE to get there but we finally have our first top 5 of
the year! Another less than desirable qualifying effort put us 16th on the
grid and we had worked our way up to 7th when Scott got into a car in
front of him and caused a spin which sent us all the way to the end of the
longest line. After restarting 13th we again charged to the front landing
in 5th and missing a series of crashes at the end which resulted in a
shortened Green/White/Checkered finish. Thanks to all the fans for their
support, I know it's hard to root for us after the season we had last
year, but we appreciate all the loyalty our fans have shown, we will
continue to work hard to get it on the podium before the end of the year.
This was a TV race and will be broadcast July 15th, 1:30pm on
Versus. Be sure to check it out!
June 2nd 2007
From 14th to 9th and our first top ten of the year. Our 2005 car was
good and consistent all day. We had it set up a little too loose for the
main event or we could've finished even better. We keep working hard for
the best setup and we will make a bunch of changes for next race looking
for our first top 5 of 2007. Come on out and cheer us on!
May 26th 2007
Our 2005 car is so good at this track, Scott was all smiles after
practice. We started last, worked our way up and got sent to the back in a
crash, worked all the way back to 7th when we had a front main seal fail.
At least we aren't blowing them up this year (knock, knock) :)
May 19th 2007
Hard Charger award and in the trailer in one piece. This was still our
2006 Chassis car and we have tried everything to try to get it to turn
left and it fights us every step of the way (she is truly an Eleanor!) We
will bring out our 2005 chassis next week to see what we can do on these
Hoosier Tires.
May 5th 2007
Got her going good, qualifying 10th (best of the season so far) and
ran a clean, fast race. Mechanically, we have been very stable lately and
making big gains in the chassis department. We have made a bunch of
changes for the race on the 19th, so it's time to run up front. Come on
out and cheer us on!
April 21st 2007
We Qualified 12th and on the warmup lap Scott Had to pull to the
bottom of the track to adjust the steering wheel only to have the 1 lap to
go to green displayed and we were unable to get back in line and had to
start dead last (24th). We did manage to make it all the way back up to
16th before running out of time. The car is going much better and things
are improving big time.
April 14th 2007
Well this is a new one for us, we were able to finish the race but had
siezed up the locker (3rd member) at the beginning of the race and
unbelievably made it to the end. With the rear end locking up, the car was
unable to get off the corners and looked slow down the straights. While we
were able to limp home in 18th place, it wasn't the showing we were hoping
for.
April 7th 2007
Lot's of hard work and we got her going good! Qualified 16th after
making a small mistake in turn 2 during qualifying (a tenth of a second is
all it takes!). Ran 57 laps of the scheduled 75- working our way all the
way up to 5th place and broke a lifter and had to retire. We were really
excited to get the car handling well and can't wait to get back out!! This
was a televised race so watch the SPEED channel for Air dates!
March 24th 2007
Opening Night!! Well, Scott had Strep throat last week so we were not
able to get to the last practice session before opening night. Regardless
we were able to qualify OK and after avoiding an opening lap near-stack up
and getting shuffled to the back of the field, we managed to stay on the
lead lap and finish 19th. We have some work to do, fighting a tight
racecar all night, but mechanically things are good (knock on wood!) and
we'll get the old girl loosened up.... ;)
March 8th 2007
Everybody Ready to start the 2007 season?!? We spent all winter
preparing our 2 Super Late models and can't wait to give them a run. Open
Practice (Public Welcome!) on March 17th and opening night March 24th!!
LET'S GO RACING!!
| 
Super Late Model Racing Team