July 29th, Spartan Speedway-WOMS
Results
Spartan Speedway, Mason, MI (1/4 mile paved)
Qualified: 4th (13.5 sec)
Heat: Started-4th, Finished-2nd
Feature: Started-5th, Finished-4th
This week-end we had a rare Sunday night show, and luckily everything ran pretty smoothly. With
racing starting at 6, we were all done with our feature before 8! Anyway, Spartan Speedway is a nice
little 1/4 mile track. It's the first time we've been there in almost two years, so it took some
getting used to again. The first hot lap session, we were a little off with our gearing. We took
care of that for the second session. The car had a slight push in the center though. For qualifying
we decided to make an adjustment which we shouldn't have. The car had a BIG push going into the turns.
I ended up turning the car with the throttle, and basically 'dirt-tracking' car around the turns to
get any sort of speed. I know we could have had a faster time, but if we wouldn't have tried the
adjustment, we would have never known. So, for the heat, we decided to adjust the car the other way.
The car didn't race too bad, but now the it pushed on the exit of the turn! The start of the race was
a little hectic, since the slower cars start in front, but I was able to clear them after a lap. I
wasn't able to catch the leader though since he cleared them a little quicker. For the feature, we
started 5th, which was good since we were in the inside line. Even with a good start, Spartan is a tough
place to pass. I wasn't able to get under the 3rd place car at the start. Unfortunately, the 7th
place car got under me going into 3. I ended up getting shuffled back to about 8th with my work cut-out
for me. Going into the first turn the next time, Phil Rutledge and another car got together in front
of me, and I had to really slow-up. Everyone made it through ok though, but I ended up getting caught
behind a couple cars slower than us. It was good racing, but it took me a couple laps to get around
the two cars. During that time, the first 3 just pulled away. By the time I got by, they were probably
about 1/2 a lap ahead. So, I just settled into a rythmn and try to catch them. I wasn't able to
though and ended up 4th.
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