http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7KihHM68L0&feature=player_embedded
August 30, 2010 - 12:30 am http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=76&sid=359685
A 13-year-old boy from Vancouver, WA - Peter Lenz - died Sunday racing his motorcycle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The coroner says that Peter Lenz of Vancouver, Wash. sustained "traumatic injuries" and was pronounced dead several hours after he fell off his bike and was run over by another motorcycle.
The teen and 12-year-old Xavier Zayat both crashed on a warmup lap for the MD250H race, a precursor to the annual MotoGP race.
Medical workers placed Lenz in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and started chest compressions before taking him to the hospital. Speedway officials said Zayat, from Flushing, N.Y., was not injured.
Lenz is survived by his parents and two sisters.
I got this e-mail tonight from listener Jacob:
Dori, I heard about the motorcycle crash that killed the 13 year old kid and am just heartsick. Our 12 year old son is an aggressive motocross rider and my wife and I have had conversations about whether we should let him do an activity that is so dangerous. But he loves riding. I thought it might make an interesting tpic for your show.
If your kid loves doing something that is obviously dangerous, should us parents try to keep him from thast activity to keep him safe? Or should we let him take his chances with that high risk sport?
Jacob
It's an interesting question that Jacob asks. We are supposed to everything we can to keep our kids safe. But we also want to instill an adventurous spirit. What's the right balance.
It is very sad to read this posting on Peter's website Sunday night:
Peter passed away early this morning when he was apparently struck by another rider. He passed doing what he loved and had his go fast face on as he pulled onto the track. The world lost one of its brightest lights today. God Bless Peter and the other rider involved. #45 is on another road we can only hope to reach. Miss you kiddo. - Dad
I can't even imagine the heartbreak Peter's parents are experiencing. Do any of you think we should steer our kids away from high-risk activities when they're that young?
Here's video of young Pter in action - doing what he loved.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
TWO PODIUM FINISHES, INCLUDING A WIN, IN JESSICA DANA’S 4TH ROTAX SENIOR OUTING
KENT, Wash. — (Aug. 26, 2010) One setup change turned a good weekend of kart racing into a great one for Jessica Dana.
Racing in the Rotax Senior class, the 15-year-old from Tumwater, Wash., made the podium both days during Round 3 of the I-5 Corridor Series at PGP Motorsports Park, including a Sunday sweep with victories in both the final and heat race, and the fastest qualifying time.
Jessica also established the class record for the track’s clockwise full-course configuration with a lap of 1 minute, 01:009 seconds during Sunday’s final. The weekend marked just the second time, and the first without rain, that PGP had run a competition in that direction of the full-course configuration, so the fastest time in each category became the new benchmark.
The weekend event was just the fourth time Jessica had raced in the Rotax Senior class, but she showed her intention to compete by qualifying third, and then finishing third in the heat race on Saturday. That put her in the second row for the start of the final, but after the green flag dropped Jessica quickly dropped three spots to sixth in the scramble for position heading into the first corner. Never losing her composure, Jessica fought her way back to the front, finishing third for her first podium of the weekend.
During Saturday’s on-track action, Jessica’s crew chief and father Troy Dana noticed she was losing time to other racers on the straights of PGP’s .82-mile track, and a prior dyno run confirmed her kart was down on horsepower. A gear and chassis change made prior to Sunday’s events eliminated some of her straight-line speed loss, but also required Jessica to adjust her cornering technique.
A father-daughter track-walk prior to Sunday qualifying to discuss PGP’s 14 corners proved beneficial as Jessica promptly adjusted her line during practice and put herself on the pole for the heat race, which she came back to win after slipping to second-place under intense pressure from behind. Jessica also established the new clockwise track record during the heat race, but that mark didn’t last long.
Jessica led Sunday’s final race flag-to-flag, but it wasn’t easy going after her kart’s handling was negatively affected by contact from the rear heading into the first corner. Although Jessica’s kart was tight — didn’t want to turn — in the corners, she was able to better her own track record and build a lead over the second- and third-place drivers as they were racing for position and losing time to Jessica. In fact, as the laps wound down she slowed her pace at times to avoid overdriving her ill-handling kart en route to the victory.
About Jessica Dana Racing: Jessica Dana Racing was founded in 2010 to help the high school sophomore from Tumwater, Wash., achieve her goal of racing at the highest levels of motorsports. Jessica began riding ATVs when she was 4, and racing them at 8. Two months after sitting in a kart for the first time she was recording a top-5 finish at the 2009 U.S. Indoor Kart Championships. Over a two-month period in the spring of 2010, Jessica raced and defeated both four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and extreme motorsports star Travis Pastrana in charity kart events. Jessica has also gotten behind the wheel of a Baby Grand scaled-down stockcar, and she is looking to get seat time in a Super Stock late model.
Jessica Dana Racing sponsorship & media contact: Troy Dana, (360) 352-9003, Troy.Dana@d3rec.com
Racing in the Rotax Senior class, the 15-year-old from Tumwater, Wash., made the podium both days during Round 3 of the I-5 Corridor Series at PGP Motorsports Park, including a Sunday sweep with victories in both the final and heat race, and the fastest qualifying time.
Jessica also established the class record for the track’s clockwise full-course configuration with a lap of 1 minute, 01:009 seconds during Sunday’s final. The weekend marked just the second time, and the first without rain, that PGP had run a competition in that direction of the full-course configuration, so the fastest time in each category became the new benchmark.
The weekend event was just the fourth time Jessica had raced in the Rotax Senior class, but she showed her intention to compete by qualifying third, and then finishing third in the heat race on Saturday. That put her in the second row for the start of the final, but after the green flag dropped Jessica quickly dropped three spots to sixth in the scramble for position heading into the first corner. Never losing her composure, Jessica fought her way back to the front, finishing third for her first podium of the weekend.
During Saturday’s on-track action, Jessica’s crew chief and father Troy Dana noticed she was losing time to other racers on the straights of PGP’s .82-mile track, and a prior dyno run confirmed her kart was down on horsepower. A gear and chassis change made prior to Sunday’s events eliminated some of her straight-line speed loss, but also required Jessica to adjust her cornering technique.
A father-daughter track-walk prior to Sunday qualifying to discuss PGP’s 14 corners proved beneficial as Jessica promptly adjusted her line during practice and put herself on the pole for the heat race, which she came back to win after slipping to second-place under intense pressure from behind. Jessica also established the new clockwise track record during the heat race, but that mark didn’t last long.
Jessica led Sunday’s final race flag-to-flag, but it wasn’t easy going after her kart’s handling was negatively affected by contact from the rear heading into the first corner. Although Jessica’s kart was tight — didn’t want to turn — in the corners, she was able to better her own track record and build a lead over the second- and third-place drivers as they were racing for position and losing time to Jessica. In fact, as the laps wound down she slowed her pace at times to avoid overdriving her ill-handling kart en route to the victory.
About Jessica Dana Racing: Jessica Dana Racing was founded in 2010 to help the high school sophomore from Tumwater, Wash., achieve her goal of racing at the highest levels of motorsports. Jessica began riding ATVs when she was 4, and racing them at 8. Two months after sitting in a kart for the first time she was recording a top-5 finish at the 2009 U.S. Indoor Kart Championships. Over a two-month period in the spring of 2010, Jessica raced and defeated both four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon and extreme motorsports star Travis Pastrana in charity kart events. Jessica has also gotten behind the wheel of a Baby Grand scaled-down stockcar, and she is looking to get seat time in a Super Stock late model.
Jessica Dana Racing sponsorship & media contact: Troy Dana, (360) 352-9003, Troy.Dana@d3rec.com
MALSAM PAYS FIRST VISIT TO MONTREAL WITH NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
MONTREAL (Aug. 25 2010) — Some drivers may be happy that NASCAR’s Nationwide Series is making its final visit of the season to a road course this weekend in Montreal, but don’t count Pacific Northwest native Tayler Malsam among them.
“I’ve never been there before, but I’m looking forward to it,” said the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash. “Hopefully I’m going to be able to pick (Braun Racing teammate) Jacques Villeneuve’s brain as much as I can. Montreal is definitely going to be a lot more technical than Watkins Glen.”
Malsam will once again be driving the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing in Sunday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The race will be broadcast by ESPN2 beginning with the NASCAR Countdown show at 11 a.m. (PT). Saturday’s practice session and qualifying will also be televised by ESPN2, at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
NASCAR Sprint Cup star and 2007 Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards won last year’s event at Montreal, the third time the series has raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Current Cup point leader Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event in 2007 and Ron Fellows visited Victory Lane there in 2008.
The track, a 2.71-mile 14-turn course, is named for Jacques Villeneuve’s father, a native of the Canadian province of Quebec and former Formula One driver who died during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, will be making his third Nationwide Series start for Braun Racing this season, all on road courses. He finished eighth in his first visit to Watkins Glen on Aug. 7 and Villeneuve was 25th after suffering electrical problems late in the June 19 race at Road America.
Malsam had solid runs in both prior road course races this season, finishing 18th at Road America and 12th at Watkins Glen. Despite the close-quarters racing inherent in road-course events and the fact that he was making in inaugural visit to both tracks, Malsam kept his fenders clean and deftly avoided other driver’s mistakes at both venues.
Sunday’s race will be Malsam’s 10th career series start, all with Braun Racing and all but two with Stewart Cooper as his crew chief. Cooper sat out Malsam’s starts at Road America and New Hampshire with a NASCAR suspension after a tire-swapping infraction. Despite their limited time together — Malsam has missed several Nationwide Series races because Braun has had other drivers slated for the No. 10 — Malsam and Cooper have bonded well, an important attribute for a driver who began the season racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“I really like Stewart,” Malsam said. “He knows the fastest way for me to learn something is to get out and do it, so that’s something that has helped me adapt to the Nationwide cars after the trucks.”
After Montreal, Malsam will miss the next series race on Sept. 4 in Atlanta. He returns to the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing on Sept. 10 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
On the Web
www.taylermalsam.com
www.oneeightyracing.com
www.braunracing.com
www.ironhorsejeans.com
About One Eighty
One Eighty is a privately-held company located in downtown Seattle, Washington. Chairman and CEO, Dan Madsen has developed a combination of people, platform and pipeline focused on changing the way business is done. His drive is to make One Eighty not only a great company to work with, but also a great company to work for. Since 1988, his business philosophy has been simple – Always put people first and positively impact the lives of employees, customers and business associates everyday. This philosophy has been applied to One Eighty’s senior housing brands (Leisure Care, Leisure Care Premiere, Dolcetto and Signature 180.) They operate over 40 communities and nearly 7,000 units in the Western United States and Canada. One Eighty also owns hospitality brands Twist Travel™, PrimeFit™ and Edibility™ and is involved in One Eighty Racing, a NASCAR race team. For more information visit www.oneeightytwist.com.
“I’ve never been there before, but I’m looking forward to it,” said the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash. “Hopefully I’m going to be able to pick (Braun Racing teammate) Jacques Villeneuve’s brain as much as I can. Montreal is definitely going to be a lot more technical than Watkins Glen.”
Malsam will once again be driving the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing in Sunday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The race will be broadcast by ESPN2 beginning with the NASCAR Countdown show at 11 a.m. (PT). Saturday’s practice session and qualifying will also be televised by ESPN2, at 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
NASCAR Sprint Cup star and 2007 Nationwide Series champion Carl Edwards won last year’s event at Montreal, the third time the series has raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Current Cup point leader Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event in 2007 and Ron Fellows visited Victory Lane there in 2008.
The track, a 2.71-mile 14-turn course, is named for Jacques Villeneuve’s father, a native of the Canadian province of Quebec and former Formula One driver who died during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, will be making his third Nationwide Series start for Braun Racing this season, all on road courses. He finished eighth in his first visit to Watkins Glen on Aug. 7 and Villeneuve was 25th after suffering electrical problems late in the June 19 race at Road America.
Malsam had solid runs in both prior road course races this season, finishing 18th at Road America and 12th at Watkins Glen. Despite the close-quarters racing inherent in road-course events and the fact that he was making in inaugural visit to both tracks, Malsam kept his fenders clean and deftly avoided other driver’s mistakes at both venues.
Sunday’s race will be Malsam’s 10th career series start, all with Braun Racing and all but two with Stewart Cooper as his crew chief. Cooper sat out Malsam’s starts at Road America and New Hampshire with a NASCAR suspension after a tire-swapping infraction. Despite their limited time together — Malsam has missed several Nationwide Series races because Braun has had other drivers slated for the No. 10 — Malsam and Cooper have bonded well, an important attribute for a driver who began the season racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
“I really like Stewart,” Malsam said. “He knows the fastest way for me to learn something is to get out and do it, so that’s something that has helped me adapt to the Nationwide cars after the trucks.”
After Montreal, Malsam will miss the next series race on Sept. 4 in Atlanta. He returns to the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing on Sept. 10 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
On the Web
www.taylermalsam.com
www.oneeightyracing.com
www.braunracing.com
www.ironhorsejeans.com
About One Eighty
One Eighty is a privately-held company located in downtown Seattle, Washington. Chairman and CEO, Dan Madsen has developed a combination of people, platform and pipeline focused on changing the way business is done. His drive is to make One Eighty not only a great company to work with, but also a great company to work for. Since 1988, his business philosophy has been simple – Always put people first and positively impact the lives of employees, customers and business associates everyday. This philosophy has been applied to One Eighty’s senior housing brands (Leisure Care, Leisure Care Premiere, Dolcetto and Signature 180.) They operate over 40 communities and nearly 7,000 units in the Western United States and Canada. One Eighty also owns hospitality brands Twist Travel™, PrimeFit™ and Edibility™ and is involved in One Eighty Racing, a NASCAR race team. For more information visit www.oneeightytwist.com.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
15-year-old Molly Helmuth clinches rookie honors at Evergreen Speedway
SEATTLE (Aug. 25, 2010) -- Molly Helmuth, a 15 year old girl from Seattle, has just become the youngest driver ever to win Rookie of the Year racing in the Mini-Stock division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.
When NASCAR lowered the age limit for the 2010 season to allow drivers as young as 14to compete at NASCAR Home Tracks like Evergreen Speedway, Molly said, "Let’s go racing!"
Racing a Volkswagon Corrado with a very fast engine package, Molly took to the track racing against drivers more than twice her age. Molly, who also races karts, has become a fan favorite by bumping, passing, spinning out and crashing as she learns how to handle heavier vehicles.
Molly set her goals high, clinching rookie of the year with just a few races left in the season. She is currently No. 5 overall in the Mini-Stock standings.
www.mollyhelmuth.com
When NASCAR lowered the age limit for the 2010 season to allow drivers as young as 14to compete at NASCAR Home Tracks like Evergreen Speedway, Molly said, "Let’s go racing!"
Racing a Volkswagon Corrado with a very fast engine package, Molly took to the track racing against drivers more than twice her age. Molly, who also races karts, has become a fan favorite by bumping, passing, spinning out and crashing as she learns how to handle heavier vehicles.
Molly set her goals high, clinching rookie of the year with just a few races left in the season. She is currently No. 5 overall in the Mini-Stock standings.
www.mollyhelmuth.com
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Purse increased for Kasey Khane Foundation event at Skagit Speedway
ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 24, 2010) -- The Kasey Kahne Foundation announced today that they are adding an additional $2,600 to the regular purse for the August 27th event at Skagit Speedway.
"The racers and fans of Skagit Speedway have been big supporters of the Kasey Kahne Foundation, this is our way of saying Thank You to the teams," said Foundation General Manger Shannon Adams, "We are excited to come back to Skagit Speedway and we want to make it special."
"This is a pleasant surprise," said track owner Steve Beitler, "When I got the email this afternoon with the added purse I knew the racers would appreciate the extra money."
The Kasey Kahne Foundation Race will be August 27th, entry area opens at 1:00pm, grandstands open at 5 p.m.and racing starts at 7 p.m. For more information visit www.skagitspeedway.com.
"The racers and fans of Skagit Speedway have been big supporters of the Kasey Kahne Foundation, this is our way of saying Thank You to the teams," said Foundation General Manger Shannon Adams, "We are excited to come back to Skagit Speedway and we want to make it special."
"This is a pleasant surprise," said track owner Steve Beitler, "When I got the email this afternoon with the added purse I knew the racers would appreciate the extra money."
The Kasey Kahne Foundation Race will be August 27th, entry area opens at 1:00pm, grandstands open at 5 p.m.and racing starts at 7 p.m. For more information visit www.skagitspeedway.com.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Traxxas Pro Light: Andrew Caddell Podiums Round 7, Wins Round 8, and Cashes In With Maxx Lap Bonuses
Traxxas Pro Light front-runner Andrew Caddell was back in top form in Bark River. As the dust hung in the air from the start of Round 7’s race, Andrew shook out to third position behind Casey Currie and the seemingly unstoppable Marty Hart, who was looking for his fifth consecutive Traxxas Pro Light win. Caddell was on Currie’s bumper from the start, and found his passing opportunity before the first lap was over as Currie spun his truck in the right-hander after the “Monster Hill”, Bark River’s infamous hilltop jump. With Currie dispatched, Caddell could now focus on chasing down Marty Hart, who had amassed a lead of about ten truck lengths. Caddell was able to reduce the gap, but it was the mandatory yellow flag that finally put him on Hart’s bumper. At the restart, Caddell took the inside line through the “horseshoe” turn to go door to door with Hart, but Hart managed to hold off the hard-charging Traxxas driver and pull out the lead as the trucks launched over the start/finish tabletop jump. For the remainder of the race, Hart and Caddell put on a master-class in short-course racing as they distanced themselves from the field, flinging their trucks through the turns, each countering the other’s moves. Caddell was a threat in every corner and went door to door with Hart in the final turns, but Hart held on for the win as Caddell took a well-fought second place. Hart pocketed the $5,000 Traxxas Pro Light purse, Caddell earned the $2,500 check, and third-place finisher Ross Hoek went home with $1,500. In addition to the purse dollars, Caddell earned an extra $1,000 by posting the fastest lap of the race to earn the Maxx Lap Award.
In Round 8, Caddell found himself between Casey Currie and Marty Hart at the start, but Hart overtook both drivers for the lead before the first lap was through. About three truck lengths separated each of the top three trucks through lap two, but Caddell was soon on Currie’s bumper and ready to move into second as Hart opened up a gap on the dueling drivers. Currie was able to counter Caddell’s passing attempts, until Caddell made an aggressive but clean inside pass for second as he and Currie rounded the “Kumho Tires” turn, just in time for the mid-race yellow. With the top three now tightly grouped for the restart, Caddell had to be ready to hold off Currie as he tried to make a move on Hart for the lead. As the green flag unleashed the Traxxas Pro Light field, Caddell tried an inside line through the horseshoe but Hart maintained his momentum to hold the lead by a slim margin. Caddell kept Hart in his cross-hairs, looking for his opportunity to pass, then overtook him for the lead with seeming ease as the trucks floated over the Monster Hill. As the trucks touched down and Caddell motored away, Hart pulled off the track with mechanical trouble. The duel that had propelled Hart and Caddel to a sizeable gap on third-place Currie and the rest of the field now represented an insurmountable lead that Currie could not bridge. Caddell’s last lap was essentially a victory lap, as he took the checkers unchallenged to earn the $5,000 purse and another $1,000 Maxx Lap award.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thompson Set for Championship Finish
JEROME, IDAHO (August 19, 2010) Brett Thompson of Jerome, Idaho is searching for his first touring series championship and with only three races left on the 2010 CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series schedule, that championship could be a reality. Thompson sits third in the championship standings heading into the 125-lap NAPA Auto Parts sponsored event at Rocky Mountain Raceways this Saturday night.
Thompson has been stellar in his first season on the popular Late Model Tour. With only two finishes outside the top ten, Thompson is looking to close out the season like he started. The race this weekend will be the longest race of the season at 125-laps so tire conservation will be critical. "I believe tire management will be critical this weekend," Thompson said. "With the two tire rule the series uses, you need to save your stuff. We have been really good at RMR so far this season and maybe the longer race will play into our hand."
The top three in the point standings are separated by only 26-points so the margin for error is razor thin. "There are some really good drivers in this series," Thompson said. "Both John (Newhouse) and Steve (Jones) want the championship as bad as I do so I am sure it is going to be a great race and come down to luck."
Thompson has one win and five top three finishes in his inaugural season in the RMCS. The series inverts up to the top 20-cars from qualifying putting the fast qualifiers at the rear of the field. The series awards passing points based on original starting position which can boost a driver's event point total substantially. "If we can qualify fast and finish up front the points will take care of themselves," Thompson said. "We have been good so far this season but we are going to have to be great the rest of the way."
The 3/8-mile banked oval layout of RMR is a favorite of the competitors and fans alike. "RMR is a great racing facility," Thompson said. "The corners are wide and there is plenty of room for passing. I was not used to the invert when we started the season but I have grown to like it. The fans see a great race and as a driver you have to work for a good finish."
Thompson Motorsports is a premier motorsports organization based in Jerome, Idaho providing complete race car preparation and fabrication supporting the local grassroots racer and experienced professional driver. TMS fields cars in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, Intermountain Pro Truck Series, and entries at local area short tracks. TMS has corporate partnerships with Rich Thompson Trucking Inc. (RTTI), Ron's Rear Ends, United Oil, VaCom Technologies, Windmill Inn and Suites, and Speedbear. For all the latest news and information about Brett Thompson and Thompson Motorsports, log onto www.brettthompsonracing.com. For all the latest west coast racing action, log onto RMCS at www.rmcsracing.com.
~DJS Sports Marketing photo credit. Thompson's RTTI Dodge at RMR 2010.
Thank you for your interest continued support of Thompson Motorsports, a premier motorsports operation in Jerome, Idaho fielding entries in NASCAR, regional Late Model racing, and local short tracks.
~Thompson Motorsports
ASA RACING SCHEDULE AUGUST 20-22, 2010
American Speed Association PR
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Thursday, August 19, 2010) - Another great weekend of racing is on tap this weekend in the American Speed Association. Here is a look at what is happening.
ASA NORTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR SERIES
(Western Speedway, Victoria, BC, Canada)
The stars of the asphalt winged-sprint car series will go north of the border for the 50th Annual Daffodil Cup on Friday and Saturday. Matt Hein, fresh off his last last win at Euphrata, will be looking for two in a row. He is also working towards his third straight ASA NSRA Championship.
www.nsraracing.com
GRAYS HARBOR RACEWAY
Elma, WA
It's Extreme night this Saturday night. Monster Trucks, Metal Mulisha Motor X Rider Justin Hofman and Mud Drags. Tickets on sale now at the track's website. Front gate opens at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
www.graysharborraceway.com
MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY
(Meridian, ID)
Domino's Pizza Night is this Saturday night. The Late Models, Sprint Cars, Pro-4's and Junior Stingers will be in action. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
www.meridianspeedwayonline.com
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS
(West Valley City, UT)
The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series Late Models will return to Rocky Mountain Raceways, an ASA Member Track, on Saturday, August 21 for the NAPA 125. Dex Mini Cups, Pro Race Trucks, Figure-8 Cars and Western States Equipment Figure-8 Trains will also be running on Saturday, August 21. Gates open at 4 p.m., qualifying begins at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult admission is $15 and youth admission (5-12) is $5.
www.rmrracing.com
SKAGIT SPEEDWAY
(Burlington, WA)
The ASA All Star Challenge presented by WSIB Motorsports -- Scouting Night!!! -- 410 & 360 Sprints, Sportsman Sprints, Hornets this Saturday night. See all 3 classes of sprints and the Outlaw Hornets compete in an exciting triple race format for a record purse! Ticket gates open at 5:45pm, racing at 7:00pm.
www.skagitspeedway.com
SOUTHERN OREGON SPEEDWAY
(Medford, OR)
NBC 5 KOBI Night at the Races this Saturday night. The Modifieds, Pro-Stocks, Street Stocks, Super 4's, Destruction Derby, 50-lap Enduro Race featuring Mini Stocks, Street Stocks, and Thrill cars. Grandstands open at 4:00 p.m. with races starting at 6:00 p.m.
www.sospeedway.com
YAKIMA SPEEDWAY
(Yakima, WA)
A full racing program is scheduled for this Saturday night. The Super Late Models, Super Streets, Sportsman, Youth Hornets and Bump to Pass in action. Gates open at 4 p.m. with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m.
www.yakimaspeedway.us
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based American Speed Association call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the ASA, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
ASA®, ASA Racing®, and American Speed Association® are registered trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. ASA International, LLC and Racing Speed Associates, LLC are not related to or affiliated with ASA Late Model Series.
Minegar Looking for Luck to Close out the Season
BOISE, IDAHO (August 19, 2010) The Minegar Racing team owned by Pat Minegar continues to battle through the toughest season in their history. Through it all, the team has remained focused on the future but they will look to the past in order to turn their season around this Saturday night at Rocky Mountain Raceways outside Salt Lake City, UT for round eight of the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series.
Dave Minegar of Boise and driver of the BodyBuilding.Com Chevrolet for Minegar Racing has won twice at the 3/8-mile paved oval along with earning three Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards back in 2008. He is looking back to move forward. "As a team, we have worked through the mechanical issues," Minegar said. "Our setups have not necessarily been a problem but in order to turn things around we are going to go back to setups we used two years ago. We were very successful with them and hopefully they will put us in victory lane again."
Minegar has two wins and ten top five performances at RMR in 22 previous races. He has also scored seven of his series leading 23 career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards at RMR; a place that really suits his driving style. "We really like racing at RMR," Minegar said. "The track is really fun to drive and I know the fans always see a great race. At this point in the season, it is time for us to lay it all on the line and hopefully we can get back to victory lane."
Minegar is currently fifth in the championship standings after seven races with two top five and three top ten finishes. He is 181-points out of first place and 69-points out of fourth place. "We have a great championship battle going on between John (Newhouse), Steve (Jones), Brett (Thompson), and Lynn (Hardy). While those guys battle it out we are focused on winning races."
Minegar racing is owned by Pat Minegar and is sponsored by BodyBuilding.com, Redline, Gaspari Nutrition, Supreme Nutrition, MusclePharm, Optimum Nutrition, A-1 Heating & Air Conditioning, Lennox, and Dillon Auto Craft. Dave Minegar is in his seventh season in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series and is a two-time series champion (06, 08) with 58 career starts, six wins, 23 top five and 43 top ten finishes along with twenty-two (23) career Sharp Powder Coating Fast Time Awards and most career money won. Minegar's crew is led by Craig Bell, Dave Earl, Larry Bowers, Matt Wolfkiel, Kirk Wartman, Ron Minegar, Heidi Minegar, and Tyson Garten.
The BodyBuilding.Com Mission-
"To help our visitors reach their health, fitness and appearance goals through information, motivation and supplementation." BodyBuidling.Com is the world's largest online retailer of nutritional supplements. Visit their website at www.bodybuilding.com.
The Jayden DeLuca Foundation-
The Jayden DeLuca Foundation was established in 2007 to honor Jayden Riley DeLuca, who passed away due to a cardiac condition. After her death, her parents, Jeremy and Karalie DeLuca, knew they had to continue Jayden’s fight for her. They began working with the American Heart Association, collecting donations in Jayden's name, to go toward research of heart disease. Visit the foundation at www.jaydendelucafoundation.org.
For complete team information log on to www.minegarracing.com and follow the team all season at www.rmcsracing.com
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Thompson Has Solid Run at Colorado National
ERIE, COLORADO (August 15, 2010) Brett Thompson of Jerome, Idaho has only made occasional starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this season after being a full-time competitor for most of the past ten years. He made the most of his fourth start of the season by finishing sixth in the NAPA/Toyota 150 and Colorado National Speedway Saturday night.
Thompson qualified his RTTI Chevrolet in the eleventh position for the 150-lap race and spent most of the first half just biding his time running in the tenth spot. During two early cautions, he pitted twice for adjustments to help cure a tight condition. The adjustments work and allowed him to move into the top five by the closing laps of the race.
Thompson waged a spirited battle with David Mayhew over the final ten circuits for the fifth position. Mayhew edged Thompson for the position by a car length at the drop of the checkered flag. The finish left the veteran competitor feeling a little disappointed.
"We had a good set up that we felt would be competitive but we missed it by just a bit," Thompson said. "We were really tight and had to pit and make some adjustments to tire pressures and and wedge. It helped, but when you miss the base set up, it is hard to make it right during the race."
The tricky 3/8-mile plaved oval of CNS is one of Thompson's favorite tracks. "I really like coming to Colorado," Thompson said. "The fans are fantastic and really support the track and our series when we come to town. Despite the bumpy race surface, this track is a blast to drive and I know the fans see great racing. We look forward to coming back next year and maybe we can contend for the win."
Thompson has 98 career NKNPS starts with one win, one pole, 20 top five and 56 top ten performances. He is currently competing full-time in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, a regional Late Model series based in Idaho, where he is third (26 points our of first place) in the championship standings with one win and five top three finishes in seven starts.
Thompson Motorsports also fielded a car this weekend for rookie competitor Taylor Barton out of Las Vegas, NV. Barton made his fifth start of the season and finished 16th after suffering a mechanical issue late in the race.
Thompson Motorsports is a premier motorsports organization based in Jerome, Idaho providing complete race car preparation and fabrication supporting the local grassroots racer and experienced professional driver. TMS fields cars in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, Intermountain Pro Truck Series, and entries at local area short tracks. TMS has corporate partnerships with Rich Thompson Trucking Inc. (RTTI), Ron's Rear Ends, United Oil, VaCom Technologies, Windmill Inn and Suites, and Speedbear. For all the latest news and information about Brett Thompson and Thompson Motorsports, log onto www.brettthompsonracing.com. For all the latest west coast racing action follow the RMCS at www.rmcsracing.com.
~DJS Sports Marketing photo credit.
Thank you for your interest continued support of Thompson Motorsports, a premier motorsports operation in Jerome, Idaho fielding entries in NASCAR, regional Late Model racing, and local short tracks.
~Thompson Motorsports
Jonathon Gomez Frustrated After CNS Event
ERIE, COLORADO (August 15, 2010) Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho looked forward to the race at Colorado National Speedway as the pivotal race in his championship pursuit in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. The race went as planned moving into the top four and running lap times faster than the leader during the first half of the 150-lap race. Unfortunately, he was tagged from behind on lap 72 and the contact sent his Heritage Cattle Co. sponsored Chevrolet spinning. The spin caused his shifter to stick in second gear and he had to pit for repairs losing two laps to the field.
Gomez qualified eighth for the Toyota Bonus Challenge event and he wasted no time moving forward after the drop of the green flag. By lap ten he was in the sixth position and closing on the top five. By lap 20 he had moved into fourth and attached himself to the tail of the top three clicking of laps times two-tenths of a second quicker than the leaders.
The first of six cautions flew on lap 63 bunching up the field for the restart. Gomez restarted on the outside of row two and jumped up to the inside line by turn two. While battling for third, Gomez was hit in the left rear bumper by the #88 of Michael Self sending his Chevrolet spinning.
The rest of the race Gomez simply persevered and finished in the 13th position. "I was pretty upset about being hit," Gomez offered. "I don't race others that way and that deal took us out of contention not only for the win but for the championship."
After the race Gomez signed autographs for the enthusiastic area race fans for nearly two hours. "The fans kind of soften the blow but I am disappointed," Gomez said. "We had a really fast race car and we passed a lot of cars after the spin but going two laps down it didn't really matter as with each restart we had to drop the tail of the field. We look forward to Miller and hopefully we can win one of these races before the season ends."
Gomez drops to the fifth position in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West standings after nine races, just 4-points out of fourth place and 228-points behind the series leader. With nine races in the books, Gomez has scored three top five and five top ten performances with his best finish this season of second place at Iowa Speedway back in May. In the SRL Southwest Tour, Gomez is second in the standings just seven points out of the lead on the strength of two dominating wins this season.
Jonathon Gomez is in his fourth year of competitive racing having won local track titles at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls and competed in various Late Model events the past couple of seasons. He has started 17 NASCAR K&N Pro Series races since 2008 scoring nine top ten finishes and is in his first full-time season in the NKNPS. Gomez will contend for championships in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as well as the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour this season.
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. The race from Colorado will be broadcast on SPEED TV Thursday, August 26 at 4pm MT. TheNASCAR K&N Pro Series returns to action on September 12 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT for the third road course event of the season. The next event on the SRL schedule is September 4 at Toyota Speedway. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at www.jonathongomez.com.
DJS Sports Marketing photo: Jonathon Gomez signing autographs for fans at Colorado National Speedway Saturday night August 14, 2010.
Thank you for your interest and continued support of Jonathon Gomez, driver of the Heritage Motor Sports/Century Boatland Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West, SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour, and the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series.
~John Gomez
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mitchum's March to the Front at Three Rivers Stalled by Early Mechanical Troubles
by Mitchum Motorsports VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (August 16, 2010) – Ted Anthony, Jr and Joey Atterbury were making their way through the field at Three Rivers in their #6.2 Mitchum Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, on their way to a top finish in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, when the motor expired, ending their hopes for another strong finish.
Anthony, Jr started the race for Mitchum Motorsports, after having qualified the car 15th, and quickly got to work moving forward. Avoiding a chaotic opening lap and taking advantage of a setup change, Anthony, Jr worked his way up to 8th position in a mere18 laps, only ten of which were under green flag conditions. French television followed the aggressive move to the front as the flat black and yellow Riley Technologies GS.R Camaro was winning over the French-Canadian fans.
"We struggled a bit having to learn the track and find the right setup in practice and qualifying so we decided to make a significant change before the race. It is always a bit of a risk because if you get it wrong there is nothing you can do about it once the green flag drops" said Anthony. "I trust the crew, and they made the right call as the changes made a huge difference. I was able to get the power down and pick up quite a few spots before the motor let go. I am really disappointed we didn't get thefinish we were on pace for but hats off to Chris (Mitchum) and the entire crew for sticking with it and getting the car right for the race."
Team principle Chris Mitchum echoed Anthony's sentiments. "The team was spot on all day and with the truncated schedule we had to work on the car right up to the race to find the best setup. Judging by Ted's drive through the field, our persistence paid off" said Mitchum. "We were not only focused on car setup, but also working to get the drivers acclimated. Joey and Ted are very talented drivers and are growing in our development system every race. It didn't take long for them to get comfortable on the track where they kept the car clean, increased pace and provided valuable feedback. I am pleased with the performance of the drivers and team, but to say I am disappointed by our results would be an understatement – we really had a strong package for the race."
"This is a development year and our objectives are to develop our drivers and find any weak points (on the car) that could hurt our championship run next year. We have accomplished a lot in our first season back with GRAND-AM but we are far from satisfied", Mitchum added.
Atterbury had high hopes watching Anthony Jr. run up through the field. "I was excited to get back into a competitive car and felt robbed when the engine let us down. We can at least take away the fact that we had the performance to run up front again and I can't wait for Miller", noted Atterbury.
Mitchum went on to say, "This character building year will serve us well next season, but it is difficult to see how hard the team has worked to get the most performance possible without any real reward for it. We have an even higher level of determination now and I would look for this team to perform stronger than ever at Miller."
The #6.2 Camaro is already back in the team shop in Virginia Beach and will be prepped and tested prior to the final round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge to be contested September 11th at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT.
Anthony, Jr started the race for Mitchum Motorsports, after having qualified the car 15th, and quickly got to work moving forward. Avoiding a chaotic opening lap and taking advantage of a setup change, Anthony, Jr worked his way up to 8th position in a mere18 laps, only ten of which were under green flag conditions. French television followed the aggressive move to the front as the flat black and yellow Riley Technologies GS.R Camaro was winning over the French-Canadian fans.
"We struggled a bit having to learn the track and find the right setup in practice and qualifying so we decided to make a significant change before the race. It is always a bit of a risk because if you get it wrong there is nothing you can do about it once the green flag drops" said Anthony. "I trust the crew, and they made the right call as the changes made a huge difference. I was able to get the power down and pick up quite a few spots before the motor let go. I am really disappointed we didn't get thefinish we were on pace for but hats off to Chris (Mitchum) and the entire crew for sticking with it and getting the car right for the race."
Team principle Chris Mitchum echoed Anthony's sentiments. "The team was spot on all day and with the truncated schedule we had to work on the car right up to the race to find the best setup. Judging by Ted's drive through the field, our persistence paid off" said Mitchum. "We were not only focused on car setup, but also working to get the drivers acclimated. Joey and Ted are very talented drivers and are growing in our development system every race. It didn't take long for them to get comfortable on the track where they kept the car clean, increased pace and provided valuable feedback. I am pleased with the performance of the drivers and team, but to say I am disappointed by our results would be an understatement – we really had a strong package for the race."
"This is a development year and our objectives are to develop our drivers and find any weak points (on the car) that could hurt our championship run next year. We have accomplished a lot in our first season back with GRAND-AM but we are far from satisfied", Mitchum added.
Atterbury had high hopes watching Anthony Jr. run up through the field. "I was excited to get back into a competitive car and felt robbed when the engine let us down. We can at least take away the fact that we had the performance to run up front again and I can't wait for Miller", noted Atterbury.
Mitchum went on to say, "This character building year will serve us well next season, but it is difficult to see how hard the team has worked to get the most performance possible without any real reward for it. We have an even higher level of determination now and I would look for this team to perform stronger than ever at Miller."
The #6.2 Camaro is already back in the team shop in Virginia Beach and will be prepped and tested prior to the final round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge to be contested September 11th at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT.
Huseman Sweeps TORC PRO 4 at Bark River After Wild Sunday Race; Kincaid, Caddell Also Earn Victories
BARK RIVER, Mich. – The Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL PRO 4WD race Sunday was a physical affair from the drop of the green flag to the waving of the checkers as Rick Huseman took the victory, earning the weekend sweep. Mark Jenkins and Mike Jenkins finished second and third, respectively, in an event that saw several lead changes, spins, and passes.
The PRO races represented a huge day for Traxxas with the Jenkins brothers sharing the podium for the first time and fellow Traxxas-sponsored drivers Andrew Caddell (PRO Light) and Jeff Kincaid (PRO 2WD) also taking wins here.
“That was a crazy race!” Huseman said from the Winner’s Circle. “There was a lot of carnage out there and I was just trying to stay alive. Battling back and forth with everybody, it was awesome. The track was real slick and there was a lot of door-to-door bangin’.”
Scott Douglas, who finished fourth, took the holeshot, but early contact with Huseman and Johnny Greaves sent Douglas to second with Greaves taking the lead. Greaves didn’t hold P1 long, though, after a three-way fight with Douglas and Mark Jenkins, giving Mark the lead.
The action continued as Mark Jenkins and Douglas got into each other, giving Huseman the lead with Steve Barlow close behind. Barlow would eventually fall back with Douglas and the Jenkins brothers fighting back to the front. Huseman would keep the lead to the end with Douglas falling to fourth near the checkered flag.
Kincaid took the holeshot at the start of the PRO 2WD race and never looked back, earning the win here Sunday. It was Kincaid’s first trip back to the top of the winner’s podium since earning the victory for the Crandon Cup in June. Jeremy McGrath, who earned his first-ever PRO 2 Saturday finished a close second with Rob MacCachren taking third.
“It was a great race for me,” Kincaid said after the race. “Yesterday, we had power steering problems or we could have given Jeremy a run. Today, we got a good holeshot and they had to come catch me.”
Throughout the run, McGrath inched closer and closer to Kincaid’s bumper, a fact the eventual race winner was well aware of.
“I knew (McGrath) had to go around me, he couldn’t go through me. I knew he was there and I couldn’t screw up or he would’ve went on by me. My no. 1 goal was to not screw up or spin it out on the last lap like I did yesterday and here we are in the Winner’s Circle!”
Ricky Johnson, who earned a hard-fought third-place finish Saturday had a bad day that kept getting worse. He spun at the finish line on Lap 1, but was able to keep it on the lead lap. On the restart after the mandatory caution, Johnson nearly put his machine on its side on the first jump and then immediately went to the pits, where he remained for the rest of the race.
It looked like Marty Hart was going to make it six consecutive round wins in PRO Light Sunday, but an engine issue stopped him cold, allowing Caddell to take his Traxxas-sponsored machine to the Winner’s Circle for the second time this season. Casey Currie rebounded from a bad finish Saturday to take runner-up honors and Luke Johnson rounded out the podium with his third-place finish.
“I was chasing Marty down really quick at the competition yellow,” Caddell said after earning his first win since the opening round in Crandon two months ago. “I knew we had a better truck than him yesterday but we just couldn’t get it done. I knew right after that yellow we were on him. I don’t know what happened to him. It kinda sucks to have him fall out, it would have been a good race for the fans here.”
Currie started the race on the point, but Hart was able to power past him on Lap 2 with Caddell following close behind. At the mandatory caution, Caddell was within a trucklength of the class points leader and gaining. On the restart, though, Hart was unable to complete a full lap and was forced to pull off the track.
Andrew Caddell earned the Traxxis Maxx Cash Award for the second time this weekend with a fast lap of 1:28.163 and Greaves also earned the PRO 4 fast lap award, taking home the Oakley Bomb with his lap time of 1:23.347. McGrath took the PRO 2 Oakley Bomb with his fast lap of 1:24.762.
Sportsman winners were: Mike Mischler (Classix), Dave Miah (Formula 4x4), Chris Bowser (Enduro), Mike Vanden Heuvel (Limited 2), Matt Gerald (1600 Light Buggy), John Fitzgerald (1600 Buggy), Scott Beauchamp (Super Stock), and Scott Schwalbe (Super Buggy).
NOTE: The TORC Series, its staff, its racers, and its sponsors send their thoughts, prayers, and condolences to the friends and families of those lost this weekend at the California 200 off-road race.
For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.
Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Record crowd watches Big Rigs at Ephrata Raceway Park
by Kelly Hart
EPHRATA, Wash. (Aug. 14, 2010) -- Racing Saturday night at Ephrata Raceway Park saw a record crowd in the grandstands as the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs joined the Pepsi Cola Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Schaeffer’s Oil Mini Stocks and Ephrata Pioneer Muffler 2 Pure Stocks at the high-banked quarter mile paved oval.
Nine Semi Trucks took the track and awed the capacity crowd as they hauled their 10,000 to 12,500 pound Mack, Peterbilt, Kenworth and International Harvester brand race trucks around the tight confines. With horns blaring, lights flashing and mighty roars of the diesel performance engines the crowd grew more enthusiastic with every lap. Picking up Trophy Dash wins for the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs were Tammy Rodstrom and Mickey Iverson. Iverson gave his trophy to a kid in the grandstands. The Heat Race wins were captured by Steve Smith and Jeff Swanstrom.
By Main Event time the huge throng were worked to a fever pitch as they cheered all nine Big Rigs coming to the green flag. Rodstrom held the lead for the first few laps before giving way to John Nelson. Nelson led the next five laps before hard charging Steve Smith in the red, white and blue All-American Big Rig #76 blew by for the lead. Smith held the top spot the rest of the way and was chased to the checkered flag by Dustin Smith, Swanstrom, Iverson and Rodstrom rounding out the top five. It was quite an amazing sight to watch these icons of American Highways racing side by side and bumper to bumper around our home town Saturday Night Short Track.
A familiar face in a new race car topped the heap in the Super Stock division. Bart Hector, Sr. debuted a new car and came home the winner in the 15-lap Super Stock Main Event. Hector won the Trophy Dash and Heat Race but missed a clean sweep of the evenings events as Brad Morrison was fast time at 15.682.
In the Pepsi Cola Street Stocks it was Quincy, WA driver Mitch Kleyn who found himself in winners circle once again. Most of the season has seen either Kleyn or point leader Skyler Leseman atop the leaderboard at the end of the night. In the Main Event Terry Osborn led the first 5 laps then it was all Kleyn. A late race yellow flag closed the gap between the leader Kleyn and second place Leseman but Kleyn had all he needed for the win. Finishing second through fifth were Leseman, Mike Hill visiting from Yakima Speedway, Rick Bretches and James (JR) Stratfull. Fast time went to Kleyn, with Randy Pugh and Kleyn winning the dashes. Stratful won the heat race.
You would have thought it was a full moon the way the Ephrata Pioneer Muffler 2 Street Stocks went at it Saturday night. It’s not always the norm for these cars to behave like the Big Cars but there was plenty of banging and crashing to keep even the BIG CAR fans happy although they aren’t on the racing schedule until two weeks from now. Dustin Kapalo borrowed Colton Fishers car and set fast time with a 17.286. Terry McGraw and Kapalo were the Trophy Dash winners. Jake McGraw and Brad Arneson won the Heat Races. The Main Event took 5 attempts to get started. Two red flags and 3 yellow flags before one lap was completed took almost 14minutes of their allotted 15 minute race time. After a brief lecture from track officials the cars ran a shortened 10 lap Main with Kapalo extending his point lead by winning, over Dallas White, Terry McGraw, Arneson and Josh Hector.
The Schaeffer Oil Mini Stock fast time went to JR Miner with a 16.828 time in lap. Trophy Dash wins were captured by Sean Meyers and Bart Hector, Jr. Meyers won the Heat Race. In the Main Event Eddie Razey led the first 9 laps before giving away to Miner who kept the first place position the remaining 11 laps for the win. Razey and Hector, Jr. battled for second and third the rest of the way with Meyers sticking his nose in the fray as well.
Oval track racing takes the weekend off August 21st but motocross will run under the lights. August 28th the Monster Trucks El Matador and King Krunch will be at Ephrata Raceway Park and more details are available online at www.ephrataracewaypark.com.
EPHRATA RACEWAY PARK RESULTS 8/14/10
ROLLING THUNDER BIG RIGS
Fast time: 48 Scott Zahn 17.971 (new track record)
B Dash: 9 Tammy Rodstrom, 27 Dustin Smith, 88 John Nelson, 96 Brian Wilson
A Dash: 7 Mickey Iverson, 76 Steve Smith, 48 Zahn, 10 Dave Barr
B Heat: 76 Smith, 88 Hanson, 10 Barr, 7 Iverson, 9 Rodstrom
A Heat: 17 Jeff Swanstrom, 48 Zahn, 76 S.Smith, 27 D.Smith, 88 Hanson
Main: 76 Steve Smith, 27 D. Smith, 17 Swanstrom, 7 Iverson, 9 Rodstrom, 96 Wilson, 10 Barr, 88 Hanson, 48 Zahn
PEPSI COLA STREET STOCKS
Fast time: 1 Mitch Kleyn 15.959
B Dash: 9 Randy Pugh, 4x James Stratfull, 95 Mike Bise, 46 Terry Osborn
A Dash: 1 Kleyn, 15 Mike Hill, 21 Skyler Leseman, 12 Rick Bretches
Heat: 4x Stratfull, 95 Bise, 21 Leseman, 46 Osborn, 15 Hill
Main: 1 Mitch Kleyn, 21 Leseman, 15 Hill, 12 Bretches, 4x Stratful, 9 Pugh, 46 Osborn, 95x Chris McCart, 95 Bise, 44 Steve Lincoln
SCHAEFFER OIL MINI STOCKS
Fast time: 07 JR Miner 16.828
B Dash: 44 Sean Meyers, 18 Jeremy Razey, 19 Eddie Razey, 50 Tim Clark
A Dash: 68 Bart Hector Jr., 84 Doug Brown, 1 Sid White, 07 Miner
Heat: 44 Meyers, 18 J. Razey, 68 Hector Jr., 1 White, 07 Miner
Main: 07 JR Miner, 19 E. Razey, 68 Hector Jr., 44 Meyers, 18 J. Razey, 1 White, 50 Clark, 84 Brown
EPHRATA PIONEER MUFFLER 2 PURE STOCKS
Fast time: 37 Derrick Kapalo 17.286
B Dash: 32 Terry McGraw, 89 Glenn Hector, 20 Mike Mulalley, 9 Michael White
A Dash: 37 Kapalo, 09 Dallas White, 21 Josh Hector, 8 Bradd Arneson
B Heat: 28 Jake McGraw, 89 Hector, 71 Justin Dunagan, 62 Jeremy Larsen, 63 Nathan Schell
A Heat: 8 Arneson, 37 Kapalo, 21 Hector, 20 Mulalley
Main: 37 Derrick Kapalo, 09 D. White, 32 T. McGraw, 8 Arneson, 21 Hector, 20 Mulalley, 62 Larsen, 71 Dunagan, 25 Terry Collins, 63 Schell, 28 J. McGraw, 9 M. White, 89 G. Hector
SUPER STOCKS
Fast time; 4 Brad Morrison 15.682
Dash: 17 Bart Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 7 David Macken, 1 Mitch Kleyn
Heat: 17 Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 38 Drew Dixon, 77 Robert Kirk, 7 Macken
Main: 17 Bart Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 1 Kleyn, 7 Macken, 77 Kirk, 38 Dixon
EPHRATA, Wash. (Aug. 14, 2010) -- Racing Saturday night at Ephrata Raceway Park saw a record crowd in the grandstands as the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs joined the Pepsi Cola Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Schaeffer’s Oil Mini Stocks and Ephrata Pioneer Muffler 2 Pure Stocks at the high-banked quarter mile paved oval.
Nine Semi Trucks took the track and awed the capacity crowd as they hauled their 10,000 to 12,500 pound Mack, Peterbilt, Kenworth and International Harvester brand race trucks around the tight confines. With horns blaring, lights flashing and mighty roars of the diesel performance engines the crowd grew more enthusiastic with every lap. Picking up Trophy Dash wins for the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs were Tammy Rodstrom and Mickey Iverson. Iverson gave his trophy to a kid in the grandstands. The Heat Race wins were captured by Steve Smith and Jeff Swanstrom.
By Main Event time the huge throng were worked to a fever pitch as they cheered all nine Big Rigs coming to the green flag. Rodstrom held the lead for the first few laps before giving way to John Nelson. Nelson led the next five laps before hard charging Steve Smith in the red, white and blue All-American Big Rig #76 blew by for the lead. Smith held the top spot the rest of the way and was chased to the checkered flag by Dustin Smith, Swanstrom, Iverson and Rodstrom rounding out the top five. It was quite an amazing sight to watch these icons of American Highways racing side by side and bumper to bumper around our home town Saturday Night Short Track.
A familiar face in a new race car topped the heap in the Super Stock division. Bart Hector, Sr. debuted a new car and came home the winner in the 15-lap Super Stock Main Event. Hector won the Trophy Dash and Heat Race but missed a clean sweep of the evenings events as Brad Morrison was fast time at 15.682.
In the Pepsi Cola Street Stocks it was Quincy, WA driver Mitch Kleyn who found himself in winners circle once again. Most of the season has seen either Kleyn or point leader Skyler Leseman atop the leaderboard at the end of the night. In the Main Event Terry Osborn led the first 5 laps then it was all Kleyn. A late race yellow flag closed the gap between the leader Kleyn and second place Leseman but Kleyn had all he needed for the win. Finishing second through fifth were Leseman, Mike Hill visiting from Yakima Speedway, Rick Bretches and James (JR) Stratfull. Fast time went to Kleyn, with Randy Pugh and Kleyn winning the dashes. Stratful won the heat race.
You would have thought it was a full moon the way the Ephrata Pioneer Muffler 2 Street Stocks went at it Saturday night. It’s not always the norm for these cars to behave like the Big Cars but there was plenty of banging and crashing to keep even the BIG CAR fans happy although they aren’t on the racing schedule until two weeks from now. Dustin Kapalo borrowed Colton Fishers car and set fast time with a 17.286. Terry McGraw and Kapalo were the Trophy Dash winners. Jake McGraw and Brad Arneson won the Heat Races. The Main Event took 5 attempts to get started. Two red flags and 3 yellow flags before one lap was completed took almost 14minutes of their allotted 15 minute race time. After a brief lecture from track officials the cars ran a shortened 10 lap Main with Kapalo extending his point lead by winning, over Dallas White, Terry McGraw, Arneson and Josh Hector.
The Schaeffer Oil Mini Stock fast time went to JR Miner with a 16.828 time in lap. Trophy Dash wins were captured by Sean Meyers and Bart Hector, Jr. Meyers won the Heat Race. In the Main Event Eddie Razey led the first 9 laps before giving away to Miner who kept the first place position the remaining 11 laps for the win. Razey and Hector, Jr. battled for second and third the rest of the way with Meyers sticking his nose in the fray as well.
Oval track racing takes the weekend off August 21st but motocross will run under the lights. August 28th the Monster Trucks El Matador and King Krunch will be at Ephrata Raceway Park and more details are available online at www.ephrataracewaypark.com.
EPHRATA RACEWAY PARK RESULTS 8/14/10
ROLLING THUNDER BIG RIGS
Fast time: 48 Scott Zahn 17.971 (new track record)
B Dash: 9 Tammy Rodstrom, 27 Dustin Smith, 88 John Nelson, 96 Brian Wilson
A Dash: 7 Mickey Iverson, 76 Steve Smith, 48 Zahn, 10 Dave Barr
B Heat: 76 Smith, 88 Hanson, 10 Barr, 7 Iverson, 9 Rodstrom
A Heat: 17 Jeff Swanstrom, 48 Zahn, 76 S.Smith, 27 D.Smith, 88 Hanson
Main: 76 Steve Smith, 27 D. Smith, 17 Swanstrom, 7 Iverson, 9 Rodstrom, 96 Wilson, 10 Barr, 88 Hanson, 48 Zahn
PEPSI COLA STREET STOCKS
Fast time: 1 Mitch Kleyn 15.959
B Dash: 9 Randy Pugh, 4x James Stratfull, 95 Mike Bise, 46 Terry Osborn
A Dash: 1 Kleyn, 15 Mike Hill, 21 Skyler Leseman, 12 Rick Bretches
Heat: 4x Stratfull, 95 Bise, 21 Leseman, 46 Osborn, 15 Hill
Main: 1 Mitch Kleyn, 21 Leseman, 15 Hill, 12 Bretches, 4x Stratful, 9 Pugh, 46 Osborn, 95x Chris McCart, 95 Bise, 44 Steve Lincoln
SCHAEFFER OIL MINI STOCKS
Fast time: 07 JR Miner 16.828
B Dash: 44 Sean Meyers, 18 Jeremy Razey, 19 Eddie Razey, 50 Tim Clark
A Dash: 68 Bart Hector Jr., 84 Doug Brown, 1 Sid White, 07 Miner
Heat: 44 Meyers, 18 J. Razey, 68 Hector Jr., 1 White, 07 Miner
Main: 07 JR Miner, 19 E. Razey, 68 Hector Jr., 44 Meyers, 18 J. Razey, 1 White, 50 Clark, 84 Brown
EPHRATA PIONEER MUFFLER 2 PURE STOCKS
Fast time: 37 Derrick Kapalo 17.286
B Dash: 32 Terry McGraw, 89 Glenn Hector, 20 Mike Mulalley, 9 Michael White
A Dash: 37 Kapalo, 09 Dallas White, 21 Josh Hector, 8 Bradd Arneson
B Heat: 28 Jake McGraw, 89 Hector, 71 Justin Dunagan, 62 Jeremy Larsen, 63 Nathan Schell
A Heat: 8 Arneson, 37 Kapalo, 21 Hector, 20 Mulalley
Main: 37 Derrick Kapalo, 09 D. White, 32 T. McGraw, 8 Arneson, 21 Hector, 20 Mulalley, 62 Larsen, 71 Dunagan, 25 Terry Collins, 63 Schell, 28 J. McGraw, 9 M. White, 89 G. Hector
SUPER STOCKS
Fast time; 4 Brad Morrison 15.682
Dash: 17 Bart Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 7 David Macken, 1 Mitch Kleyn
Heat: 17 Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 38 Drew Dixon, 77 Robert Kirk, 7 Macken
Main: 17 Bart Hector Sr., 4 Morrison, 1 Kleyn, 7 Macken, 77 Kirk, 38 Dixon
Saturday, August 14, 2010
MALSAM RECORDS BACK-TO-BACK TOP-15 FINISHES IN NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 14 2010) — After his best qualifying effort in nine NASCAR Nationwide Series starts, Pacific Northwest native Tayler Malsam recorded a second straight top-15 finish, crossing the line 14th in Saturday’s Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
“With the car we had, we should’ve finished higher but on pit stops we were a bit slow,” said the 21-year-old driver of the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing. “With all the cars so closely matched, you’ve got to try to gain spots in the pits and today we were just OK.”
Michigan native and series point leader Brad Keselowski survived a faulty clutch to earn his fourth victory of the season. Keselowski dominated the first half of the 125-lap race, building an 11-second lead at one point, but his fading clutch caused problems on pit stops that gave Carl Edwards and Paul Menard the chance to take turns out front. Keselowski took the lead for good on the second and final restart with nine laps to go.
Edwards edged a surging Kyle Busch at the finish line for second, Justin Allgaier was third and Menard rounded out the top five.
Malsam finished just behind fellow series rookies Ryan Truex and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the trio separated by less than four-tenths of a second as they crossed the line. Malsam and several other drivers pitted for tires during the final caution, and the Sammamish, Wash. native was 15th for the final restart. After the green flag dropped, Brendan Gaughan’s car began to smoke heavily and slow, scattering the cars behind him.
“(Gaughan) blew up right in front of me, I had to go down to the apron to avoid him,” Malsam said. “That killed my momentum and everyone else’s around me. We had been getting faster throughout the race.”
One week after finishing 12th in his first visit to Watkins Glen International, Malsam started Saturday’s race 19th — one spot higher than his previous best qualifying effort at Gateway. He steadily moved forward and remained solidly in the top 15 most of the day, running as high as 11th prior to making his final green-flag pit stop with 20 laps to go.
Saturday’s race marked the second use of the Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow (CoT), and unlike its debut at Daytona — where NASCAR dictates many setup features including springs and shocks — teams at Michigan were given more leeway to make adjustments. Although 2 miles in length, Michigan has much less banking than Daytona, where many drivers had complained about the handling of the new car, so for both drivers and teams Saturday’s race was almost a second debut of the CoT.
“We were fighting tight or loose all day,” Malsam said. “With these cars you’re not going to get a perfect setup, so you have to pick the condition you want and work with it. We never really found it today; I like it free, and I was free while I was alone but once I got into the draft or around other cars it got tight.”
After two lengthy practice sessions on Thursday, many drivers — including Malsam — said the Nationwide CoT drove at Michigan much like the vehicles in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Both the trucks and CoT punch a large hole in the air, allowing following vehicles the chance to close gaps and make passes by drafting through the unsettled air.
Malsam finished 18th in the No. 10 Toyota at the CoT’s debut at Daytona, and he is slated to drive in the final two appearances of the new car this season, at Richmond on Sept 10 and Charlotte on Oct. 15.
“I like these new cars a lot, they drive more like a truck than the old Nationwide car,” said Malsam. “I’m looking forward to driving the CoT more later this year, and next year it becomes the standard.”
Malsam’s next race in the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans for Braun Racing will be Aug. 29 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal. Due to a prior scheduling commitment, Enumclaw, Wash., native Kasey Kahne is slated to drive in the next series race, Aug. 20 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
“With the car we had, we should’ve finished higher but on pit stops we were a bit slow,” said the 21-year-old driver of the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing. “With all the cars so closely matched, you’ve got to try to gain spots in the pits and today we were just OK.”
Michigan native and series point leader Brad Keselowski survived a faulty clutch to earn his fourth victory of the season. Keselowski dominated the first half of the 125-lap race, building an 11-second lead at one point, but his fading clutch caused problems on pit stops that gave Carl Edwards and Paul Menard the chance to take turns out front. Keselowski took the lead for good on the second and final restart with nine laps to go.
Edwards edged a surging Kyle Busch at the finish line for second, Justin Allgaier was third and Menard rounded out the top five.
Malsam finished just behind fellow series rookies Ryan Truex and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the trio separated by less than four-tenths of a second as they crossed the line. Malsam and several other drivers pitted for tires during the final caution, and the Sammamish, Wash. native was 15th for the final restart. After the green flag dropped, Brendan Gaughan’s car began to smoke heavily and slow, scattering the cars behind him.
“(Gaughan) blew up right in front of me, I had to go down to the apron to avoid him,” Malsam said. “That killed my momentum and everyone else’s around me. We had been getting faster throughout the race.”
One week after finishing 12th in his first visit to Watkins Glen International, Malsam started Saturday’s race 19th — one spot higher than his previous best qualifying effort at Gateway. He steadily moved forward and remained solidly in the top 15 most of the day, running as high as 11th prior to making his final green-flag pit stop with 20 laps to go.
Saturday’s race marked the second use of the Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow (CoT), and unlike its debut at Daytona — where NASCAR dictates many setup features including springs and shocks — teams at Michigan were given more leeway to make adjustments. Although 2 miles in length, Michigan has much less banking than Daytona, where many drivers had complained about the handling of the new car, so for both drivers and teams Saturday’s race was almost a second debut of the CoT.
“We were fighting tight or loose all day,” Malsam said. “With these cars you’re not going to get a perfect setup, so you have to pick the condition you want and work with it. We never really found it today; I like it free, and I was free while I was alone but once I got into the draft or around other cars it got tight.”
After two lengthy practice sessions on Thursday, many drivers — including Malsam — said the Nationwide CoT drove at Michigan much like the vehicles in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Both the trucks and CoT punch a large hole in the air, allowing following vehicles the chance to close gaps and make passes by drafting through the unsettled air.
Malsam finished 18th in the No. 10 Toyota at the CoT’s debut at Daytona, and he is slated to drive in the final two appearances of the new car this season, at Richmond on Sept 10 and Charlotte on Oct. 15.
“I like these new cars a lot, they drive more like a truck than the old Nationwide car,” said Malsam. “I’m looking forward to driving the CoT more later this year, and next year it becomes the standard.”
Malsam’s next race in the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans for Braun Racing will be Aug. 29 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve road course in Montreal. Due to a prior scheduling commitment, Enumclaw, Wash., native Kasey Kahne is slated to drive in the next series race, Aug. 20 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Race Day At MIS; Malsam Qualifies 19th
We have about an hour until the green flag drops here at Michigan International Speedway. A few drops of rain have graced us with their presence, but the Cup cars are still out practicing right now, so its nothing significant yet. Tayler will start the race in 19th place, his best qualifying effort of the Nationwide season thus far.
Race coverage will begin at 1:30 PM eastern on ESPN, and the race follows after that at 2:00 PM. Check back here for more updates throughout the race.
http://taylermalsam.blogspot.com/2010/08/race-day-at-mis-malsam-qualifies-19th.html
Race coverage will begin at 1:30 PM eastern on ESPN, and the race follows after that at 2:00 PM. Check back here for more updates throughout the race.
http://taylermalsam.blogspot.com/2010/08/race-day-at-mis-malsam-qualifies-19th.html
Friday, August 13, 2010
KAHNE EARNS POLE IN STRONG FORD QUAL EFFORT
Dearborn, Mich. — Kasey Kahne captured his second career pole at Michigan International Speedway and his 18th career pole Friday afternoon and will lead the field for the CarFax 400 on Sunday.
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 9 BUDWEISER FORD FUSION (QUALIFIED FIRST)
“It was a good lap. It felt really good. I blew through Turns 1 and 2 and felt really good. I got to Turn 3 and I wasn’t to sure. I pushed the nose and little. I felt like [Turns] 1 and 2 was where we got the pole because we were really good there. I didn’t really think it was a pole lap though. I was dominant until I got to [Turn] 3 but then I felt that I wasn’t too great in Turn 3. I figured it would be a pretty decent lap but not pole, but then it turned out it was. I think it just shows how good our Budweiser Ford was in [Turns] 1 and 2 because that is where we got all the time.”
GREG BIFFLE, NO. 16 3M FORD FUSION (QUALIFIED SIXTH)
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN.
“I think that will be a top-10 for us. We were running in the sun almost the whole time, but now the clouds are out and we have some fast guys still to go, so we will have to wait and see. Hopefully that will hold up though because that was about the best lap I could get.
“I tell you what, Jack [Roush, team owner] has a way of getting the most out of you and it was really great to see him right before I took to the track."
KAHNE POLE PRESS CONFERENCE
TELL US ABOUT THE LAP.
“It was a good lap. One and two were really strong. Coming to the green I felt like I was a little bit free. It was the same through [Turns] 1 and 2 and I carried a lot of speed down the backstretch. When I got to Turn 3 I couldn’t get it to turn enough and I kind of just floored it and used a lot of the race track. I definitely didn’t have as good of a 3 and 4 as I would have liked and at that point I felt like I had probably given the pole away. We were able to hang on from the speed we had in 1 and 2.”
WITH THE NEWS THIS WEEK THAT YOUR PLANS ARE SETTLED, HOW BIG OF A BOOST IS THIS FOR YOU AND DOES HAVING YOUR PLANS FIGURED OUT HELP YOU WITH YOUR CURRENT TEAM?
“I think it is nice to have that done with and know for myself where I am going. I can focus on the end of the year with the Bud team and Richard Petty Motorsports. I don’t know how much that has been on my mind. I feel like I am focused pretty hard each week and trying to do the right things. It is something that I definitely think about a lot. As far as the team goes, they showed up this week just like they have done each week. They are solid every week and it is nice to work with them each weekend.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR CAR CAN BE ON SUNDAY? IS IT A TOP FIVE CAR?
“Yeah, we ran top two here in the spring. We didn’t have anything for [Denny] Hamlin in the first race, but we were easily the second best car. Kurt [Busch] was at times, but when it counted the last two stops or so, we were the best car. I feel like we have a lot of things that we are working on off of that.
“I felt really good in practice today. We put it in qualifying trim and weren’t quite as strong as I wanted to be. We ended up 22nd and were just a little too tight. Kenny Francis fixed that for qualifying and we had a great lap. That first pit stall is a big deal here. That should get us off pit road each stop throughout the race. If you can move around here and find grip in different spots on the track, which is the neat thing about Michigan, I think you can be fast and have a great shot at winning on Sunday or at least running top-five throughout the race.”
THERE WERE A LOT OF GUYS THAT HELD THAT TOP SPOT AT TIMES TODAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO THE SUN PEAKING IN AND OUT OF THE CLOUDS?
“I think we had a good draw. Going out late was good. The clouds come out and it changes the track and it changes it quick. I had a cloud at the end there in one and two, not in three and four, but in one and two I did. A lot of cars had that and some of them didn’t. I think clouds are a big part of it. That is just the way qualifying laid out today, made for a lot of cars up there, which is good.”
HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CURRENT TEAM SINCE ANNOUNCING YOUR DECISION TO LEAVE AT THE END OF THE YEAR?
“I feel like we have a really strong team. Kenny Francis does a great job with them. Keith, our engineer, does an awesome job. The communication between the three of us is really good and will stay good throughout the rest of the year. As long as we keep getting what we need there and what everybody else is getting, we shouldn’t have any problems.
“The guys want to work hard and do a good job through the rest of the season building the cars and once we get to the race track. Hopefully that doesn’t change. I don’t see why it would. I have seen it change in the past with certain people and certain teams, but I don’t see why it would with ours.”
IS YOUR SETUP PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT YOU HAD WHEN YOU RAN SECOND HERE IN JUNE?
“It is a good bit different. What happens is that things change throughout the year. The tracks change and the cars change and evolve. Some guys get speed that didn’t have it, so you are always working on stuff. We came a little different this time. Hopefully we will be able to be competitive on Sunday and race up front the whole race.”
HAVE YOU GUYS FIGURED OUT IN TERMS OF MERCHANDISING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT YEAR? ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE RED BULL GEAR ON SALE?
“I sure hope so. I have been at Knoxville Nationals all week, so I haven’t been in the middle of all that. I know that whatever car I end up in will have some shirts and hats for sale I would imagine. I don’t know how all that works, but we will definitely have some things out there.”
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR NEXT YEAR BEFORE YOU DO GO OVER TO HENDRICK? WHAT STATEMENT ARE YOU LOOKING TO MAKE IN 2011?
“I want to win races and run competitively and make The Chase. There are things I think you can do there. Red Bull has shown they can do it in the past and I feel like we will be able to do it next year. I want to enjoy myself, look forward to coming to the racetrack and be competitive. There are a lot of things that come along with racing for those guys that will make it fun and enjoyable and I am looking forward to it all.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 9 BUDWEISER FORD FUSION (QUALIFIED FIRST)
“It was a good lap. It felt really good. I blew through Turns 1 and 2 and felt really good. I got to Turn 3 and I wasn’t to sure. I pushed the nose and little. I felt like [Turns] 1 and 2 was where we got the pole because we were really good there. I didn’t really think it was a pole lap though. I was dominant until I got to [Turn] 3 but then I felt that I wasn’t too great in Turn 3. I figured it would be a pretty decent lap but not pole, but then it turned out it was. I think it just shows how good our Budweiser Ford was in [Turns] 1 and 2 because that is where we got all the time.”
GREG BIFFLE, NO. 16 3M FORD FUSION (QUALIFIED SIXTH)
ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN.
“I think that will be a top-10 for us. We were running in the sun almost the whole time, but now the clouds are out and we have some fast guys still to go, so we will have to wait and see. Hopefully that will hold up though because that was about the best lap I could get.
“I tell you what, Jack [Roush, team owner] has a way of getting the most out of you and it was really great to see him right before I took to the track."
KAHNE POLE PRESS CONFERENCE
TELL US ABOUT THE LAP.
“It was a good lap. One and two were really strong. Coming to the green I felt like I was a little bit free. It was the same through [Turns] 1 and 2 and I carried a lot of speed down the backstretch. When I got to Turn 3 I couldn’t get it to turn enough and I kind of just floored it and used a lot of the race track. I definitely didn’t have as good of a 3 and 4 as I would have liked and at that point I felt like I had probably given the pole away. We were able to hang on from the speed we had in 1 and 2.”
WITH THE NEWS THIS WEEK THAT YOUR PLANS ARE SETTLED, HOW BIG OF A BOOST IS THIS FOR YOU AND DOES HAVING YOUR PLANS FIGURED OUT HELP YOU WITH YOUR CURRENT TEAM?
“I think it is nice to have that done with and know for myself where I am going. I can focus on the end of the year with the Bud team and Richard Petty Motorsports. I don’t know how much that has been on my mind. I feel like I am focused pretty hard each week and trying to do the right things. It is something that I definitely think about a lot. As far as the team goes, they showed up this week just like they have done each week. They are solid every week and it is nice to work with them each weekend.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOUR CAR CAN BE ON SUNDAY? IS IT A TOP FIVE CAR?
“Yeah, we ran top two here in the spring. We didn’t have anything for [Denny] Hamlin in the first race, but we were easily the second best car. Kurt [Busch] was at times, but when it counted the last two stops or so, we were the best car. I feel like we have a lot of things that we are working on off of that.
“I felt really good in practice today. We put it in qualifying trim and weren’t quite as strong as I wanted to be. We ended up 22nd and were just a little too tight. Kenny Francis fixed that for qualifying and we had a great lap. That first pit stall is a big deal here. That should get us off pit road each stop throughout the race. If you can move around here and find grip in different spots on the track, which is the neat thing about Michigan, I think you can be fast and have a great shot at winning on Sunday or at least running top-five throughout the race.”
THERE WERE A LOT OF GUYS THAT HELD THAT TOP SPOT AT TIMES TODAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THAT TO THE SUN PEAKING IN AND OUT OF THE CLOUDS?
“I think we had a good draw. Going out late was good. The clouds come out and it changes the track and it changes it quick. I had a cloud at the end there in one and two, not in three and four, but in one and two I did. A lot of cars had that and some of them didn’t. I think clouds are a big part of it. That is just the way qualifying laid out today, made for a lot of cars up there, which is good.”
HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY DIFFERENCE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CURRENT TEAM SINCE ANNOUNCING YOUR DECISION TO LEAVE AT THE END OF THE YEAR?
“I feel like we have a really strong team. Kenny Francis does a great job with them. Keith, our engineer, does an awesome job. The communication between the three of us is really good and will stay good throughout the rest of the year. As long as we keep getting what we need there and what everybody else is getting, we shouldn’t have any problems.
“The guys want to work hard and do a good job through the rest of the season building the cars and once we get to the race track. Hopefully that doesn’t change. I don’t see why it would. I have seen it change in the past with certain people and certain teams, but I don’t see why it would with ours.”
IS YOUR SETUP PRETTY CLOSE TO WHAT YOU HAD WHEN YOU RAN SECOND HERE IN JUNE?
“It is a good bit different. What happens is that things change throughout the year. The tracks change and the cars change and evolve. Some guys get speed that didn’t have it, so you are always working on stuff. We came a little different this time. Hopefully we will be able to be competitive on Sunday and race up front the whole race.”
HAVE YOU GUYS FIGURED OUT IN TERMS OF MERCHANDISING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT YEAR? ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE RED BULL GEAR ON SALE?
“I sure hope so. I have been at Knoxville Nationals all week, so I haven’t been in the middle of all that. I know that whatever car I end up in will have some shirts and hats for sale I would imagine. I don’t know how all that works, but we will definitely have some things out there.”
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR NEXT YEAR BEFORE YOU DO GO OVER TO HENDRICK? WHAT STATEMENT ARE YOU LOOKING TO MAKE IN 2011?
“I want to win races and run competitively and make The Chase. There are things I think you can do there. Red Bull has shown they can do it in the past and I feel like we will be able to do it next year. I want to enjoy myself, look forward to coming to the racetrack and be competitive. There are a lot of things that come along with racing for those guys that will make it fun and enjoyable and I am looking forward to it all.”
Thompson Returns To NASCAR K&N Pros Series at Colordao
Brett Thompson to Make 4th Series Start of the Season
JEROME, IDAHO (August 12, 2010) Brett Thompson of Jerome, Idaho will make only his fourth NASCAR K&N Pro Series start of the season this Saturday night at Colorado National Speedway located north of Denver. Thompson had a race winning car last season but a flat tire late in the event relegated him to a 15th finish after starting fourth. This time out he is focused solely on winning.
The 3/8-mile paved oval is one of the race tracks liked by all competitors and Thompson especially looks forward to the NKNPS event at CNS every year. "I always seem to run real good there and its a lot of fun to drive," Thompson said. "The fans are some of the very best in all of racing. It is also a great event for our team as we have a lot of employees and business partners in the area who come out to the race."
Thompson has spent most of this season building and maintaining racecars for his growing cliental at the teams' shop in Jerome, but has found time to continue his racing pursuits, although not full-time in NASCAR. Thompson is closing in on the century mark for career starts in the NKNPS but that stat is of little concern. Winning is all that matters.
"When we planned our schedule this year we picked tracks we were really good at and where we felt we had the best chance of winning," Thompson said. "Last year at Colorado we were right there until a flat tire dropped us out of the top four. I know we have a car capable of winning and it would be really cool to be in victory lane on Saturday night."
Thompson has 97 career NKNPS starts with one win, one pole, 20 top five and 55 top ten performances. He is currently competing full-time in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, a regional Late Model series based in Idaho, where he is third (26 points our of first place) in the championship standings with one win and five top three finishes in seven starts.
Thompson Motorsports will also be fielding a car this weekend for rookie competitor Taylor Barton out of Las Vegas, NV. Barton has made four series starts this year with two top ten finishes to his credit.
Thompson Motorsports is a premier motorsports organization based in Jerome, Idaho providing complete race car preparation and fabrication supporting the local grassroots racer and experienced professional driver. TMS fields cars in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, Intermountain Pro Truck Series, and entries at local area short tracks. TMS has corporate partnerships with Rich Thompson Trucking Inc. (RTTI), Ron's Rear Ends, United Oil, VaCom Technologies, Windmill Inn and Suites, and Speedbear. For all the latest news and information about Brett Thompson and Thompson Motorsports, log onto www.brettthompsonracing.com.
~DJS Sports Marketing photo credit.
Fast Facts
The Race: Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge 150
The Place: Colorado National Speedway, Dacono, Colo.
The Date: Saturday, Aug. 14
The Time: 8:15 p.m. MT
TV Schedule: SPEED Aug. 26, 3 p.m. PT
Track Layout: .375-mile paved
Race Purse: $104,584
2009 Winner: Paulie Harraka
2009 Pole: Eric Holmes
Schedule:
Saturday: Practice 12-12:45 p.m., 1:15-2 p.m. Time Trials 5:30 p.m.
Race Notes
The race … The Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge 150 is the ninth of 12 races on the NASCAR K&N Series West schedule for 2010. It marks the only series visit to the state of Colorado this year.
The procedure … The starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 18 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (56.25 miles).
The track … Colorado National Speedway is a .375-mile paved oval with four degrees of banking in the straights and progressive banking of six to 12 degrees in the corners. The track has hosted seven series events.
The records … Qualifying: Brian Ickler, June 2, 2007, 82.057 mph, 16.452 seconds; Race: Paulie Harraka, Aug. 15, 2009, 63.341 mph, 53 minutes 17 seconds.
LEWIS AND HOLMES SCORE VICTORIES AT MONTANA RACEWAY PARK
KALISPELL, Montana — Gary Lewis picked up the Best of the West Tundra 125 on the Lucas Oil Super Late Model Series in one of two races on the NASCAR Rumble in the Rockies Saturday night presentation at Montana Raceway Park.
In the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/NAPA Bonus Challenge, Eric Holmes passed David Mayhew with 47 laps to go en route to his third victory of the season. With the victory Holmes increased his championship points lead on Mayhew by 79 markers.
Lewis and Jason Fraser waged a spirited for the Best of the West Tundra 125 title in the first half of the race. Both drivers traded the preferred spot in the double-file restarts and stayed door-to-door for several laps before Lewis was able to clear exiting turn No. 2 and shuffle Fraser back to second.
The man on the move was Bodie Morton who bounced back from a sub-par qualifying effort to briefly run second before falling into the clutches of Alex Lessor who himself recovered from a tough weekend. Lessor, who had completely snapped a driveline in the prior night's qualifying heat and worked all night to repair the damage, drove through the field and passed Morton with less than 10 laps to go for the runner-up finish. With Lewis in his sights Lessor closed the gap to five car lengths but was unable to make the pass for the win as the checkers flew.
"Man that was awesome," Lewis said in victory lane. "This is a tough bunch of guys here and (Jason) Fraser, Alex (Lessor) and Bodie were there all night long. I can't believe we were able to pull out a win in our SEFNCO Communications Impala. I was up the other night in the motor coach lot and I couldn't sleep and I thought up this set-up we ran tonight as an idea to try in practice and in the weekend and it sure paid off."
Lessor was grateful for a chance to even run in the top-3 after a tough Friday night outing.
"Our car sure woke up late in the race," Lessor noted. "We had a lot of work to do to get it ready for tonight after breaking the driveline last night and I'm glad it worked out for us to finish second to (Gary) Lewis. I have to thank Bob Schweigert for giving me an opportunity to drive this Rainbow Bar & Casino Ford Fusion; man what a night."
Morton had a solid night in his efforts to chase down Lessor's points lead in the Lucas Oil Super Late Model Series drivers standings, he said.
"We had a good car there tonight. Our Scott Carlson Law Office Chevrolet got better today in the practice session after a tough run last night," Morton explained. "We'll take the points and come back here in a few weeks and see if we can get a little closer to Alex."
In the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West 150-lap main event, Holmes marched steadily through the field from his seventh place starting position and moved into the top-5 running order by lap 50. From there the driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota maintained a good race pace to keep Mayhew at bay on several late race restarts.
"These Montana race fans are awesome," Holmes said from victory lane. "I am glad that we were able to win the inaugural NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race here at Montana Raceway Park. I circled this one a year ago when they told us it was going to be on the schedule and I definitely had a good time here. I know we'd like to come back up here and run that Montana 200 next summer and see if we can put a stop to Gary Lewis' late model streak."
Racing resumes at Montana Raceway Park on August 14 as Insty Prints sponsors the MRP Super Stocks, Thunder Roadsters, Flathead Beacon Cruzin' Compacts, MRP Hornets and the Flathead Beacon Bombers. To learn more call (406) 257- RACE (7223), log onto www.montanaracewaypark.com or text MTRACE to 91011.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/NAPA Bonus Challenge Unofficial Results
Pos./No./Name/Sponsor/Laps/Status
1) 20 Eric Holmes NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 150 Running
2) 17 David Mayhew MMI Services Chevrolet 150 Running
3) 16 Moses Smith HASA Pool Products Toyota 150 Running
4) 22 Jonathan Gomez Heritage Cattle Chevrolet 150 Running
5) 09 Gary Lewis SEFNCO Communications Chevrolet 150 Running
6) 2 Daryl Harr WestWorld Computers Chevrolet 150 Running
7) 21 Blake Koch Daystar Chevrolet 150 Running
8) 88 Michael Self Montana Country 106.3 The Bear Chevrolet 150 Running
9) 6 Luis Martinez Jr">Luis Martinez Jr. King Taco Ford 150 Running
10) 13 Todd Souza Central Coast Cabinets Chevrolet 150 Running
11) 12 Paulie Harraka NAPA Gold Filters Toyota 150 Running
12) 9 Travis Bennett Grape King Ford 150 Running
13) Justin Funkhouser K&L Frame & Body Chevrolet 149 Running
14) 5 Thomas Martin Greyhound Adoption Ctr. Chevrolet 148 Running
15) 07 Greg Rayl Spectator Racing Ford 147 Running
16) 14 Travis Milburn Cooks Collision Chevrolet 144 Running
17) 38 Troy Ermish Datsun 510 Parts Outlet Chevrolet 147 Running
18) 26 Greg Pursley GPM Performance Parts Ford 127 Accident
19) 15 Jack Sellers Greyhound Adoption Ctr. 111 Engine
20) 71 Carl Harr WestWorld Computers Toyota 13 Brakes
Lucas Oil Super Late Model Series Best of the West Tundra 125 Unofficial Results
Gary Lewis
Alex Lessor
Bodie Morton
Agni Howell
Jason Fraser
Billy Salmonsen
David Garber
Cory Wolfe
Clint Habart
Ryan Wells
Mark Owens
Chris Skelton
Shane Mitchell
Troy Schweigert
Wrango West
Giles Thornton
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Andrew Caddell & Kyle Busch to be teammates in Chicago.
Kyle Busch to Make Off Road Debut in Traxxas TORC Series Event at Chicagoland
CRANDON, Wis. – He is arguably the best stock car racer in the country and now, he’s going head-to-head against the best racers in the world. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch is scheduled to make his Pro 2WD off-road racing debut in the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL Aug. 24-25 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion will face drivers such as seven-time AMA champion Ricky Johnson; off-road star Rob MacCachren; and motocross legend Jeremy McGrath, who is being inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America that same week. Many drivers have raced in off-road prior to their careers in NASCAR, Brendan Gaughan and Jimmie Johnson to name a few. Busch has previous dirt racing experience, driving a dirt late model in the annual “Prelude to the Dream” race founded by NASCAR champion Tony Stewart.
“I’ve always wanted to try out one of the Traxxas TORC Series trucks, so being able to race one at Chicago is going to be a lot of fun,” Busch said. “Racing an off-road truck has been on my list of vehicles I wanted to try out before my racing career was over, so I have to thank Traxxas for giving me a chance to come out and race one of these short course trucks for the first time.”
The event, held the same week as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ and IZOD IndyCar Series’ events at the speedway, puts the The Traxxas TORC Series and its drivers right in front of a whole new group of enthusiastic motorsports fans. It’s an unprecedented week of “must see” horsepower and action. Chicagoland provides an incredible backdrop for the series’ television show, “The Off Road Championship,” premiering on Discovery’s HD Theater Sept. 2.
“The Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL is the premier short course off-road series offering incredibly exciting racing at iconic venues, but it's the class of drivers that make our series so special,” said Kevin Miller, president of the series’ sanctioning body, USAC. “When you add someone like Kyle Busch into the field, not only does it draw new fans to our sport, but it raises the game of every driver in the field. No one wants the new guy to come in and win and I think anyone who knows Kyle knows he’s not coming in to Chicago with the intent of just racing. He's there to take home a victory and leave with the trophy."
For ticket information for this event, call Chicagoland Speedway at 815-727-RACE or visit TORCSeries.com for online advance ticket purchases.
For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.
Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.
-TORC-
About TORC
The Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, is the fastest, most punishing short course racing series on the planet. TORC events are packed with flag-to-flag fender banging as drivers push the limits over whoop and jump filled natural terrain racetracks. Off-road racing fans come from far and wide to experience this most challenging form of high-octane competition and once they taste TORC for the first time they’ll be hooked for life.
About USAC
USAC is the sanctioning body of TORC. The United States Auto Club (USAC) adds a superior level of professionalism to the series. USAC will play a major role in series operations just as it does in the K&N Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Car Series, Mopar Midget Nationals, Ford Focus, and 1/4 Midget series. Each year TORC champions will be recognized for their achievements at the prestigious USAC banquet.
About Traxxas
Traxxas, “The Fastest Name in Radio Control”, has honored TORC as Title Sponsor through 2011. “The Traxxas TORC Series” or “The Traxxas Off-Road Championship Series”. Broadcasts of the six-round TORC series will be broadcast on national television starting in September.
Jonathon Gomez Rolling into Rocky Mtn. Mile High Event
Gomez Has Momentum on his Side Heading to First Ever First To CNS
TWIN FALLS, IDAHO (August 12, 2010) Jonathon Gomez of Twin Falls, Idaho will experience another in a long list of firsts this season as his Heritage Cattle Co. sponsored team heads to Colorado National Speedway outside Denver. Gomez has never laid eyes on CNS but that has not been a problem this season for the 27-year competitor, as he has met every challenge so far this season and finds himself in contention for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series championship heading into the final four races of the season.
Gomez is coming off a stellar run last weekend in Montana (another track he visited for the first time) where he finished in the fourth position. His finish at Montana was perhaps his best run of the season as he held on to finish in the top five for the third time this season despite a rear-end housing that was coming apart at the end of the race.
"We were lucky to hang on," offered John Gomez (car owner). "We thought we had a car that could win and then over the final 25-laps the rear-end started to whine and Jonathon had to back it down just enough to save it for the end."
With essentially only two on-track finishes outside the top ten (11th at Infineon and 12th at Portland) Gomez might well be in the point lead if not for a penalty in the opening race of the season that negated a second place performance. "We have had a great year no matter what happens from here on out," Jonathon Gomez said. "The team has worked really hard and we have adapted to every new track and feel that we are in a great position to win a race this season."
His first series win could easily come at Colorado National Speedway this weekend. The wide and fast 3/8-mile paved oval has been the site of several first time winners in the series. Craig Raudman (crew chief) prepared the track qualifying record holder car for Brain Ickler several years ago and knows the team is peaking at the right time. "I really believe that this team is ready to win and Jonathon has proven that he can get it done," Raudman said.
The race this weekend will be Gomez' 19th race this season as he continues his ambitious schedule racing not only in NASCAR, but the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour, CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, and selected other Late Model events around the region.
"I am looking forward to Colorado," Gomez said. "I hear it is a fun place to race and the crowds are amazing."
Gomez sits in the third position in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series-West standings, 83-points out of second place and 162-points behind the series leader. After eight races he has scored three top five and five top ten performances with his best finish this season of second place at Iowa Speedway back in May. In the SRL Southwest Tour, Gomez is second in the standings just seven points out of the lead on the strength of two dominating wins this season.
Jonathon Gomez is in his fourth year of competitive racing having won local track titles at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls and competed in various Late Model events the past couple of seasons. He has started 16 NASCAR K&N Pro Series races since 2008 scoring nine top ten finishes and is in his first full-time season in the NKNPS. Gomez will contend for championships in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as well as the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour this season.
Jonathon Gomez is supported by Heritage Cattle Company, Century Boatland, J&C Custom Harvesting, United Oil, Modern Machinery, DJ Safety, and Gomez Farms. The race from Colorado will be broadcast on SPEED TV Thursday, August 26 at 4pm MT. The next event on the SRL schedule is September 4 at Toyota Speedway. The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series event for Gomez will by August 21 at Rocky Mountain Raceways in SLC, UT. For more information on Jonathon Gomez, please log onto his website at www.jonathongomez.com.
HIGHLIGHTS
Jonathon Gomez (No. 22 Heritage Cattle/Century Boatland Chevrolet)
Gained career-best runner-up finish by finishing second among West drivers in combination race
First full season of series competition
Average finish of 9.0 this season
Has led 35 laps this season
Fast Facts
The Race: Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge 150
The Place: Colorado National Speedway, Dacono, Colo.
The Date: Saturday, Aug. 14
The Time: 8:15 p.m. MT
TV Schedule: SPEED Aug. 26, 3 p.m. PT
Track Layout: .375-mile paved
Race Purse: $104,584
2009 Winner: Paulie Harraka
2009 Pole: Eric Holmes
Schedule:
Saturday: Practice 12-12:45 p.m., 1:15-2 p.m. Time Trials 5:30 p.m.
Race Notes
The race … The Toyota / NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge 150 is the ninth of 12 races on the NASCAR K&N Series West schedule for 2010. It marks the only series visit to the state of Colorado this year.
The procedure … The starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 18 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (56.25 miles).
The track … Colorado National Speedway is a .375-mile paved oval with four degrees of banking in the straights and progressive banking of six to 12 degrees in the corners. The track has hosted seven series events.
The records … Qualifying: Brian Ickler, June 2, 2007, 82.057 mph, 16.452 seconds; Race: Paulie Harraka, Aug. 15, 2009, 63.341 mph, 53 minutes 17 seconds.
Narrow margin … Eric Holmes leads the standings by 79-points over David Mayhew. Jonathon Gomez is in third 83-points back.
ASA RACING SCHEDULE AUGUST 12-15, 2010
American Speed Association PR
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Thursday, August 12, 2010) - Another great weekend of racing is on tap this weekend in the American Speed Association. Here is a look at what is happening.
ASA MEMBER TRACKS
GRAYS HARBOR RACEWAY
Elma, WA
Fair Night at the Races this Saturday night with Motorsports Mania. The World Famous Domino Bus Jump, Fireworks Show, Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Hornets will be in action. Front gate opens at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
www.graysharborraceway.com
MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY
(Meridian, ID)
Eve of Destruction II featuring the Worlds Famous Boat Race is this Saturday night. The Armaggedon Jet Car, Hornets in the Gauntlet Race, Bicycle Race of Destruction plus the Modifieds, Legends and Thunder Dogs in action. Also, bike races for the kids at 6:00 p.m. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
www.meridianspeedwayonline.com
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RACEWAYS
(West Valley City, UT)
Maverik Clash of the Titans IV Monster Truck Nationals is this Saturday night. See some of the top monster trucks compete along with the Maverik Modifieds and Ford Focus Midgets. Maverik Clash of the Titans XIV is Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15. Gates open at 4 p.m., qualifying begins at 5 p.m. and racing begins at 6 p.m. Adults are $20 and youth (5-12) are $15 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday.
www.rmrracing.com
SKAGIT SPEEDWAY
(Burlington, WA)
Round 13 of the Foothills Toyota Tundra Racing Series features the 410's Sprints, 360 Sprints, Sportsman Sprints and the Outlaw Hornets. Racing at 7:00pm.
www.skagitspeedway.com
SOUTHERN OREGON SPEEDWAY
(Medford, OR)
KMVU DT Fox 26 Night at the Races is this Saturday night. The Wingless Sprints and Midgets will be in action along with the Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks. Grandstands open at 4:00 p.m. with races starting at 6:00 p.m.
www.sospeedway.com
YAKIMA SPEEDWAY
(Yakima, WA)
The first ever Yakima Speedway Open Wheel Extravaganza is this Saturday night. The Cast Iron Nationals 360 Sprint Cars, Vintage Modifieds, Washington Midget Association and the West Coast Vintage Racers will be in action. Gates open at 4 p.m. with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m.
www.yakimaspeedway.us
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based American Speed Association call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from all the racetracks and regional tours involved in the ASA, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
ASA®, ASA Racing®, and American Speed Association® are registered trademarks of Racing Speed Associates, LLC. ASA International, LLC and Racing Speed Associates, LLC are not related to or affiliated with ASA Late Model Series.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
MALSAM RETURNS TO MICHIGAN WITH NASCAR NATONWIDE SERIES
BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 11 2010) — One week after a very successful first visit to Watkins Glen International, Pacific Northwest native Tayler Malsam returns to a familiar venue for his next NASCAR Nationwide Series start in the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota for Braun Racing.
The Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway will be broadcast by ESPN at 11 a.m. (PT) on Saturday. SPEED will televise qualifying for the race earlier Saturday, at 7 a.m. (PT), and will also show Friday’s practice at 10:30 a.m. (PT).
Although the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., has raced at Michigan International Speedway in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — finishing sixth in June 2009 — and in the ARCA stock car series in 2008, on Saturday will be driving the new Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow (CoT) for just the second time. To help teams better prepare the CoT for the race, NASCAR has scheduled two non-televised practice sessions for Thursday.
“I don’t know what the new CoT cars will be like at Michigan,” Malsam said. “In the past we could go wide open in qualifying, but who knows what we’re going to get out of those. I do like that track a lot, or I did in trucks and ARCA cars.”
Malsam’s concerns about the CoT stem from the car’s debut on July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. A longer, higher car designed to be safer and easier for NASCAR to inspect — much like Cup series CoT that debuted three years ago — many drivers at Daytona complained about the handling of the Nationwide CoT, with general impression that the car was very loose.
Teams have tried to address those concerns before the series shifted to Michigan’s 2-mile oval, which at 12-18 degrees of banking is considerably flatter than the high banked Daytona. Without that extra banking to lean on, drivers struggling with a loose vehicle — where the rear end of the car tends to swing toward the outer wall — must slow down to maintain control, breaking their momentum forward.
“I know Braun Racing has taken the CoT to the wind tunnel a couple of times, which is what we needed to find more downforce,” Malsam said. “That should help the car’s handling, especially at Michigan with less banking than Daytona.”
Scheduled to be the full-time series vehicle in 2011, Saturday’s race at Michigian will be the second of four races this season for the CoT, with Malsam slated to run all four including Richmond on Sept. 10 and Charlotte on Oct. 15.
After surviving a wild scramble during a green-white-checkered ending, Malsam finished 18th in the CoT debut at Daytona He began the final restart in 24th, moved up four spots after the final green flag and then gained two more spots when cars ahead of him collided as every driver jostled for the best possible finish.
Malsam is coming off a solid run last weekend at Watkins Glen, where he finished 12th — just one spot below his career best Nationwide Series result, an 11th at his series debut in the February race at Daytona.
The Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway will be broadcast by ESPN at 11 a.m. (PT) on Saturday. SPEED will televise qualifying for the race earlier Saturday, at 7 a.m. (PT), and will also show Friday’s practice at 10:30 a.m. (PT).
Although the 21-year-old from Sammamish, Wash., has raced at Michigan International Speedway in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — finishing sixth in June 2009 — and in the ARCA stock car series in 2008, on Saturday will be driving the new Nationwide Series Car of Tomorrow (CoT) for just the second time. To help teams better prepare the CoT for the race, NASCAR has scheduled two non-televised practice sessions for Thursday.
“I don’t know what the new CoT cars will be like at Michigan,” Malsam said. “In the past we could go wide open in qualifying, but who knows what we’re going to get out of those. I do like that track a lot, or I did in trucks and ARCA cars.”
Malsam’s concerns about the CoT stem from the car’s debut on July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. A longer, higher car designed to be safer and easier for NASCAR to inspect — much like Cup series CoT that debuted three years ago — many drivers at Daytona complained about the handling of the Nationwide CoT, with general impression that the car was very loose.
Teams have tried to address those concerns before the series shifted to Michigan’s 2-mile oval, which at 12-18 degrees of banking is considerably flatter than the high banked Daytona. Without that extra banking to lean on, drivers struggling with a loose vehicle — where the rear end of the car tends to swing toward the outer wall — must slow down to maintain control, breaking their momentum forward.
“I know Braun Racing has taken the CoT to the wind tunnel a couple of times, which is what we needed to find more downforce,” Malsam said. “That should help the car’s handling, especially at Michigan with less banking than Daytona.”
Scheduled to be the full-time series vehicle in 2011, Saturday’s race at Michigian will be the second of four races this season for the CoT, with Malsam slated to run all four including Richmond on Sept. 10 and Charlotte on Oct. 15.
After surviving a wild scramble during a green-white-checkered ending, Malsam finished 18th in the CoT debut at Daytona He began the final restart in 24th, moved up four spots after the final green flag and then gained two more spots when cars ahead of him collided as every driver jostled for the best possible finish.
Malsam is coming off a solid run last weekend at Watkins Glen, where he finished 12th — just one spot below his career best Nationwide Series result, an 11th at his series debut in the February race at Daytona.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
New firm will run Monroe motorsports racetrack
The county has hired High Road Promotions, which runs the Skagit Speedway, to manage the track at the fairgrounds.
By Noah Haglund
Herald Writer
MONROE -- Long-term improvements to Snohomish County's motorsports racetrack at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds were on the mind of officials who recently chose a new company to run the facility.
County Executive Aaron Reardon's office selected High Road Promotions last week after a competitive bid process. A contract is under negotiation. If all goes well, High Road should take over in the fall.
"We are looking for new ways to use the facility that will translate into economic growth for this county and its local cities," Reardon said in a release.
High Road also operates Skagit Speedway in Burlington. As part of its bid, the Monroe company offered to make improvements to the Evergreen Speedway track and grandstands. The plans call for installing a new sound system and better lighting and creating private luxury suites. Other upgrades include the restrooms and scoreboard.
County officials hope to hold a meeting in the near future with local racing enthusiasts to discuss changes, county parks Director Tom Teigen said.
Snohomish County's motorsports venue along U.S. 2 includes two oval tracks, a drag strip and a figure-eight course. There is seating for 5,900 people, parking for 6,000 cars and 18 acres for recreational vehicles or tent camping.
Johnson Productions of Monroe had been managing the track during the past two years, a time during which attendance has been disappointing.
"They've done everything they can, but it's been a tough economy," Teigen said.
The track is 57 years old. It was instrumental in the beginning of the NASCAR truck series in 1995 and has hosted some of the sport's top drivers. The Beadle family ran it from 1978 until 2008.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
By Noah Haglund
Herald Writer
MONROE -- Long-term improvements to Snohomish County's motorsports racetrack at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds were on the mind of officials who recently chose a new company to run the facility.
County Executive Aaron Reardon's office selected High Road Promotions last week after a competitive bid process. A contract is under negotiation. If all goes well, High Road should take over in the fall.
"We are looking for new ways to use the facility that will translate into economic growth for this county and its local cities," Reardon said in a release.
High Road also operates Skagit Speedway in Burlington. As part of its bid, the Monroe company offered to make improvements to the Evergreen Speedway track and grandstands. The plans call for installing a new sound system and better lighting and creating private luxury suites. Other upgrades include the restrooms and scoreboard.
County officials hope to hold a meeting in the near future with local racing enthusiasts to discuss changes, county parks Director Tom Teigen said.
Snohomish County's motorsports venue along U.S. 2 includes two oval tracks, a drag strip and a figure-eight course. There is seating for 5,900 people, parking for 6,000 cars and 18 acres for recreational vehicles or tent camping.
Johnson Productions of Monroe had been managing the track during the past two years, a time during which attendance has been disappointing.
"They've done everything they can, but it's been a tough economy," Teigen said.
The track is 57 years old. It was instrumental in the beginning of the NASCAR truck series in 1995 and has hosted some of the sport's top drivers. The Beadle family ran it from 1978 until 2008.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Monday, August 9, 2010
MALSAM FINISHES 12TH IN NASCAR NATIONWIDE RACE AT THE GLEN
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 7 2010) — A solid day on the track and in the pits lifted Tayler Malsam to a 12th-place finish, just one spot shy of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career best, in the Zippo 200 at The Glen on Saturday afternoon at Watkins Glen International.
“The day ended much better than it started, that’s for sure,” said the 21-year-old Sammamish, Wash., native, who gained seven positions after the final restart with 16 laps to go. “(Crew chief Stewart) Cooper and the (No. 10 Braun Racing) crew did a good job keeping me motivated and improving the car. I don’t know exactly how it happened, but it was our lucky day.”
Polesitter Marcos Ambrose led 60 of 82 laps to win for the third straight time at Watkins Glen, matching Terry Labonte who won consecutive series races at the track in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96. Joey Logano finished second by holding off a large charge from Kevin Harvick, who overcame first-lap contact, a pit-road speeding penalty and narrowly missing a 10-car pileup to finish third. Point leader Brad Keselowski was fourth, increasing his series lead over Carl Edwards to 327 points after Edwards retired with an engine problem, and Kyle Busch led 14 laps but faded late to cross the line in fifth.
In a few of his seven previous Nationwide starts this season — and in several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts before that — Malsam has been on the other side of the luck equation, getting caught up in incidents caused by other drivers.
But on Saturday, Malsam was able to slow down and avoid the multi-car incident in front of him on lap 24, which was a result of the field going two- and three-wide after a restart. The resulting cleanup required a 25-minute red flag period, but once the racing resumed Malsam had gained valuable track position that he was able to improve on as the laps wound down.
While Malsam was moving the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota forward, his pit crew was working equally as hard to improve the handling of a car that wasn’t turning as well as the driver would have liked. Each pit stop was flawless and made the car easier to drive — no mean feat as recent safety improvements at Watkins Glen including paving run-off areas and safer barriers reduced the number of caution laps.
“We were getting faster as the race kept going on, and I kept digging, trying to find something on the track,” Malsam said. “We were tight all day, getting killed in the slower corners, but the pit crew did an awesome job getting the car to work as well as it could.”
In his first visit to Watkins Glen, Malsam qualified 27th and he remained outside of the top 20 during the opening laps of the race, moving forward only when cars ahead of him pitted or spun out without bringing out the caution flag. After making a green-flag pit stop on lap 19, he restarted 30th right before the big wreck.
Malsam’s series best finish, 11th, came in his Nationwide debut on June 5 at Nashville Superspeedway. After starting last due to an engine change and then going a lap down early in the race, Malsam used the wave-around rule to get back on the lead lap and then moved steadily through the field to challenge for a top-10 finish in the closing laps of the race.
Next up for Malsam and the Nationwide Series is Michigan International Speedway, a track the Northwest native knows well from ARCA and NASCAR truck series starts, on Aug. 14.
“The day ended much better than it started, that’s for sure,” said the 21-year-old Sammamish, Wash., native, who gained seven positions after the final restart with 16 laps to go. “(Crew chief Stewart) Cooper and the (No. 10 Braun Racing) crew did a good job keeping me motivated and improving the car. I don’t know exactly how it happened, but it was our lucky day.”
Polesitter Marcos Ambrose led 60 of 82 laps to win for the third straight time at Watkins Glen, matching Terry Labonte who won consecutive series races at the track in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96. Joey Logano finished second by holding off a large charge from Kevin Harvick, who overcame first-lap contact, a pit-road speeding penalty and narrowly missing a 10-car pileup to finish third. Point leader Brad Keselowski was fourth, increasing his series lead over Carl Edwards to 327 points after Edwards retired with an engine problem, and Kyle Busch led 14 laps but faded late to cross the line in fifth.
In a few of his seven previous Nationwide starts this season — and in several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts before that — Malsam has been on the other side of the luck equation, getting caught up in incidents caused by other drivers.
But on Saturday, Malsam was able to slow down and avoid the multi-car incident in front of him on lap 24, which was a result of the field going two- and three-wide after a restart. The resulting cleanup required a 25-minute red flag period, but once the racing resumed Malsam had gained valuable track position that he was able to improve on as the laps wound down.
While Malsam was moving the No. 10 Iron Horse Jeans Toyota forward, his pit crew was working equally as hard to improve the handling of a car that wasn’t turning as well as the driver would have liked. Each pit stop was flawless and made the car easier to drive — no mean feat as recent safety improvements at Watkins Glen including paving run-off areas and safer barriers reduced the number of caution laps.
“We were getting faster as the race kept going on, and I kept digging, trying to find something on the track,” Malsam said. “We were tight all day, getting killed in the slower corners, but the pit crew did an awesome job getting the car to work as well as it could.”
In his first visit to Watkins Glen, Malsam qualified 27th and he remained outside of the top 20 during the opening laps of the race, moving forward only when cars ahead of him pitted or spun out without bringing out the caution flag. After making a green-flag pit stop on lap 19, he restarted 30th right before the big wreck.
Malsam’s series best finish, 11th, came in his Nationwide debut on June 5 at Nashville Superspeedway. After starting last due to an engine change and then going a lap down early in the race, Malsam used the wave-around rule to get back on the lead lap and then moved steadily through the field to challenge for a top-10 finish in the closing laps of the race.
Next up for Malsam and the Nationwide Series is Michigan International Speedway, a track the Northwest native knows well from ARCA and NASCAR truck series starts, on Aug. 14.
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