With Race 4 canceled, race 5 brought us back to Canaan on July 22. Hot with excitment from the last points race at Bear Ridge, and a great time at Boondocks Raceway in Skowhegan, ME, it was time to work it hard.

What was extra nice about this race, was that we had a volunteer to run the video camera in the stands. A special thank you to Deana for taking some great footage!

You can view the heat race footage at this link. The start of the heat, Drew and I would lead the front row, Drew on the pole. On the first lap, I was off to an early lead while Drew lost position to Spencer Allen in the white #22 car. Lap one was then quickly followed by a caution and we restarted.  But that wasn’t going to disrupted the good run I was having. On the restart I maintained the led. Drew struggling with handling issues dropped back as the race went on.

On what would have been the completion of lap 5 I was surprised when my engine shut off coming out of turn 4 and I quickly drove it to the infield as I lost speed to get out of the way. What I didn’t realize was that I unplugged the charging system early that morning to change the oil. It was in the way. The mistake was that I forgot to plug it back in. The battery could only carry the car 5 laps plus uncounted caution laps.

For the feature, which can be viewed here. Drew and I once again started on the front row, Drew on the Pole. At the start, the hammer dropped and I grabbed hold as my car did a little dance. A bit scary when your feet come out from under you, and you know there is a pack of cars on your heals. There was a patch of slick clay coming out of turn 4 for the green flag, making my car dart sideways. I quickly chopping the gas and then right back on to get the car straight again. Catastrophe averted.

With that, Drew took the first lead and I struggled to catch back up. A quick caution brought us back together and gave me another chance to beat my brother to the line. Though it wasn’t going to happen that way. Drew managed to pull away from me again to maintain his lead. With that first lap after the restart, I looked to go around Drew on the high side. That turned out to be a mistake as I opened the door for two cars to get under me.

For the next few laps, Drew struggled to hold the two cars, Rich Crooker #21 and Dylan Menditto #29, off. On lap 4, a second caution brought us back together again.

Drew now 3rd, and myself 4th, we took the green once again. Drew looking to the inside of Crooker tried for the pass in turn 4 while I looked for a similar path. Drew succeeded for only one lap, and Crooker took second back. Meanwhile back in 4th, I searched for the proper groove. By lap 8 I had found it, and pass Drew to take 3rd place.

Crooker had almost a full straight away on me by now, and leader Menditto was half a track away. By lap 14 Menditto had taken his first lapped car who Crooker, running second, didn’t pass until lap 16 and I didn’t catch at all.

Then, while taking the white flag, my car started to skip exiting turn 4. I got off the gas a bit hoping to make that one last lap, but before I could even think about it, one of my connecting rods shattered through the engine case ending what would have been a solid 3rd place finish. With that, I finished 8th, out of 10.

Drew, on the last lap, got caught in my oil making it hard to stop, got tangled with another car’s bumper, and tipped over on his side. Drew landed a 5th palace finish.

With a blown engine, it will be hard to be ready for next weeks race. But that doesn’t mean we wont try.

What a great experience to visit a new track with the potential of being added to the NEMS lineup in 2012. On July 16th, 2011, 4 competitors from NEMS including Drew, myself, Terry Reil, and Spencer Allen made the trip to Boondocks Raceway in Skowhegan, ME for what we called a NEMS Exhibition race. We were joined by two East Coast Mini Sprint competitors Todd Perry in a 1000cc sprint car and Paul Rose in a 1200cc sprint car.

The reception from track officials and other local drivers and fans was phenomenal. We couldn’t have asked for more excitement in the air. In the heat, Drew started second row inside while I started behind him in the third row inside.

Not knowing the track, we continued to run some hot laps to get a feel for things. When ready, we regrouped in starting position and took the green. While Perry and Reil battled it out for the lead, there was another battle going on for the 3nd place spot between Drew, Allen, and myself, with Rose right on our heals. After a few laps I managed to prevail for the 3rd place position.  Drew finished right behind me.

The track was an interesting shape. Not like any of the other tracks we  run. It was a “D” shape but with unique features. Turn one swooped into a narrow turn 2. Not a good place to pass if you didn’t want to end up in a tracktor tire marking the inside of the turn, or risk running into the wall. It reminded me of the slot cars I had as a child. If your familiar, it reminded me of the narrowing slot track that when both slot cars where side by side, one would be bumped off the rails.  I’m not saying I didn’t like it, it’s just the best way I can describe it.

Turn three and four were a bit different. The track was much wider here and this made for great opportunity to pass. While turn three was a bit abrupt, not to mention slick, it made it hard for cars to stay low and block a low side pass. Turn four then lead to the fast, front stretch, arched side of the “D”.  The front stretch had one notable feature that we were told was to be removed the next day. There was a bit of ledge, or rock, protruding above the surface of the track. Now, I’ve never jumped a mini sprint before, nor have I ever thought of doing so. The rock was not that easy to see, and most of the time, it was very close to the line we were running. I definitely got air more than once over that rock. It was pretty cool!

For the Feature, Drew and I started the second row, Drew to the inside. Paul Rose starting on the pole was off to an early lead leaving Spencer Allen fending off the rest of us to battle for second.  It was Todd Perry who would get around me to battle Allen and take 2nd. But then Perry, undergoing mechanical issues, didn’t keep 2nd for long as Allen and I took the position back and battled between us to secure second. I managed to slip by Allen in turn four only to look ahead to the straight away lead that Paul Rose had in his 1200cc car.

I figured that was about the best I would do. My 600cc was not going to be a match for the 1200cc already ahead by a straight away. Then within 2-3 laps, I was shocked as I caught Rose on the back stretch.  What I didn’t consider was that with the tight corners, the power to weight of the 600cc cars had an advantage coming off the corners. Within a couple more laps, I managed to maneuver my way past Rose for the lead.

Then after a few more laps, there was a cloud of dust on the front stretch. So much that it forced Rose and I to slow to almost a stop. I could only see a few feet off the front of my car. The caution came out and as we rounded the back stretch I saw someone motioning that we were calling it quits. I figured because it was getting too dusty to see. I saw Allen and Rose exit the track and slowed up to let Reil and my brother pass. At this point I thought the race was over and I had won. I wanted to take the flag for a ride around the track. So you could imagine my surprise when the green flag came back. (lol) The three of us, Reil, Drew and I finished up the remaining laps in the dust and finishing in that order.

After we came off the track we were greeted by an unexpected crowed of excited fans and competitors of all ages. The kids had a blast as we gave them the opportunity to sit in the cars. It turned out to be a very exciting day. Drew and I both agreed, we would be more than willing to come back again next year. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.