So since the last blog, there has been a ton that has happened in the season. We are now halfway through the season, the team and I have been on an up and down roller coaster thus far. Everything has been flowing very good and things are looking up everytime we go to the race track.
Chicagoland was a great weekend for both the team and I. Starting from the time we rolled off the truck we were fast in practice, and after making a practice qualifying run we were at the top of the board. In qualifying I felt like we had a shot at the pole, but going down the backstretch on my green flag lap the ignition box failed, resulting in me not taking a time fro qualifying. After finally getting the ignition boxes figured out, it was time for the race which wound up being at night. I started 30th and started picking cars off one at a time from the start.
On lap 50 I took the lead and never looked back. The car was a rocketship and I soon drove away from the field quickly gaining on second place by three tenths per lap. But then the right front tire blew going into turn three with a nine second lead over second place, ending the night for us. It was clear we had the dominant car, but for some reason it just wasnt meant to be that weekend and it was on to the next.
Next on the schedule was Pocono, which was an interesting weekend to say the least. The fog played a giant roll during the race as well as more ignition problems for us in practice. Going into practice we missed the first 30 minutes because of another ignition box failure, similar to the weekend before at Chicagoland! But, we got the problem fixed and I finally made some laps out on the track. We werent the fastest car there, but we werent terrible. In qualifying I went off into turn 3 too high and I couldnt get the car back down onto the ‘patch’ and I had to pedal it a lot through the turn, not able to give it full throttle.
We qualified 8th for the race which was not too bad, all things considered. When we started the race, it was slightly misting and pretty foggy. In fact, going down the backstretch out of turn one, it was sprinkling/raining and we had very little grip and almost everyone was slipping and sliding. Then there was a caution and we all made pit stops, rode around under caution for the next 12 or so laps untilt hey finally decided to bring us down pit road and stop us until the fog cleared. It finally subsided and we went back green flag racing for all of maybe three laps until another caution and some more caution laps, finally going back green for a lap until the fog rolled in once again. Bad enough that coming off of turn one, my spotter came on the radio and said “You’re on your own bud, I can’t see you.” This would be the caution that would finally end the race that should have never been started to begin with. At this point we finished seventh and had a car for the next race.
Michigan was next on the schedule and I was excited to get there. The guys had gotten the Chicagoland car fixed and turned around in time to go on to Michigan with it. When we got tot he track we were decent in practice and I was not concerned about qualifying. We wound up unfortunately, losing a little speed on the track but still qualifying 8th for the race. I was fairly confident in our ability to run good, because in practice our race trim tiems were extremely competitive. The race went fairly smooth and I rode around in the 7th to 8th position all day and at theend of green flag runs, making passes on cars that were slowing down because they had worn out their tires. After a two tire pit stop, I was put back out onto the track in the fourth position and soon drove up to second after some wild racing on the restarts. Finsihing out the day in fourth was a great day for us and we were extremely excited to finally crack into the top-5.
On to Winchester for the next race on the schedule. We had tested at the track onthe way to Chicagoland and dispite being down on power at the test we had some great times and I was ready to be back. I made about three runs in practice and was on my last lap of a run when coming off of turn four I felt the front end slip out from under me, but everything felt normal down the straightaway. Until I got off into the corner and the car did not turn at all, I grazed the wall and brought the car into the pits. Come to find out later, we folded a lower control arm coming off the corner. That was the end of our practice because the guys spent the rest of the time fixing the car for qualifying.
Going out for qualifying I was told to give it all I had because the car would be under me and wouldnt do anything crazy. So I went all out, and coming off of turn four I was sideways, left, right, everything but straight and having the car “under me.” I finished out my laps cautiously and found out later we werent able to get the tire pressures set, making me insanely loose and out of control. Qualified 15th for the race, but knowing our issue I was not one bit concerned about the way we would perform in the race. The race started out alright and I was working on passing cars and learning more about short track racing with these big cars. The first caution finally came out and we decided to take two tires and got out in the lead because everyone else took their four. I held on to the lead for a few laps but soon got passed, and wound up riding in seventh comfortably.
Then, after being out fo control because of the two tire change, I was lapped. But, I kept composure and soon enough, cars in front of us started blowing right front tires and when the caution finally came out I was in fifth and in the lucky dog position to get my lap back. I got my lap back, and came in and got the four tires we saved, while everyone else got their two tires. It was go time, and I knew it, twenty laps remaining and we were the fastest thing on the race track. I made my way up to third runnning down second place when I just ran out of time and the checkered flag flew. It was an awesome day of ups and downs from practice to everything during the race. The crew did great and I cant thank them all enough for getting the car fixed and back out there for qualifying in time!
Onto Berlin this weekend, we’re ready to win!
Thanks for reading,
Chad Hackenbracht
