Division:
Hornets (Spring Classic)
Track:
Rockford Speedway
Car:
1985 VW Golf
Date: 04-14-07
Although my dad did give me a hand getting everything loaded up, I went out to the track by myself and attempted to try to figure out a fast way around the oval. I had kept the car in second gear during the Enduro last fall, and had not spent much time actually trying to turn fast at speed laps with it around the oval. It seemed to "run out" at the start finish line and I had to shift it into Third to get down the straight. I struggled trying to get through the corner with the downshift. I tried different lines and shifting combinations, and even started to hold down my "push to pass" choke button all the way down the straights, hoping to keep up with the others. At one point, the tire pressures crept up and I got a little push. I took a little air out of the Right Front and it seemed to help, but I was really not very fast. In the third practice session, I got passed-again-and went into turn one behind the faster car. He got out of shape and spun. I had to shut it down a little before I normally would have and jumped on the brakes. I was able to slow, but the notorious brake system on this car failed me again. I discovered that I would have to change a hard to access rubber brake line. Although my dad and buddy Joe Lamarca would have eventually made it out, I decided I did not want to roll around in the dirt fighting it by myself, and figured I would just take it home and do it right in the shop. I got my money back from the Speedway, so all-and-all, it was not a bad experience, just a glorified practice session and one that I was fortunate that the circumstances worked out the way they did and I did not wreck when the brakes went out.
FROM:
JasonDull.com
DATE: 05-18-07
CONTACT: 815 494 6002
EMAIL: jdull99@hotmail.com
USE AT WILL
SEASON STARTS: This coming Sunday is marked as the opening race for the
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) at the Angell Park Speedway in Sun
Prairie, WI. My 2007 intentions are to compete with the long established
club (one of the oldest sanctioning bodies in the country) at the prestigious
track, on a mostly regular basis. Although the motto of the season is to
take it one race at a time, I will mention that in addition to opening day, the
next couple of weeks offer more than just the standard show. The first
event is scheduled as a 50 lapper, but I do believe (and hope) that they will
push the show along, as the local schools are still in session. The
following Memorial Day Weekend Sunday night special is usually capped with a
dance in the banquet hall. Moving into the first Saturday in June, my
“long-term” goal would be to join the BMARA club at the Beaver Dam, WI
Charter Park for their event.
2007 SUPPORTERS: Although the opportunity still exists for a Primary
sponsor to be involved in my program, I am pleased to announce the following
places of business who have offered to support my recent and upcoming efforts.
The listed assistance guided me to continue in my efforts with the BMARA and
primarily at the Sun Prairie track.
Major Associate Sponsor-JJ Precision Grinding, Roscoe, Illinois.
Associate Sponsors-Quiznos Subs, Patio Pleasures, and Pietro’s Pizza &
Pasta (all located in Sun Prairie, WI).
Product and or Service Relationships-JAMR Racing Engines, EWT3DCNC, Fast
Eddie’s Lawn Care, JJ & Associates, lia sohpia, MicroBlue Racing, and
North State Motors. All are located in the Greater Rockford, IL area.
There will be more information available on Jasondull.com.
I also need to thank my family, friends, and even a couple of silent backers,
who offer their assistance. We welcome any further support with open arms,
and attempt to provide interesting opportunities as part of the experience.
OPEN HOUSE: The car will be on display at Patio Pleasures tomorrow,
Saturday May 18, 2007. The one stop shop for backyard and game room
entertainment is located at 622 W Main Street, in Sun Prairie, WI. There
will be coupons and information to Quiznos Subs and Pietro’s Pizza & Pasta
available in or around the car, as well. Please stop by if you are in the
area.
OUTLOOK: Although very much appreciative of the support that I have
received, I was unable to secure the necessary funding to allow for the updating
of my basically stock block Fontana engine. As I have completed other
maintenance procedures and made some updates to some of the other components, I
do look forward to the upcoming year and first race with great anticipation
however. Thanks to some of the above referred help, we were able to
participate in a practice session a couple of weeks ago, but the goals for the
first couple races are realistic; as many of my competitors spent parts of the
winter and spring racing through-out warmer parts of the country and even
“down-under”. This week marked the 10 year Anniversary of my very
first "professional" automotive race event (In a stock car at Rockford
Speedway on May 17, 1997), and I can only hope for more success in the next
decade.
Please note that although I do send this material out to promote my endeavors,
it is not my intention to spam my correspondents, and the newsletter is intended
to be genuinely “entertaining”. If you do not wish to receive this material,
just ask to be removed from the email list, and I will promptly honor your
request.
Division:
BADGER
Track: Sun Prairie
Car: 2003 Stealth
Date: 05-20-06
After a practice session at Wilmot a couple of weeks previous, I had gone
over the car with a fine toothed comb and had it available to display for Sun
Prairie's Patio Pleasures-one of my 2007 associate sponsors. There was still the
normal rush to load everything, because, due to my work schedule, it had to be
done Friday night. I dropped the car off at the business around 9 p.m., as
their Open House started at 9 a.m. the next morning. Saturday, I took the
new tow rig we purchased, a 1995 Chevy full ton, and got everything set back up
for Sunday. My buddy, Joe Lamarca, picked me up so that we could go watch
the ASA Tour race at Jefferson.
Qualifying:
Tried to work on using the low line (were the moisture is) through the corners
and drifting out on the straights. I had not previosuly used that path in
qualifying before, only in the C-main I won in last year's rained out Pepsi
Nationals. I did back off in attempt to allow the car to set in better,
but only managed a 16.150 and a 16.2. Jerry Coons was fastest at 14.674.
B-main:
I was set to line up 10th, but due to at least one DNS, I
actually moved a little further up the grid.
Realizing that, unlike the “stacked” heat race, this event is one
that I should “shine” in, Fergie’s pop song “Glamorous” filled my head
on the parade lap going down the backstraight.
When the green came out, I made an attempt to make something happen going
into turn one. The car went out of
the groove a little and I did not react correctly.
Rookie Robbie Ray slipped underneath and used a far share of the lower to
middle part of the track. Tim
Noble, another rookie, also showed his nose in between one and two, but I was
able to protect my position. It
took me sometime to finally get going and around Ray on the top side. When I did, mid-pack runners, Brian Ramstack, Rob Keelan, and
the previously mentioned Bryon Walters were in view. Using my “Never give up” strategy that I intend to
employee every race this year, I did end up closing in on the trio. Keelan and Walters traded lanes back and forth battling for
what would be the transfer spot. Kurt
Mayhew spun out his JerryActic #14 and there was a restart. I did not outside of Keelan as we reached the restart cone,
but thought better of it (we are not supposed to pass before the marker) and may
have ended up losing a little ground, when the green came out.
Our battle went down to the wire, as first Ramstack pulled away, and then
Walters secured the elusive 6th spot, but Keelan’s effort seemed to
derail. He must have been having
trouble, as after the B-main he “scratched” for the night, and he pretty
much stayed on the bottom lane. I
kept my car up top and gave it a good attempt to get around, as I figured it may
have been the spot that would have gotten me in the feature.
In the end, I was the alternate for the main event, but all 22 cars
started, and my night was done.
As
I had raced with Keelan, Walters, Ramstack, etc. before, I was not at all upset
with the first night, since I know that there has been some changes and updates
to their equipment, and mine remains mostly the same as last year.
It was an ok start, but something that hopefully we can improve on.
Date: 05-27-07
Track:
Division: BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
Hot
Laps: We again had an issue with the
vent for the crank case and my dad had to re-route the lines.
There was a red flag and we got back out though.
The car did not smoke that time, but I never really lifted the throttle.
Qualifying:
I went out mid session in the draw order.
The track was already basically dry slick and not quite like it always is
in time trials. (Actually the times
of the fast cars were about .5 second slower than they were last week).
Still tried to hold the throttle all the way down and run the
“qualifying” line (low in the corners, high coming out and into the straight
away). After a sluggish push-off and
then a close encounter with the back straight wall, when it did take off, I just
breathed the engine a couple of times during the run.
Otherwise it was flat footed most of it.
Only timed 16.1s again, though.
Heat:
Was slated to start on the pole of the third heat, but had an issue with
the fuel injectors. I was fortunate
enough to have someone new help me clean the fuel system (since my dad was the
only “regular” to come around all week, and I failed to check the old
fashion screw that goes into the outdated style nozzle), but I failed to double
check what I had "delegated". One
of the old fashion/out-dated injection screws fell out and the car started to
not run well. The rest of the field
kind of made their way around on the parade laps, and since I did not know what
the car was going to do, I let them go. When
the green came out, I did have a little power at top end, but otherwise it was
just not right. Eventually I
verified that I was getting sprayed with fuel and it was covering my driving
suit (fortunately my dad brought his suit, so I was able to change into it).
After a couple laps, I figured that no one was going to drop out, which
may have allowed for me to transfer into the feature, so I pulled off the track.
B-main:
Andy Jones, Bruce Zittleman, and “The crew” all worked together and
we repaired the fuel system issue, but without any feed-back, pretty much left
the chassis the same. My qualifying
time allowed for me to start on the outside of row three, exactly in the
transfer spot. I went into one on
the green flag lap and attempted to go up into the moist stuff above the
cushion. The car got pretty far out
of shape, and I actually almost lost ground.
I quickly got a little rhythm going, and was throwing the car in harder
than David Gough, who was right in front. I
was not able to put everything together and make the pass though, before an
early red flag came out. We made a
couple changes to the car under the red, and then went back out.
Chad DeSelle had brake issues, so I got the restart third behind Gough
and Danny Stratton. Under the long
delay, I kind of had an epiphany and decided that as much as I wanted to try to
pass the cars in front of me, it might have made the most sense to just make
sure that I protect my position and make the feature.
That decision was made due to the difference in third and fourth spot.
With the top six transferring, I felt I should go into defense mode.
Wes Carner and Dwight Steffan had the car was set-up pretty good still,
but I did not do every lap perfect. After
a long battle, Bob Schreffler eventually got around in his almost state of the
art, Mopar powered brand new car. Late
in the race, I let Rob Keelan by as well, although not without a fight.
On the last lap, Schreffler’s smoking car shut-down coming out of turn
three. I slowed down to avoid him,
and rookie Robby Ray made his way underneath, but it was as the checkered and
yellow flag came out, and the race was over.
Either way, we still made the feature.
A-main:
We took some stagger out and made a few other changes and lined up inside
row 8, again beside Gough. With the
race being 50 laps, I was somewhat conservative when the green did come out.
Gough and I quickly found our way to the top though.
If I would have been a little better, the car was working well enough; I
should have been able to pass a couple cars.
Jerry Coons had been having some issues through-out the night, and had
only started a few cars in front of us. I
had a good view of his run, as he did not seem to be pulling very far ahead and
was running slightly above the line we were.
Davey Ray hit the wall the coming out of turn four, and Jerry just missed
him. If he would have bounced down a
little lower, his car may have been in my lane, but we were able to avoid him.
On the restart, I attempted to keep the car up on the top, but was not
hitting the ideal line exactly, and it seemed a little bit loose up there.
Brian Ramstack showed his presence a couple of times and I “got up on
the wheel”, to hold him off. It
seemed like I could run the top decent, but we could have maybe set the right
rear up a little softer (as I was thinking) and if might have helped me hook-up
a little better. As the leaders were
closing in, I went more towards the bottom.
Eventually Mike Hess, Brad Kuhn, and Danny Stratton got around.
I tried jacking with the cockpit adjustable right rear shock, and veteran
Kurt Mayhew, in Jerry Hardy’s pristine number 14, found his way by for
position. I had been holding off
quite the Hornet’s nest of driver’s, but started to really struggle with the
track conditions. Ramstack had
finally found his way around. The
car got way sideways in between turns one and two, and I created a situation for
Tim Noble to plow into the left hand side of me.
It bent the muffler, but we were able to keep going.
I was not sure of the condition of the rest of the car, though and I
thought I felt a little vibration, so I was a little timid on the restart.
The other top five frontrunners finally made their way past to put me a
lap down under the green. I
continued to give up ground, but eventually felt comfortable enough to go up to
the top again. Was pretty much
locked in behind Mayhew, and kind of followed him up there, as it seemed that
the bottom had gone away somewhat. I
really had nothing going on at this point. Another
red came out, for front runner Hess. I
had previously noticed that the water temperature was a little hot and sitting
there under the red, it pegged. With
the muffler almost closed up, etc., we called it a day.
Ended up ranking 15th, but seemed to impress a few people with
the old cast iron engine, the only one out there.
Date: 06-10-07
Track:
Division: BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
Hot Laps:
After a couple weeks of major repairs and rebuilds, including an engine freshen,
rear-end overhaul, fabrication on the header, misc. brackets, etc., we made it
back to the track. Last week’s
Sun Prairie races rained out though, but it still took me a while to get a
rhythm going. We went out for the
second practice session. The track
was kind of “greasy”. The way
it worked out, we had a lot of stagger in the car.
I struggled and was all over the place.
Qualifying:
Wes Carner and Dwight Steffan took some stagger out of the tires and made
some other adjustments. My dad made
some changes to the fuel system, and the rest of the crew-Tom, Bruce, Mindy, and
Amy helped get everything else ready. I
still was not my best, though. Managed
16.0s. Quick time was 14.9.
Heat:
Continued to adjust to the track and was slated to take the green from
the pole. Outside starter Tim Noble
and I could not stay together on the first couple green flag attempts.
He got the top spot from me each time eventually, but I actually did not
think that they were that bad. The
officials said we
had to go to the second row, and the new front row, Kurt Mayhew and Bob
Schreffler took a second chance as well. After
all that, I did let Noble pull away on the actual green and his teammate-Chad
DeSelle, and Doug Schenck got around as well.
I still was not very consistent, but after a couple laps, I finally got
something going. I worked on what
line to run, and ended up gaining on the fifth place running Noble, but could
not make the pass.
B-main:
Started 8th. David
Gough and Tim Noble started in the row in front of me.
I flirted with the idea to go up above the cushion at the start, but
ended up losing ground. I saw Nick
Lundgreen’s nose a couple times, early, but finally got a little rhythm going
and held him off. I had discovered
some holes going into three, in the heat race, and if I hit them right, I got a
little momentum going a few times. A
couple times, the car did seem to get up in the air a little, but I did what I
had to do with the throttle to keep it from getting to far out of shape. My
line was not perfect, but I ended up gaining some ground on Gough and Noble.
The former ended up falling back a little.
I was optimistic that I may have been able to get around him, but I got
out of shape coming out of turn two real bad and then let Lundgreen around.
I still had the mentality that I was going to keep after it to make the
pass for the transfer, but just could not get going fast enough. Towards the end I was able to get over some of the driving
problems I had. Many believe that a
newer and lighter engine would assist this effort, but I do know that I was not
getting all that I could have out of the car most of the night, so there is
still room for improvement. When I
pulled in, the car was up to 250 degrees too.
We did finally see the Tach read the kind of RPM we have been looking for
all year-7900 (It previously seemed “stuck” around 7400 before all the
recent work).
A-main: We ended up being the second alternate. Tim Noble had an electrical problem and we did get to go out onto the track during the parade laps. As the other 22 starters did not have any problems, I was waved off though.
I again have to thank my dad, uncle Tom, Dwight Steffan, and the "cooler crew" for their help loading everything up, as I had to leave early for my third shift work schedule.
Date: 06-17-07
Track:
Division: BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
From APS: Angell Park Speedway hosted the Badger Midget Auto
Racing Association regulars and the Illini Racing Series (IRS)
midgets on Sunday evening, with each running their own shows. The
IRS cars are billed as a "Sportsman" division. The IRS allows
midgets of varying vintages to compete through rules that give
consideration to older cars in order to even the racing field and
make midget racing more affordable. Further, they use a tire with
a very hard compound. Joe Knipple, a regular with the group and a
former Badger competitor, reports that a right rear tire on an IRS
car will last for half of a season and only costs around $100.
Whereas, a right rear tire for Badger will cost around $150 and is
replaced at least every other race…The IRS, a group more
accustomed to pavement racing, did not hold qualifications, but
drew for their heat race starting spots. Jason Dull, changed over
his Badger tires after his heat race in order to do double duty.
He then went on to a convincing victory in the first IRS heat.
From IRS: The Illini Midgets wanted to add Angell Park to the
list of tracks they’ve raced at, in fact, it was probably the one
track they wanted most to add. That would explain why the first
nine haulers waiting for the pit gate to open were all Illini
teams. It was a return visit for Joe Knippel and Allen Gillis, who
had raced at this famous dirt track in years past. For Jason Dull
and David Budres, it was a chance to run a different class at the
track where they run on a regular basis. Jason Dull’s pit was
right behind the scoring tower where this reporter watched the
evening’s action. Dull’s crew gave new meaning to the word
“thrash”. They missed hot laps, they missed Badger qualifying
(doing double duty with the same car), but they managed to make it
out for heat one for the Illini Midgets. Which they won.
From Ken Dull: The Badger Midgets ran a split show with the
Illini Midgets Sunday night. This is a Sportsman type midget
racing club designed for the lower budget racers. They have a
weight/cubic inch rule, run intake restrictors, and require you
to run very hard Mickey Thompson street tires. This all designed
to keep the big horsepower cars from having an advantage which is
supposed to discourage big spending. Jason decided earlier in
the week to try to run in both divisions. We knew it was going
to be a lot of work, changing the car over between races, but we
were kind of excited about it. The week before we had some problems with
the car so, in order to eliminate some possible problems, Jason sent the fuel pump off to
Hilborne to have it rebuilt. Sounds like a good idea, right? Well, the instant we pushed off
to start the car for hot laps, that professionally rebuilt fuel pump seized up and snapped the
shaft off. So we scrambled around the pits and found somebody with a spare pump, put it
on the car, and checked it out…it wasn't pumping. @$#%^! Turns out this pump ran in
reverse rotation from the way it mounted on our car. Out comes the pump. Wes Carner, a
former car owner who has been helping us in the pits, took it apart and switched it around
to work in our car. Back in it goes. By this time we had missed hot laps, time trials, and
the first Badger heat race that we were supposed to be in. Jason and my brother, Tom
worked feverishly to get the fuel pump in and hooked up, while the rest of us got the car set
up for the Illini heat race. When Jason pushed off the announcer went on and on about
how hard we had worked to get the car fixed, what a dedicated racer Jason is, how, earlier
in the year, he had towed all the way to southern Illinois to compete in basically a
no-money race, just for "the chance to race", and how we were doing the best we could
with the equipment we could afford...Well after all that work and that big build up it would
be great to say he went out and won that race…AND HE DID! He started outside front row
and led every single lap! Now how cool is that! That sure made it all seem worth while.
When they interviewed him after the race Jason was sure to thank everyone, mentioned all
his sponsors, and wished me a Happy Father's Day. He got a nice trophy and a case of
beer…The rest of the night we worked at swapping the car back and forth between the two
divisions. Jason ran 8th in the Badger B-main and had to pull off during the Illini A-main
because the car was starting to over heat. It was a lot of hard work in 90 degree heat, but
it turned out to be a real fun night.
I did want to thank a few others whom I failed to mention in that release: North State Motors, Wes Carner of Service BP, AutoHaus, and my mom. Seems like someone is always omitted, and for that I apologize.
Started behined bong's car. last row, outside, due to not wualifying. outside pass around 387, turn four...outside of Mecum going into one...right behind Budress, dove to inside attempting slide job, let Mecum by, we all slowed for Schreffler, who got his spot backtrestarted 7th, behind Budress, Mecum had spun, Budress flipped. restarted behind Robby Ray, was holding Mecum off, using the top, took the bottom going into one, Mecum got around on backstrech, ended up 8th.
Date: 06-24-07
Track:
Division: BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
Hot Laps: I tried to work on my line and keep up with Nick Lundgreen, who took the green in front of me. “Quick” Nick pulled away, but I was able to hold off a couple other cars until the very end. The track was in just about perfect shape. The engine seemed kind of flat, but the Tach turned 7700 RPM. I was able to mostly hold the throttle down, only breathing it in the center of the corner if it seemed like it was getting away from me.
Qualifying:
I really worked on the “qualifying line” and keeping the throttle
down. I was able to take the car
into the corner without lifting, but on the first lap, I was down on the bottom
in the center of one and two (trying to pick up the moisture), and had to lift
before hitting the guardrail. On
the second lap, I felt that I kept the throttle down, but the car still sounded
like it was bogging down. Either I
subconsciously was breathing it (I really don’t think the sole of my shoe left
it, but maybe I did take the pressure off my foot a little or something) or my
line was causing me to pitch the engine different.
It was still pretty consistent with the times we have ran all year-16.0s.
Quick time was 14.8. The
engine turned 8000 RPM.
Heat: Started on the pole, with Kurt Mayhew alongside. He got the jump on me and headed into turn one on the top. Although, my crew guy, Dwight Steffan advised me to protect the bottom, as it looked like the fast cars in the other heats were still playing with the low line, I figured I should tag in behind Mayhew. That opened the door up for the #21 of High. I was way out of shape going into turn three, drifted high and into the greasy marbles. The car jumped completely sideways on me and Lundgreen hit my left front wheel. On the caution, the officials finally noticed my left front nerf bar was dragging on my tire. We had to pull in and they said I could not run without having the frame welded. I could not find a welder and my night was done. (I will point out that because of the new BMARA rules, I had to start this heat ahead of no less than three of the front running feature cars.)
Again, I had some great help this
week. I have to thank my
dad-Ken, Tom Dull, Bruce Zittleman & Mindy, Andy Jones of JJ Precision
Grinding, Joe LaMarca of North State Motors, my mom, Dusty & Andy Stehley,
Mike Swanson, Wes Carner, Dwight Steffan, Rick Imhoff, Mike and Tammy Hobson,
Midwest Motorsports Racers Auctions, EWT3DCNC, lia sohpia, JJ & Associates,
Fast Eddie's Lawncare, and the following businesses (located in Sun Prairie, WI)
Quiznos Subs, Patio Pleasures, and Pietro’s Pizza & Pasta; & JAMR
Racing Engines in Loves Park, IL.
It is very dispointing that I
have not been able to capitalize on all the help that I have received lately.
I ensure these supporters that as the week goes on, I will continue to
mechanically prepare the car and mentally and physically prepare myself for next
Sunday's races.
Date:
07-01-07
Track:
Division:
BADGER
Car:
2003 Stealth
Qualifying:
The car did not take off that well again, but I tried to utilize the
track and get some speed on the warm up lap.
I did lift the throttle on the first lap, but tried to run the right
line. On the second lap, I don’t
believe that I brought my foot up at all, even when I dove toward the bottom in
the corner-trying to pick up the moisture offered down there.
I have never felt so comfortable with the inside guardrail and thought
the lap would have been pretty good. Unfortunately,
we went out late and the track was not so good, resulting in a 16.2 second lap.
Quick time was a 15.0.
B-main:
Due to my lackluster time trial, started last.
The car did not take off well on the start.
Finally got a rhythm going and built up enough speed to power down the
back straight and under Dreher going into turn three.
I had enough speed that the car drifted up into the next lane and I
believe that
From Ken Dull: Top Ten Jason Dull Excuses for last week's 4th heat start
10.) Thought Pole Position referred to the fence poles around the outside of the track.
9.) Couldn't hear the officials on the radio because the Esslinger's were so loud.
8.) The lane markings were all covered up with dirt.
7.) Always liked the nick-name "High, wide, and handsome."
6.) Was actually trying to throw dirt on Les McBurney…come on, that's gotta be worth something!
5.) Wasn't present at the driver's meeting the night the starting procedure was voted on.
4.) Misinterpreted the part in the rule book where it says the guy on pole sets the pace for the field.
3.) Didn't want the wind from his car blowing the hat off the cock-eyed cowboy.
2.) He was being chased by Rick Imhoff.
1.) The flag man's seeing-eye dog had wandered on to the track.
Date: 07-08-07
Track:
Division: IRS
Car: 2003 Stealth
We arrived to the track as prepared as we could
be, but did have to make some changes to accommodate to the IRS rules as the
night went on. Thanks to the help of
my dad, Uncle Tom, Joe LaMarca of North State Motors,
Bruce & Mindy, Lavern Spencer and Joe Knippel, we were able to adjust
the car so that it did not feel bad.
From IRS: Using his 30 years
of midget experience, and a little help from lady luck, veteran driver Rich
Corson became the 44th driver to score a feature win in the Illini Midgets 16
year history. The win came at the Mike Adams, Sr. Memorial Race, presented by
D’Arcy GMC...at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. It was an unusual site
to see the familar #15 Corson/Savage car sitting in the pits with Mickey
Thompson’s on all four corners, but it was more than just the tires that had
to be changed to get car ready for it’s first outing with the Illini sportsman
Midgets, and this would be like taking a totally different car out on the
speedway. Doug Orseske would put the #0 car on the top of the timing charts on
this hottest race night of the year, turning a 16.273. Corson was the next car
out, turning 16.383 on the 1/3 mile oval, good enough for 2nd quick, and showing
what talent and experience can do with a totally new and different
set-up...Corson would pick up the 4 lap dash hardware, getting an early taste of
victory in his first time out on the track with other cars...The first Illini
Midget heat race looked like Corson’s luck was starting to change, as he was
black flagged for dumping fluid on the track. A problem that was later traced to
a faulty radiator cap, not a blown motor...Heat 2 saw Basil Hicks’ new car
come out on top with Mike Adams, Jr. second, and Milwaukee rookie Dan George
third. Eddie Sauer would drop out on lap 4 with problems that would end his
night, this after a great 2nd place finish at Angell Park recently. The 30 lap
feature unfolded like it was scripted by a drama teacher. Jason Dull, giving up
a night at Sun Prairie would start on the pole. Outside row one was Dan George,
enjoying his first night without his rookie flag. Row two inside finds Mike
Adams, Jr. Who could be more motivated to win this memorial race? Outside of row
two finds Basil Hicks, enjoying great promise with his new ride. Row three is
Loran Critchett, Jr. on the inside and Tom Schnabel outside. Critchett has
struggled so far this season and is overdue for a good finish, and Schnabel
seems to be having a good time aboard the car that won it’s first time out at
the Prairie. Orseske and Teer share row four, both looking for their first win
of the season, and both running well this night. In the fifth row, not one but
two veteran drivers who have shown their talents throughout the country, ASA
rookie Murphy and the old pro, Corson. The line-up was dramatic enough, but the
race showed why short track open wheel racing is the most entertaining there is.
Dull would lead the opening laps, until a mechanical gremlin forced him out on
lap 9, just two laps after Orseske took over the top spot...Corson would take
the lead on lap 10, but Teer drove around his high side to take over position
one the next lap. On lap 26, Lamont Critchett made the drive from his 11th
starting position up to 2nd place, also passing Corson on the top of the track.
Teer, Lamont Critchett, Corson and Orseske cross the stripe as the white flag
fell, but the finish would reflect something entirely different. With $1000 to
the winner on the line, you could almost read the drivers’ minds...Down the
backstraight with half a lap to go, Teer leads everybody into turn three, but
loses control in the middle of 3 and 4. Lamont has nowhere to go, but manages to
come to a stop without touching Teer. Caution is out, but down the front
straight Orseske’s car pops out of gear, and coasts to a stop. Critchett and
Orseske will be able to restart, but at the back of the pack. It would be a
green, white, checker finish, with Corson holding off Hicks, Adams, and Murphy.
No question Corson had some luck on his side this night, making the trophy dash
by just .012 seconds; only a radiator cap and not something more serious in his
heat; and getting passed cleanly by the two guys leading at the drop of the
white flag in the feature, only to come out on top when it was all said and
done; and to have all this happen at the race with the largest purse of the year
(so far). Somebody once told me, the more I do this, the luckier I get. Luck is
where preparation, experience, and opportunity all come together, and they all
gathered in the Corson/Savage team hauler on July 8th.
Time Trials
1. #0, Doug Orseske, Frankfor, IL, 16.273
2. #15, Rich Corson, Markham, IL, 16.383;
10. #82, Dan George, Milwaukee, WI, 16.722:
11. #56, Jason Dull, Machesney Park, IL, 16.725:
(No wonder George and I raced so close together-JD)
13. #74, Eddie Sauer, Davis, IL, 17.177:
Heat 2
1. Hicks, 2. Adams, 3. George, 4. Dull, 5. Smith, 6. Morey, 7. Rowe, 8.
Koerner, DNF, 9. Sauer, DNF
FEATURE RACE (30 LAPS)
1. Corson, 2. Hicks, 3. Adams, 4. Murphy, 5. Lo. Critchett, 6. La. Critchett, 7.
Orseske, 8. George, 9. Teer, 10. Morey, 11. Rowe, 12. Smith, DNF, 13. Gillis,
DNF, 14. Schnabel, DNF, 15. Dull, DNF, 16. Koerner, DNF, 17. Sauer, DNS, 18.
Bart, DNS, 19. Knippel, DNS
Date: 07-14-07
Track: Beaver Dam
Division: BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
Qualifying: The
track was in decent shape. Took
the green (Grand Prix style) behind Tim Noble, but he seemed to be caught
sleeping. I was faster than him at
that point and made my way underneath. The
yellow came out shortly after though and I let him back around and spread out
so we had room (Tim ended up 9th quick).
Under the green I was able to throw the car in real hard, maybe too
hard, and tried to come off without spinning the tires.
Had a decent time of 15.435. Quick time was
14.613. Not off as much as
we usually are.
Date:
07-15-07
Track:
Angell Park
Division:
BADGER
Car:
2003 Stealth
My
dad Ken and Uncle Tom helped prepare the car after Saturday night’s debacle
(minus approx. 6 laps that I ran good) at Beaver Dam (posted under the
“Racing Journal” section). We
owe a special thanks to Sun Prairie’s Bill Blumer for allowing us to use his
yard for our maintenance and cleaning efforts.
Date:
07-21-07
Track:
Macon
Division:
POWRi
Car: 2003 Stealth
Thanks
to the help of Bruce Zittleman, Andy Jones, Tom Dull, and the Stehely brothers
(especially to Drew for picking up Dusty), we got everything loaded up and
headed out on time. Duh and I stopped by Norm Schratz's to grab a few gear
sets (I reliezed the night before that I did not have a set I would want).
We met and picked up my Dad, and buddy Mike Cassatt; and also hit some
construction on the way down. I called and the POWRi officials drew for my
starting line-up. Missed the drivers' meeting, but had time to put the
desired gear set in and check the track out a little bit.
Hot Laps: We were in the last session. I noticed that the cars
coming off the track were not very muddy, and had Dusty drop the RR air pressure
down. I just tried to get used to the place and did not do anything
special.
Heat.: Was slated to start outside row two. At that time of the
night, no one was able to make the top work. The lower line was the way to
go. My start was ok, but I did not improve my position or anything.
Going down the backstraight, I let the cars in front of me increase their
distance. They got together and went for a
wild ride up the banking in turn three. I sat coming out of four, and
Bubba Altig left his car running for a longtime (for some reason) and the
exhaust was blowing right on me. After the lined us back up, I tried to
get a better start. The inside car and I made contact, and I spun.
FIFTH HEAT:
86-Justin Allgaier---------92-Brandon Wagner
114-Hud Cone------------5o-Joey Montgomery
67-Bubba Altig------------56q-Jason Dull
22-Kenny Biro------------15-Tim Siner
1. Justin Allgaier 2. Joey Montgomery 3. Bubba Altig 4. Kenny Biro 5. Jason Dull
6. Tim Siner 7. Brandon Wagner 8. Hud Cone
SEMI #1:
5-Patrick
Bruns------86c-Dave Camfield
11-Brett Anderson---56q-Jason Dull
36-Brad Paris--------15-Tim Siner
0-Kyle Wissmiller----6c-Corey Malone
41-Nick Lundgreen--92-Brandon Wagner
4-Kent Schimdt------12j-Jay Mounce
7-Austin Brown
1. Dave Camfield 2. Brett Anderson 3. Jason Dull 4. Kyle Wissmiller 5. Corey Malone 6. Brad Paris 7. Austin Brown 8. Kent Schimdt 9. Jay Mounce 10. Patrick Bruns 11. Brandon Wagner 12. Nick Lundgreen 13. Tim Siner
FEATURE:
(40 laps)
05-Brad
Loyet-----------17-Steve Knepper
31x-J.C. Bland-----------25-Nick Knepper
112-Brent Beauchamp--43nz-Brad Kuhn
69-A.J. Fike--------------86-Justin Allgaier
5o-Joey Montgomery----51-Mike Hess
87-Rich Camfield--------25m-Derek Myers
2-Thomas Messeraul----67-Bubba Altig
22-Kenny Biro-----------31-Donnie Lehmann
86c-Dave Camfield------20-Tony Stewart
11-Brett Anderson-------5d-Zach Daum
56q-Jason Dull-----------43-Bryan Stanfill
15-Tim Siner-------------1t-Tony Roney
1. A.J. Fike 2. Brad Kuhn 3. Derek Myers 4. Rich Camfield 5. Bubba Altig 6. Joey Montgomery 7. Mike Hess 8. Tony Roney 9. Brett Anderson 10. Zach Daum 11. Dave Camfield 12. J.C. Bland 13. Tony Stewart 14. Nick Knepper 15. Jason Dull 16. Steve Knepper 17. Donnie Lehmann 18. Justin Allgaier 19. Bryan Stanfill 20. Brent Beauchamp 21. Kenny Biro 22. Thomas Messeraul 23. Brad Loyet
Brad
Kuhn gave some chassis help! I actually got a rythm going late in the
A...after AJ Fike and Brad Kuhn lapped me (hopefully I didn't get in your
way)...we almost made it into the 10th car in line (not sure where they were
scoring us for sure)...kept getting caught up in all the accidents
though...but never really hit anything...
Anyway...we did drop down to 5 inches, moved the RR in about 1 inch, and
took a turn out of the LF before the A. After the first caution or so, I
turned the RR shock down even farther and tightened the LR. The car seemed to
grip pretty good. Would say that the track "took rubber".
Date:
07-28-07
Track:
Angell Park
Division:
BADGER
Car: 2003 Stealth
Hot
Laps: Tried a couple different things, including different off-set on the RF
and less stagger then other times. Had not raced at Sun Prairie the week
before and took awhile to get the right line figured out again. The car was
pushing real bad and the track was pretty greasy. Also, a bolt that keeps the steering gear in place, broke (I
tightened it during my nut-and-bolt check).
Qualifying:
Thanks to the help of my dad, Tom, and Dwight Steffan, we got the car
buttoned up in time to make our run. Did
not do very well again though. The
car seemed to still want to slide out in the center of the corners again. Only
qualified 16.2.
Heat:
Started on the pole inside of Brian Ramstack. I got the jump on him coming out
of turn four and slid in front by the flagstand. The car felt real good
through turn one and two, but Ramstack got the lead coming out of two. I
tucked in behind, but they finally threw the yellow down the backstretch. On
the second attempt, I did not have that bad of a start, but going into turn
three, I got sideways and changed lanes while straightening the car back out.
Mike Hess tried to take advantage and stuck his nose under me and we
made contact, causing him to spin. The yellow came out, and Chad DeSelle
flipped with Bubba Altig. It was a complete restart. We ran ok on that start,
but still got passed by Doug Schenk and Altig right away.
Hess got by shortly after, but we were still in the elusive fourth and
final transfer spot. After a few
laps though, I was up on the high side and got passed by Brian Ramstack.
Then, Kurt Mayhew showed his nose on the bottom.
I did not give him any room coming out of two and then took the lower
groove for the remainder of the race. I
knew that Kurt would not pass me on the outside.
Ended up fifth and was rewarded with a $50 gift certificate from
Behling for my efforts.
B-main:
Originally I lined up behind Rob Keelan, outside the third row.
I figured that he would take the high line, so my game plan was to go
to the bottom, and to try to get a run underneath him and the rest of the
field. Under the lengthy pace
laps, waiting for Jim Fuerst (who had flipped in his heat), the officials
directed Rob and I to trade positions. I
was now slated to start behind Robbie Ray, still outside, but in row two.
With only the front row in front of me, I figured going into the first
corner, that my choices would be less, and that I would just have to go
wherever they were not. The
initial start was waved off, due to Ray and fellow rookie Dan Mecum jumping
the start. On the second attempt,
I tried to hold Joe Wipperfurth-who started inside-down in the low groove.
He led me through turn one though, and I went in on the high side.
I really used up a lot of the racetrack, getting a good run on the
bottom, but flirting with the top as well-although Mecum was in that line and
not much faster. I settled in
more towards the lower groove, hoping to get under him.
That blocked the advancement of Kurt Mayhew momentarily, until I got a
good run back on the top. I held
him off for a couple laps, but I was thinking that he was letting his car get
pretty wide in the center of the corners (causing me a concern for my left
front) possibly, as retaliation for our just completed heat race battle.
While I settled into that higher line it opened the door for Kurt,
Keelan, and Luebke to power underneath. The
latter got around coming out of four, and upset me, as I had to lift to give
him room. My car did not seem to
slow much, as I stayed right on him into turn one though.
I then really got up high, and allowed Chris Hogestead to show his
nose. Fuerst stalled to bring out
the yellow mid race. I faked to
the high side of Luebke, but dove underneath (as he was running the top).
Hogestead flipped on the restart. Mayhew and Luebke were battling hard in front of me, and I
struggled to find a way around. I
could keep up, but couldn’t pass either of them.
Real late in the race, I was able to cut from the bottom, behind
Mayhew, up to the top, back in front of Luebke, to take the final transfer
spot! It was about the best pass
I have ever completed in a midget.
A-main: We made some final adjustments, but had to start at the back of the field (Luebke ended up making the show as an alternate anyway, as Danny Stratton broke). I resumed my battle with Mayhew and Luebke, again running a combination of lines-basically where they were not. A few laps in, we all got caught up in an incident with Keelan and Ramstack. My brakes had not been working as well as they should, since the Macon trip, and I just nudged into the pile-up. I would have been in a real good position if it were not for that. After the restart I did get hooked up real good with some LR drive and drove under Joel Wytenbach and Tim Noble. I got a really good run-again on the bottom-on another restart (for a stalled Bob Schreffler and Mayhew), and got by Mecum and (somehow) Joe Wipperfurth. Closed up on Aaron Fiscus, Matt Smith, and Brian Beauchamp (who ended up pulling off later), but my progression was slowed. Eventually Wipperfurth powered back around on the top and they began to show us the blue and gold flag (I actually was not sure if Joe was the leader or not). Not wanting to be in the way, I took a more conservative line. Davey Ray, the leader, finally lapped me a few laps latter. Some time later, Mike Hess, Bubba Altig, Brad Kuhn, Nick Lundgreen, and Brandon Wealti all went around. Towards the end of the race, I ran out of talent, and tagged the inside gaurdrail. I had not been afraid of getting close to it through-out the night, but it finally bit me. The left front end of the axle got bent, too. With only three laps to go, Davey broke, and the yellow came out. I was set to restart sixth in line, and was ok with that (It is my opinion that no racing organization should allow lapped cars to restart between the leaders, and I have gone to the back before, but this time it would have cost me a bunch of spots). When the green came out, Tim Noble got up behind the leaders and “Drove his Ass off” to pass me late, although I did not allow any other cars or leaders around. Ranked 12th, again knocking on the door of a top ten finish (which would be my highest midget result) but falling short late.
| QUAL | HT 1 | B-FT | A-FT | ||||||
| 1 | 67x | ALTIG | 14.990 | 1 | B.WAELTI | 1 | R.RAY | 1 | HESS |
| 2 | 43NZ | KUHN | 15.013 | 2 | SMITH | 2 | KEELAN | 2 | ALTIG |
| 3 | 33 | D.RAY | 15.015 | 3 | NOBLE | 3 | WIPPERFURTH | 3 | LUNDGREEN |
| 4 | 3 | B.WAELTI | 15.105 | 4 | WYTTENBACH | 4 | MECUM | 4 | KUHN |
| 5 | 19 | SCHENCK | 15.113 | 5 | LUEBKE | 5 | MAYHEW | 5 | B.WAELTI |
| 6 | 8 | PICKENS | 15.304 | HT 2 | 6 | DULL | 6 | SCHENCK | |
| 7 | 8M | MECUM | 15.355 | 1 | D.RAY | 7 | LUEBKE | 7 | SMITH |
| 8 | 13 | SMITH | 15.371 | 2 | FISCUS | 8 | L.WAELTI | 8 | WIPPERFURTH |
| 9 | 44 | HESS | 15.407 | 3 | STRATTON | 9 | HOEGSTED | 9 | FISCUS |
| 10 | 41 | LUNDGREEN | 15.417 | 4 | SHREFFLER | 10 | FUERST | 10 | R.RAY |
| 11 | 2 | STRATTON | 15.455 | 5 | R.RAY | 11 | NOBLE | ||
| 12 | 17 | KEELAN | 15.460 | HT 3 | 12 | DULL | |||
| 13 | 6 | DESELLE | 15.481 | 1 | KUHN | 13 | SHREFFLER | ||
| 14 | 4 | WIPPERFURTH | 15.509 | 2 | BEAUCHAMP | 14 | MECUM | ||
| 15 | 3R | R.RAY | 15.556 | 3 | PICKENS | 15 | WYTTENBACH | ||
| 16 | 9 | NOBLE | 15.570 | 4 | LUNDGREEN | 16 | D.RAY | ||
| 17 | 21K | MAYHEW | 15.574 | 5 | HOEGSTED | 17 | PICKENS | ||
| 18 | 28 | FUERST | 15.656 | HT 4 | 18 | BEAUCHAMP | |||
| 19 | 7 | FISCUS | 15.659 | 1 | SCHENCK | 19 | MAYHEW | ||
| 20 | 67 | LUEBKE | 15.696 | 2 | HESS | 20 | RAMSTACK | ||
| 21 | 02 | RAMSTCK | 15.704 | 3 | ALTIG | 21 | KEELAN | ||
| 22 | 112 | BEUCHAMP | 15.731 | 4 | RAMSTACK | 22 | LUEBKE | ||
| 23 | 21S | SHREFFLER | 15.951 | 5 | DULL | ||||
| 24 | 38 | WYTTENBACH | 16.087 | ||||||
| 25 | 56 | DULL | 16.223 | ||||||
| 26 | 97 | HOEGSTED | 16.398 | ||||||
| 27 | 7X | L.WAELTI | 17.410 | ||||||
| 28 | 15 | HATTON | NT |
Division: Spectator Drags
Track:
Rockford Speedway
Car: 2006 Aveo
Date: 08-01-07
Although I have not "blogged" about my recent midget races-how I like to-here is a report from Wednesday's Spectator drag at Rockford: With my schedule the way it is this week, I was making the race night trophies almost as the particular events were coming out. On one of my frequent delivery trips, I heard that they only had two cars signed up for the spec drags. I told the announcer/promoter Greg McKarns that if he needed an Aveo, to call me. He told me to go ahead and enter it. As the races were still a few minutes away, I went back to the Trophy Room to attempt to finish the night’s events. As I have only owned this new car for less then a year, I did contemplate my participation. I finally decided that if I could get the trophies I needed done before the event, I would enter (the tires are already worn out-can't understand why they only last 16,000 miles-and since I had to go that way to deliver the trophies anyway…). Motivated, I finished in time to head towards the pits and sign-up. I barely got back in my car before we pulled out on the track (just the way I would have it...no waiting). As we drove out, I was trying to secure all the papers, and misc I had accumulated in it over the week. Before lining-up, I had one of the workers remove the freshly assembled trophies from the car. Through-out the process, I was reminded that my mirrors flip back on the car. I thought I should kick them back to avoid the air resistance, but decided this effort would entertain the crowd much more if I did it after lining up for my first race, especially wearing a red long sleeve "racing" jacket that happened to be among the contents in the four-cylinder sub compact. Surprisingly, I beat the first opponent (who I believe was also a Speedway employee, driving a Cavalier) off the line. I was fearful that they would charge back, so I cut to the low lane-without mirrors-going down the frontstreach. Actually, I should have made it look like a better race, but I did not want to lose. The second round, I started on the inside and beat a mini-van handily. The final round was between last week's "winner" (who was disqualified for being involved in a wreck) and I. I had to start on the outside, but his Eagle Talon had me covered. I did get the inside starting spot in the “best of three” event. He must have had some concern, as last week he put on more of a show-starting backwards, giving up a few car lengths, etc. This was a heads-up race. I’m not sure if he was entertaining the crowd or not, but we were not bad going into turn four (the second time around is the opposite, turning right on the oval). I did not give him any room coming out of three, but he pulled away going down the backstretch. I then decided, due to the smells and sounds coming from the car (although it still does have a GM warranty), to take it easy into turn two and let him go.
Date: 08-05-07
Track: Sun Prairie
Division: BMARA
Car: 2003 Stealth
I was looking forward to running Wilmot the night before, but it was rained out. Since the car was ready, we just made the quick few changes and had it ready to go for Sun Prairie. The precipitation had hit that area hard as well though, and the track was very moist. Wes Carner suggested a stiffer right rear bar to compensate for the possible rougher conditions. Dwight Steffan helped my Uncle Tom and me to select a different gear then what we had run the week previous. Qualifying was cancelled, due to the track conditions. Instead we had to participate in lengthy track packing sessions.
Hot Laps: I only got a few laps in, as I noticed that it sounded like a broken exhaust pipe. The yellow came out early in the session, and my suspicions were confirmed. I did drive it into the pits, figured any damage was already done, so we could try to get the spare one mounted. Thanks to my dad, Tom, Joe LaMarca of North State Motors, and Dwight, we did actually make the swap before the first heat, although we had to uncharacteristically work through the National Anthem. Dwight tried to stay on top of the rear tire stagger situation and we raised the rear of the car to compensate for the spare exhaust, which hangs below the frame.
Heat: Started inside row two-the races were lined up by a draw instead of the normal time trial invert. As I was basically all over the place, the event turned into more of a hot lap session for me, since we had missed most of the practice. It was a despicable run. Not at all close to being competitive.
B-main: Dwight and I took a little stagger out of the car and raised the front of the car about ½ inch, since the track was drying a little bit. Although we took a turn out of the RR, we left the stiffer rear bar in (due to the header issue, the rear-end was basically raised two turns across the rear to compensate). We kept the gear from the beginning of the night in. Started this race in the 10th position.