SRL at Madera Speedway
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July 16, 2016 - A podium finish was the goal, however, after a challenging two days Buddy put on an impressive eighth place finish wheeling an ill handling hot rod.
Buddy and his team worked their hearts out to give Buddy a competitive H&M MOTORSPORTS, HALL AMBULANCE, D'ANGELOS, AXALTA hot rod during the SRL Friday night practice at Madera Speedway. A few mechanical issues robbed them of most the practice assigned for the class. However his team was able to overcome the challenges and get him out for a session at the very end of the last practice.
They had a lot of work to do when they returned on race day. With only one 40 minute practice session before qualifying, they got a little closer figuring out what Buddy's hot rod needed to be a qualifying contender. Unfortunately, Buddy's hot rod was still not handling well and ended up eleventh on his qualifying attempt.
Disappointing as qualifying was, the team decided the only way to be competitive for the 125 lap race was to pull the hot rod from qualifying impound, bring her into the pits, and get some handling in her.
Buddy started the race at the rear of the field, he had to relinquish his eleventh place starting position since they pulled the car from qualifying impound. Buddy still unhappy with the handling, opted to come into the hot pit for some quick adjustments on the first and ONLY yellow very early in the race. Unfortunately, too much of a good thing was a bad thing. Starting at the rear of the field again, Buddy had to wheel an over the top loose hot rod for the remainder of the race (110+ laps!).
She was a handful, but with his dirt racing experience and his coach Charles Spangler at Crossfit661, he was able to focus and wheel his hot rod to a sweaty, but not exhausting eighth place finish. Buddy said that was the most challenging and toughest handling car he has ever driven!
Buddy's so proud of his team, they continued to dig even though it looked dim. Racing a limited SRL schedule, Buddy and his team look forward to competing in the next SRL race at Kern County Raceway in October and plan to make his hot rod a rocket ship!
Next Race: July 23, 2016 @ Kern County Raceway Park, Late Model Division.
Race On!!!