First Mod Race of the Year

First race of the year -

The first race of the year is always exciting and nerve-racking. It was also exciting to get back to Waterford Speedbowl with the MRS. Last time we were at Waterford with the mod, we were off, so I was ready to get back and show speed.

We were able to get through tech and get tires with no issues. It’s always nice when that goes easy and helps get the day started. My nerves were still high as we began to practice though. The nerves of making sure everything is right and will stay together.

In the first practice - we were okay, but not great. A little snug in, but super loose off. We made some changes to help the loose-off, but it made the car super tight in the middle now and it just was not turning. This led us to put everything back and make a different change to help the car turn in the middle for the 2nd practice. Unfortunately, during the 2nd practice the RR tire was losing air and by lap 2 the RR tire let go sending me for the spin cycle. Luckily, I was able to get it locked down just in time. We just got the wall with the front bumper. Just a scratch and no damage. Though this left us with almost no laps to know if the change helped. It did feel like it did, but it was onto the heat race.

As a team, we decided to keep the change we made and to see how it takes on new tires. From there we will be able to make changes for the feature. We started 3rd in the heat, I got a good start and pushed the 14 down the straight away. This helped me get clear into 2nd position going into turn 1. The car turned really good through the middle. It was a lot better than practice, but I could feel the car being loose off, so I rode in 2nd place for the whole race. The 24 looked for the position a few times, but by staying smooth, and consistent I was able to hold him off and stay there. 

With the good heat race finish this put us starting 5th in the feature. However, I still struggled with drive off and we needed to work on that. We added some wedge to the car and made another change to try to help that. We had a good start, but I could tell pretty quickly I was still struggling with drive-off. As the race went on, I could feel it getting looser and looser off. We just struggled with drive off. We fell back but held on for all 75 laps. We rode around 10th to 12th all race. We just had nothing to move up from there. We had a close call on lap 50 but were able to get it locked down and saved the car. After several restarts, we kept hanging on, but just couldn’t get better. The car stayed consistent, but consistently loose the whole race. However, I kept the car in one piece for all 75 laps and brought it home P12. Not our best finish, we have a lot to build off.

We already have things to work on to make it better. The car was solid but just lacked the drive it needed to make it competitive. We had the power in the motor! But couldn’t get it to the ground. So, on to the next one! I cannot thank all my sponsors enough for making this season happy. NH Oil Undercoating, Skilled Trades Partners, GRE6, Ashaway Performance Engines, Fubar Studio, and Track Day for Veterans.

Our next race is with the Nema Midget at Waterford on May 25th. I spent the day Wednesday at Circle Performance working with John on the motor. Picked it up today and it will be going in soon. Excited to have better luck with that. The mod's next race is scheduled right now for June 22nd, BUT,  that may change! Stay tuned as things develop.