Results 2010 Season
7/3/10 Montpelier Speedway
After a long week of repairs to the rear end to fix the brake caliper we were ready to go. The car felt pretty good in practice and was pumped for our 1st place starting spot for the heat. The car was great and we were able to get out front and lead. I almost screwed up the heat race on the restart and had a big challenge from Stickels and Jason Goff but we were able to hold them off and pull away for our first win of my carreer. Feeling pretty good for the feature because our car was great and starting on the pole. However, it was short lived with vetrans like Combs and Goff all around us. We ran 5th for most of the race and with the spin of Robbie with a few laps to go bunched the field up. Running 4th and was just trying to finish strong, which opened the door for Kellen Conover who had tracked us down from his 14th starting spot driving my 18 car. Kellen was able to get passed us with 1 to go. Coming home with a 5th place finish behind those drivers feels real good! We were close to having all 3 cars in the top 10 until a broken driveline side lined th 16 car. We have moved to 5th in series points.
6/26/10 Rushville Nationals
Once again we were good off of the trailer and ran some great laps in practice. Determined not to screw up in qualifications we pushed off and qualified 5th quick. Starting 8th in the heat we had to get to 5th in order to get our time back for the feature and were successfull in getting that accomplished. Starting 8th for the feature, we were in much better shape than last night. We had moved to 4th before our brake caliper problem showed its ugly face again. We lost brakes on lap 4 when Brandon rolled his car in turn 1. Once we went back to racing we had to maintain a safe distance around us. We gave up 2 spots just after going back green but was able to maintain 6th for the rest of the race.
6/25/10 Rushville Nationals
We started off pretty good in practice and was feeling pretty good for qualifications. Driver error cost us for the feature. The good news was we started up front for the heat. After a few minor changes we were ready for the heat. We were able to lead several laps untill I hooked a rut and had to get out of the throttle and Scott was able to get under me. Unfortunately, our 2nd place run would not help our starting spot for the feature. Starting 17th ment we had alot of work to do. The car was real good early on the outside and were able to pick off several cars. When the checkerd flag fell we had managed to get to 7th. Car in one piece we were ready for night 2.
6/19/10 Mt.Lawn
After fighting fuel injection all week, we were pretty sure we were close to getting it right. Thanks to Travis Welpott for all of his time. In practice we ran some pretty good laps. Our gear choice for Qualifying was not a good one. The night just continued to go downhill from there. We lost brakes in the heat race and hit the wall in turn 4. We were able to continue but was slower. We thought we had fixed everything but missed our broken brake caliper. It finally gave way and I got Robbie Roland upsidedown in turn 4. We were able to nurse the car home to a 8th place finish.
6/6/10 Rushville Fairgrounds
The last week wasnt much of a break!! We had to rebuild the 18 car's engine and reset the fuel injection on the 17 car. Mother nature tried but was unsuccessfull in her efforts to dampen Rushville. We had a decent car in qualifying but I failed to keep up with the quickly changing track conditions. We were terrible in the heat race. Our poor efforts in the heat put us deep in the field for the feature starting 17th. Nowhere to go but forward! Our massive changes worked very well and has a good car during the feature. We were fortunate to get a few timely cautions which helped keep the cars in front of me together as I continued to work, I finally found a good line for the car at about half way and started to move up. I managed a 7th place finish for our efforts. That is out 3rd 7th place finish in 4 races. I look forward to improving on that Saturday night at Anderson.
5/23/10 Kokomo Speedway
Sunday night was just one of those nights that we just were not fast at all!!!! We struggled with set-up in hot laps and the heat race and finally got the car where it was getting faster in the main untill the panard bar bolt backed out. We still haven't dailed in the fuel injection just yet but still working hard to get it perfect. Travis Welpott drove the 18car to a 9th place finish and helped us dail in the car for Ryan. We will take a week off for a much needed break and prepare for Rushville.
5/15/10 Brownstown Speedway
After a quick turn around on the cars we were off to Brownstown. Hot laps car was ok. After a few changes for the heat the car was better and ran 4th . With the track loosing most of its grip as the night went on we all were anticipating a hard slick track for the feature. Mother nature decided to step in and give us a good soaking and destroy all of our setups. Tim and his staff worked for 2hrs to finish the races on Saturday night. We backed out of most of the changes we made before the rain fell. The car was slightly tight at the start but was real good later in the race. We were able to finish 7th again.
Ryan had a great night in the 18 car! Highest finishing Rookie. Ryan is starting to feel much better in the car and looking forward to getting more seat time. Scotty's bad luck continued in the 16 car. Friday it was a loose fuel fitting that cut his night short and Saturday he got caught up in a spin and smashed the right side nerf onto the right rear ending his night.
5/14/10 Bloomington Speedway
Its always nice to run in your hometown and even better when your hometown has a track as great as Bloomington Speedway. Thank you to Mike and his entire staff for a great evening! Our car was great in practice and we were really excited about our heat race. Unfortunately, we didn't tighten the car up enough and struggled for bite and ran 5th in our heat. We started 12th for the feature and were able to climb our way to 7th. We had a little trouble with fuel injection on the restarts and hope to have that problem fixed. The changes we made for the feature were in the right direction just not enough to make the car stick like we needed it to. It was a good points night and we learned more about our new setup that we will be able to carry forward. We are off to Brownstown tomorrow night.
5/8/2010 Montpelier Speedway
We finally made it!!!! After working all night to get the final touches on the car it was great to see everyone and smell methanol in the air. The car ran great in practice just loose off. Our draw started us on the front row of the 1st heat. We had a great start and lead the entire race up to the white flag lap. Even with the changes we were still loose off of the corners and had a little help on exit which got us turned around onto the left side and over we went. The car was ok no major damage just new rear bars. It was unfortunate for us we had a great run going with plenty of adjustments to be made for the feature to better the car. Would have been nice to start the year off with a win as a reward for all the long garage hours over the winter. Special thank you to Mike Manifold for his help all winter and during the race. Thank you! There was only one place in Indiana with rain in the sky and we were there. Hats off to the track crew at Montpelier they had it ready to go after the first rain and then the second one came and ended our night. We will make up the feature later this month. Should be fun coming from the tail.
Results 2009 Season
9/18/09 Mt.Lawn Speedway
With only a 3 point advantage keeping us in the top ten in series points we knew we had to be on our game if we wanted to finish there. The first practice session picked up right where we left off at Mt.Lawn loose off! We gained a little on the setup for qualifying and managed to qualify 10th. As the line ups were posted we drew inside 2nd row of the 1st heat. We ran 3rd the entire heat race until Brandon Gray was able to get the spot on the final lap, sliding us back to 4th . With the feature line-up posted our 3rd starting spot was would definitely help us in points. With Robbie’s great qualifying run and his 3rd place heat finish we found ourselves trailing by 5 points to start the feature. Our game plan was to conserve our car for the first 30 laps and race the final 20 laps. The whole night we fought our loose condition and the feature was no different. We just couldn’t adjust enough to tighten the car up on exit. Our 8th place finish was enough to make up the 5 points we were down prior to the start of the feature. At the end of the night we tied for the 10th spot in points. Finishing 10th was one of my preseason goals I had set and was extremely happy to reach this goal with all the talented drivers of the UMRA.
9/12/2009 Greensburg, In
We had made several changes on our dirt set up and were really confident in the car going into Saturday night. Maybe a little too confident, our luck has not been good atGreensburg since we started last season. I couldn’t wait till hot laps to see how the car was going to react to the changes. The car was almost perfect!!! The only thing it needed was a gear change. Hats off to the track crew, Greensburg was the best it has ever been. We drew a great starting spot for the 3rd heat inside row 2. I wish the driver had been as good as the car!! I had a major STUPID move that tore up a great car for the evening. When I had stated earlier in the evening Greensburg owed me that was not what I had in mind!! I over drove turn one and hopped over the left rear which got us air borne and on our way to a tore up race car. After several barrel rolls we finally came to a stop on our lid. The only straight thing on the front end was the left front shock!! There were so many guys that I owe a huge thanks to for getting us back together for the feature. Mike Manifold, Jonathan Steed, Rod Armes, Jeff McCloud and Steven Armes. I’m sure there were more people that helped out and offered, Thank You!!!! We were able to make the feature and pick up our points, money and advertise for our sponsor who was present J2LR. It will be a tough chore holding onto 10th spot Robbie was great at Greensburg and is always fast on pavement. Only 50 laps remain this season and with only 3 points cushion it will be a great shoot out Friday night at Mt.Lawn..
The 18 car struggled with fuel injection problems but with the great help from Tom Vest we were able to get it close. For the first night out in a new car Scotty looked good. We will get the fuel closer Friday night in the first practice where he can get some better seat time.
8/30/2009Indianapolis Speedrome
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome place to race!!!! I hope that we are able to race there again as part of our pavement schedule. After practice we were fast but there was plenty of room for improvement. We made several changes thanks to the help Scott Baue! We had another great qualifying run of 6th less than .2 sec off of the new track record set by Brent Turner. We were starting 4th in the 2nd heat and were running 3rd until we got hit and dropped us back to 6th which is where we finished. We still were fighting a loose off condition. After another round of changes were starting 12th for the feature and feeling real good about a top 5 finish. We were able to get to 10th pretty easy and were just riding not abusing anything to make sure we were strong at the end. Some time between lap 11 and 15 our rear brake caliper broke off again! Unfortunately we didn’t know the brake caliper was gone until Brandon Gray was pulling in due to some steering problems on the exit of turn 2 and we couldn’t get stopped. After that we were just riding around staying out of everyone’s way collecting valuable points. It was a shame because we had a top 5 car and it was a great track to race on. We were able to maintain our 10th spot in the points but lost a little ground on 9th but still within our reach with 2 races to go. We are running again Saturday night at Decatur County Fair Grounds September 12. This event is slated as a fan appreciation night and we will have the 600 Micro sprints racing as well.
8/29/2009 Mt.Lawn Speedway
After making significant gains last time out on pavement we had high expectations for this evening! After the 1st practice session we were still fighting our loose on exit condition that plagued last time out. The 2nd practice session showed more improvement and tightened the car up on exit. We were hoping the last set of changes would help us for qualifying and it did!!!! We had our best qualifying effort on pavement to date 6th. The downside of qualifying well is a poor starting spot for the heat. Starting on the tail in the 3rd heat left us plenty of room for improvement. We were much faster than our finishing spot but was unable to cleanly get bye a few cars and had to settle for a 6th place heat finish. However, the good news for a good qualifying run is a good starting spot in the feature. We were able to maintain our spot and but not able to make any ground on the leaders and were able to finish 6th. Another top 10 finish our 5th in a row. Thank you to all the fans that was able to make it out for fan appreciation night atMt. Lawn. We all had a great time!!!!
8/15/2009 Mt.Lawn Speedway
We were looking for our 4th straight top ten finish in as many races as we were unloading at Mt.Lawn Saturday afternoon. We needed another strong run Saturday night to meet a preseason goal of a top 10 in points. Sitting 36 points back of 10th spot held by Robbie Roland who is always tough on pavement, we knew our work would not be easy. The first practice session held promise for a good night but some incorrect adjustments for the second session took us in the wrong direction. We went from a loose condition on entry and exit in the 1st session to zero bite exit in the second session. After making a few more adjustment, trying to get our forward bite back still left us loose for qualifying. Qualifying 15th fastest would put us deep in the field for the feature. After making some drastic air pressure adjustments on the rear tires we were hoping that would tighten up the car on entry. Starting on the outside of the front row in the 3rd heat we would soon find out. The car was pretty great on entry and in the middle but still was lacking the forward bite I like. We were able to finish 3rd just behind Jason Goff and Trent Henderson. Even with a good finish of 3rd in the heat we were still going to start 15th in the feature as a result of our poor qualifying efforts. A few adjustments just before the feature held promise that our forward bite problem would be solved. As the green flag flew we were able to get a great start and gain several spots. The final adjustments helped tremendously but we should have made that adjustment a little bigger and the car would have been perfect. We slowly moved up and had a great battle with Ron Combs late in the race. A final caution bunched us back up for a 5 lap shootout and the veteran was able to get back bye and take the 5th spot, leaving us with a hard earned 6th place finish for the night. In the big picture we were able to move into 10th place by a mere 10 points over Robbie Roland. The 10th spot will be short lived!!! We will be unable to be atNorth Vernon Saturday night due to prior commitments. We are praying for rain!!!!! See everyone back at Mt.Lawn on the 29th.
8/2/2009 Kokomo Speedway
After a week off it was great to get back in the car at another one ofIndiana’s premier race tracks. We unloaded and were real good in practice coming in 5th fastest of the 21 UMRA midgets in competition Sunday night. Our momentum was quickly halted in the heat race. Starting 4th we got tangled up with Terry Goff and spun and the car came around and got on the left side and over we went. We were very fortunate that the car didn’t sustain any damage. The bad news was we didn’t get to see if the changes we made for the heat were correct and we were going to start on the tail of the feature. Starting the feature in 19th position we had a long way to go!!! Our car was real good early which allowed us to get closer to the front pretty quick. The track was going away very fast and we struggled with the adjustments. As the laps winded down our forward charge stalled out and we ended up 10th. For our 9 position improvement we earned the G&G Oil Hard charger award for the 2nd time this season. We also received a gift certificate to the Dutch Mill Buffet in Milroy, In.. Thank you to both G&G Oil and Dutch Mill for all of the support of the UMRA. See everyone at Mt. Lawn.
7/17/2009 Gas City
Another great night of racing for the UMRA TQ midgets at Gas City. As usual facility was in awesome condition for racing. We were hoping to continue our streak of no mechanical problems for the second straight week. With all of my crew members absent this week it wouldn’t have taken much of a problem to knock us out. Thank you to the Roland’s and Tony Keith for their help getting me to the shoot. The car was very stable but needed more forward bite on exit during practice. After making a few adjustments we were ready for the heat race. Starting 6th in the first heat race our work was going to be cut out if we were going to get a good starting spot for the feature. We were able to get up to 4th after one lap and then 2nd after Oogie Goff bicycled in turn 1 by lap 3. Our sights were set on the 68 of Wayne Harpring. We were able to get to him but not able to pass him at the line. Thanks to a great pill draw we were going to start the feature from the pole. We made a few changes to loosen the car up for the feature in anticipation of the track staying tacky. At the drop of the green flag we were able to get the lead and run out front till lap 5 when Bobby Walton was able to take advantage of our extremely tight race car. After dropping back to 4th we got in a rhythm and were able to keep pace and gain on the leaders a little until the only caution of the night came out. Once we went back to green we were unable to get the groove back and ended up 6th. It was a great night for or sponsors and our point’s position. Were trying to fight our way back into the top 10 in points. Coming off of 2 straight top tens we are looking forward to Kokomo on Aug 3rd.
7/10/2009Bloomington Speedway
What an awesome facility!!!! Thank you to everyone at Bloomington Speedway for a great race track. I would also like to thank Woods Electrical Contractors Inc for sponsoring last night’s event at Bloomington.
After working all week to get the motor rebuilt and back in the car from Rushville last week. Kenny Miller worked his tail off getting the engine rebuilt for Bloomington. We drew a great pill for the heat race putting us on the pole for the second heat race. We ran second till half way when the handling started to fade. The car kept getting tighter as the heat race progressed. After falling to fourth, coming to take the white flag we hooked a rut the pointed us to the front stretch guard rail. We got extremely lucky and were able only to brush the wall. That sixth place finish would put us on the tail for the feature. After making a few adjustment to loosen the car up we were ready for the feature. We were able to start moving forward at the drop of the green flag. A few timely cautions helped bunch the field up as we worked thru traffic. Just past halfway the track came to us and the car was great. The last caution came with about 5 laps to go and we were sitting 11th. As we went back to green we dropped back to 12th but quickly were able to get that spot back and a few more. We crossed the start finish under the checkered flag in 9th spot. After several weeks of bad luck it was nice not to have mechanical problems during the night. See everyone at Greensburg.
7/3/2009 Rushville, In
After a week full of hard work replacing a head gasket from last weekend we were ready for Rushville again. After a few chassis adjustments last week that posted good results we were excited for Friday night. We were first out for qualifying and ran a great lap. Only to be beat by series points champion Terry Goff and last years Rookie of the year Brent Turner. We were really excited for our first trophy dash. Starting outside the front row for the dash was short lived!! Before we even could take the green flag we broke the crank in the motor which ended our night that looked to have a lot of promise to it. We will have it back together forBloomington.
6/26 & 6/27 Rushville,In
The Rushville weekend was good as compared to the past weekends. We had no major problems and were able to focus on chassis setup both nights. We were able to learn quite a bit about the car. Friday night yielded a 13th place finish. We were faster than the few cars in front of us but were not able to get bye them. Saturday night we started much deeper in the field 20th for the feature. We got to 15th but had to spin to keep from hitting a flipping Becky Brown. We restarted on the tail and worked back to 15th as the checkered flag flew. Our 5 place improvement won us the Hard Charger Award for the night. Starting deep in the field is a major disadvantage at Rushville, we have got to qualify better to start closer to the front. With what we learned this week next week should be good.
06/20/2009Anderson Speedway
Unfortunately the night was too short. The car was really great during practice right up until the driveline broke. We snapped another yoke at the firewall. The car is already apart and waiting on parts we will be ready for the weekend at Rushville.
Mt.Lawn Speedway 6/13/2009
We unloaded pretty good and was faster in hot laps than we had ever been on pavement picking up .70 seconds from last season.. After hot laps we broke a rear brake caliper bolt which caused us to miss the 2nd practice session. We were able to drill the bolt out and make a few changes and qualify 14th which was slower in qualifying than we were in hot laps. We started outside front row in the second heat and were able to lead our first laps in competition. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Brent Turner was able to run me down and take over the lead on lap 2. Just after he took the lead we started loosing brakes!!!! Not a good thing on pavement. That allowed Becky and Scott to get bye and drop me to fourth. Sure enough we broke another brake caliper bolt. Again, we were able to drill it out and replace the rear rotor thinking that might be the problem. We started the feature 14th and was able to move up a few spots and was following Travis Welpott. We were not able to gain on him but we were able to maintain the distance and learn from following. Zach and I had a great battle for a few laps swapping back and forth until he got the best of me as my brakes started going away. Then my right foot got hot for a brief second!!!!! A few laps later my foot got real hot! Hot enough that I had to get out of the gas and pull my foot back. That allowed a few cars to get buy. Just after taking the white flag my foot was definitely burned. Somehow oil had penetrated the fire wall and burned my foot. We were able to finish 12th our highest finish on pavement yet. The other positive note was we ran our fastest laps in the feature. We will get our brake problem fixed and be ready for Anderson on Saturday night. A Special thanks to the Derrickson’s for all of their help Saturday night. My normal crew guys were unable to make it and Roger filled in and did an excellent job, even though we worked our tails off chasing the brakes.
Rushville, In June 7, 2009
The night started with such promise! We were great in hot laps and were looking forward to qualifications. Just after taking the green flag on lap one exiting turn two we broke the driveline! We spent all evening repairing the drive line which involved pulling the engine and rear end and rebuilding the universal joint. My crew worked there tail off getting everything put back together. Stephen, Chris Paul (North American Race Gear) and Scott (Leaders Edge) made it all possible. We made it to the front stretch as driver introductions has already started. We rolled off 24 and gained a few spots up until Bobby and I went for the same spot at the same time. I got the worst of it, cutting down the right front. We held on to run till lap 18 when we lost oil pressure and finished 20th. With all that happened just being able to get the car in the feature for my sponsors was fantastic. We will get everything ready to go forMt. Lawn next Saturday night.
Thank you to all the Micro’s that showed up and put on a great show.
I69 Speedway Gas City, Indiana 5/29/2009
Thank you to all the track personnel for all there hard work fighting thru the rain shower that tried to dampen a great night of racing. The track was a little greasy during hot laps but was great for the heat races. Unfortunately, we were way too tight thru the center to keep any momentum going during the heat race and finished 5th. That finish in the heat race started us 19th for the feature. We were able to get a good start and move forward with some timely cautions we were able to got to 8th just a the red came out for John Shrewbrooks ( John was uninjured). That red flag was not what we needed, it allowed the tires to cool off and we fell back to 11th. We were able to catch up to the 10 but not enough time to get bye them.
Brownstown 5/2/2009
Happy 79th Birthday Grandpa!!!
Mother Nature sparedSouthern Indiana and allowed the UMRA to kick the season off at Brownstown Speedway. We started 4th in the second heat and struggled getting the car to turn in the center and lacked forward bite. A 5th place finish was all we could get out of car. After multiple changes across the front and a slight brake problem we were ready to start the feature event, rolling off 13th we had a long way to go to get to the front. A few false starts delayed the start of the feature but once we went green we ran all 20 laps without a caution. Our car really came to life about halfway thru. A caution would have been great to bunch up the field and to give us a chance to move up a few spots however, a 7th place finish on opening night is a good start for the 2009 season. Congrats to Brent Turner on the feature win!!!!!
I have to thank my great sponsors! Lineal Contracting, Shaw Securities, North American Race Gear, Accounting Concepts, J2LR General Contractors, Woods Electric, Victory Lane Oil Change and Leaders Edge. I am so honored to have the support of these companies for my team. These companies support racing and need our support also. See you at Greensburg.
POS DRIVER PTS POS CAR# OWNER PTS 1. Terry Goff 2626 1. 1 Terry Goff 2590 2. Patrick Wolf 2338 2. 90 Melvin Wolf 2338 3. Brent Turner R 2163 3. 72 Oogie Goff 2181 4. Tate Martz 2149 4. 19 Oogie Goff 2163 5. Bobby Walton 2058 5. 22 Roger Ramsey 2149 6. Oogie Goff 2051 6. 20 Tony Stewart 2040 7. Ron Combs 2040 7. 26 Bobby Walton 1971 8. Robbie Roland 1833 8. 96 Oogie Goff 1929 9. Travis Stickels 1791 9. 78 Doug Roland 1833 10. Zach Cougill 1790 10. 87 Travis Stickels 1791 11. Scott Petry 1776 11. 92 Billy Reeves 1790 12. Brandon Gray 1642 12. 11 Brad Gray 1721 13. Trent Henderson 1634 13. 77 Tom Sanders 1634 14. Doug Roland 1531 14. 80 George Roland 1531 15. Jason Vest 1276 15. 14 Susand Sanders 1301 16. Jason Willis 1267 16. 33 Tommy Vest 1276 17. Jeremy Rainwater 1262 17. 13 Fred Klause 1262 18. Michael Koontz R 1232 18. 17 Michael Koontz 1232 19. Tyler Garrity R 1179 19. 25b Wayne Willis 1179 20. Kyle Lux 1079 35 Richard Garrity 1179 21. Travis Welpott 1039 21. 29m Bob McClure 1079 22. Chris Mann 1013 22. 53 Becky Brown 1009 23. Ron Hamm 741 23. 7 John Shewbrooks 849 24. Becky Brown 737 24. 10 Ron Hamm 779 25. John Shewbrooks 640 25. 16 Scott Brannin 651 26. AJ Nigh 627 26. 97 AJ Nigh 627 27. Aaron Schutt R 613 27. 15 Darin Schutt 613 28. Kenny Byrge 598 28. 55 Kenny Byrge 598 29. Jamie Ross 586 29. 88 Jamie Ross 586 30. Ken Bruce 542 30. 29 Jim Berry 546
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Results - 2008 Season
Click on the link below for a full field rundown
Competition Karting Times
Feature: (Track Record 22.64)
Top 10 fastest laps: Best Laps Per Driver
1. Brandon Gray 23.65 Brandon Gray 23.65
2. Brandon Gray 23.77 Zach Cougill 24.20
3. Brandon Gray 23.98 Michael Koontz 24.08
4. Michael Koontz 24.08 Brent Turner 24.11
4. Michael Koontz 24.11 Johnathan Steed 24.20
6. Brent Turner 24.11 Travis Stickels 25.19
7. Michael Koontz 24.13 Justin Gray 25.37
8. Michael Koontz 24.14
9. Brent Turner 24.15
10. Michael Koontz 24.17
Top 5 Laps per Driver
Brandon Gray Zach Cougill Michael Koontz Brent Turner
23.65 24.20 24.11 24.11
23.77 24.23 24.13 24.14
23.98 24.24 24.14 24.15
24.24 24.33 24.17 24.19
24.26 24.37 24.23 24.20
Johnathan Steed Travis Stickels Justin Gray
24.20 25.19 25.37
24.27 25.32 25.42
24.34 25.34 25.50
24.37 25.37 25.58
24.50 25.38 25.61
2008 UMRA Final points standings top 30
8/27/08 Mt. Lawn Speedway
The season finale was a night of ups and downs! Our 2 hot lap sessions were both cut short the first due to a red flag (glad to see John and Doug come out ok) and the second due to our fuel pump coming out of the mount. Without any practice laps or really being able to see what the backup motor would do I figured the heat race would be interesting. We started 5th and dropped back to 6th but after a couple of laps we were able to climb to 4th and slowly gain on 3rd place but had a long way to go to catch him. The backup motor ran great and the car handled real good just a little loose on exit. Unfortunately, we ran out of laps and finished 4th. Being our first time running pavement this year we made great strides and got faster each time out. Hats off to Eric Ferhman for all of his help this year making us faster. We only made a slight adjustment for the feature and rolled off 13th. Our game plan was to ride the first 25 laps and race the last 25. As planned were riding around saving our stuff for the last 25 when the car picked up a bad miss down the straightaway. After the 13 car brought out the first caution due to a blown motor. During the same caution our car died on the start finish line. Our night was done! Another failed battery!!!! I was hoping for a better finish than 15th however, we were able to get more seat time on pavement. Congrats to Brent Turner on his 3rd win of the season and winning rookie of the year. GREAT JOB BRENT!!!!! With the season coming to a close the UMRA needed to crown a Champion for the 08 season the only problem is, where is Terry going to put it!!! Congratulations to Terry for winning his 13th series Championship.
8/13/2008Greensburg, In
More bad luck! After 2 weeks of checking everything on the car trying to find the cause to our ill running motor the culprit was a bad battery (only 2 weeks old). Thanks to Tom Vest for his fuel injection help we had the motor running great and things were looking good after hot laps. However, it was all down hill after that. The oil pressure dropped during our qualifying session and we shut it down and headed for the pits to find the problem. Everything looked ok. We added a little oil for safe measure and headed out to re qualify due to an error in the timing system. The oil pressure started out higher than before but quickly dropped back to the same level as before and I could feel the motor tighten up an I quickly shut it down again. After a deeper inspection of the sump screen it revealed a full screen of bearing material ending our night. We will do or best to be at Twin Cities Saturday night…
8/30/08 Twin CitiesNorth Vernon, I
Not much to write about, the engine would not run. I believe we have 2 problems ignition and fuel. We will try again at Greensburg…
8/17/08Kokomo Kokomo, I
After a hectic day of getting the car ready for the second night of racing in a row we made it to one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. We did not have a very good car to start with in practice or in our heat race. Starting 6th in our heat and didn’t run any better our second guess on a gear change was costly. After a gear and a slight chassis adjustment we took the green flag in 20th spot with a long way to go. The car was real good and were able to move forward on the outside early to around 15th before running into a handful of fast cars that we just couldn’t get around cleanly and we did we got a untimely caution flag. With 5 to go we decided to go back to the top and try to make something happen spinning was not in the plan. Back to 20th we went with only a few laps left not much time to go. We were able to charge back to 15th.
8/16/2008 Twin CitiesNorth Vernon, I
WOW!!!!! What a day. We just made to Vernon after getting the motor back into the car. The car ran real well all night long with only a few changes needed. We started 3rd in the heat and ran 3rd. We started 15th for the feature and got all the way to 10th before making an error and loosing a few spots to end up 14th.
8/9/08 Rushville, IN Blown Motor
8/2/08Mt. Lawn Speedway Mt. Lawn, IN
A 2nd night of pavement racing continued our learning curve. After a day of fixing an oil leak we were anticipating an oil free night. Most of the night was spent battling an ill handling car and learning the secrets of pavement racing. Both practice sessions helped us considerably with car handling and different driving lines. We started outside the front row for our loaded heat race filled with 4 cars that were feature winners but our inexperience didn’t take long to show. We went straight to the back of the field. The car was still not handling the way I would like it to. We made multiple changes for the feature thanks to some great help by former UMRA driver Eric Fehrman. The car was much better during the feature still not great but we now have a closer starting setup for the season finale at Mt. Lawn. After running 15 laps our oil pressure issue reasserted itself. This time it would not come up so we killed the motor immediately giving us our 4th dnf and 2nd in a row and a 14th place finish. After inspecting the motor back at the shop we have major problems. We were hoping to make it all the way thru the season without having to do an engine rebuild but that will not be the case this season. We were very fortunate that it did not blow a hole in the side of the case. I hate it for our sponsors that we will not be at Rushville on Saturday night but our engine builder is confident we will be ready for Twin Cities and Kokomo the following week. Thanks to Brandon Gray and Gray Auto Sales for a place to stay and prepare the car for Saturday night. www.grayauto.com
8/1/08 Anderson Speedway Anderson, I
Just another first for our race team pavement! We struggled all night with the setup and an oil leak. After 2 practice sessions we were able to make small adjustment to get slightly faster for qualifying however, we ended up 17th out of 21 cars. Unfortunately, our oil leak kept us from making changes for the feature. We just made it out to the starting grid to be pushed off for the feature. We were just logging laps trying to gain valuable seat time on pavement until just about half way when our oil pressure dropped below normal. Since we were not gaining on anyone and afraid we might be getting oil on the track we shut it down so we would not hurt our motor. A 17th place finish and our 3rd dnf of the year.
7/26/08 Twins Birthday Party HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TYLER & BROOKE
7/18/08 I69Speedway Gas City, IN
After a long week of repairing the front end of our car from Greensburg we made it to Gas City. In practice the car was a little loose getting in but the track wasn’t completely worked in. We started 7th for our heat and had handling issues in the middle of the corner that wouldn’t allow us to stay in the throttle causing us to loose precious ground. We had worked our way to 5th place taking advantage of the 11 car getting loose in turn 2 but he was able to take it right back when I got loose on the next lap in turn 2. The 87 car was able to make a pass stick coming to the checkered flag dropping us back to our 7th place finishing position and giving us our 19th starting position for the feature. During the early laps of the feature we were able to get up inside the top 12. We were able to maintain that spot for a few laps until I hooked a rut in turn 2 and was in the process of spinning when the 92 car had no place to go unfortunately, the 92 car got on his top ending a solid run for them. On the restart we were able to gain 1 more spot to 11th place. With 2 laps to go 2 cars ahead of us got tangled up and spun moving us into the top 10 running 9th with 2 laps to go. We were able to hold them off for the final 2 laps and finish 9th. We are going to take a week off and celebrate my twins birthday next Saturday see you at Anderson.
7/15/08Decatur County Fairgrounds Greensburg, I
It was a rough night for us at Greensburg! Our car was ok for hot laps and qualifications and real good for the heat race. We were running 3rd and making a move for second when a car spun directly in front of us and we drilled him right in the side. We were able to keep going but fell all the way back to 7th 1 shy of a transfer spot. We managed a 6th place finish and transferred to the feature. Starting 12th as the green flag flew we had our work cut out for us. We were fortunate to miss a couple early accidents that happened right in front of us. However, with 5 laps to go we were unable to Patrick Wolf who had spun and was sitting in the middle of turn 1 and 2 awaiting my arrival and arrive we did, Hitting Patrick head on and ending our nights!!!!! We were both running in the top 10 with a solid finish in sight before our night was cut short. Our car sustained heavy front end damage and multiple bent parts all around the car. After being checked on by our safety crew they decided for me that I should take a ride to Decatur County Hospital to be checked out a little further. Everything is still attached and working properly (wish we could say the same thing for the car. The good news is the great people at Leaders Edge (Bill, Scott and Chris) Worked there tails off all day long to get the frame repaired and front axle straightened. Hats off to those guys who did a fantastic job getting us ready for Friday night. With a little luck and some help from Gray racing we should be ready for Friday night at Gas City. Thanks to our excellent safety crew that made sure I was OK and everyone that called to check on me. See you Friday…..
7/11/2008Bloomington Speedway Bloomington, I
Our 3rd race in 5 days without rain! Mike and his staff once again prepared a great race track for the evening events. As the green flag dropped for hot laps our car was real good with just a little push in the center. Using some information that we learned from Lawrenceburg the previous night we were able to make a good adjustment for heat race. Starting 8th in the second heat we knew we had our work cut out for us if we were going to transfer to the feature. After 2 laps we were running second behind the 90 car of Patrick Wolf who had checked out with ¾ of a straight away lead. We were only able to nibble at his lead and only received a challenge from the 97 car of AJ Nigh during the final 2 laps of the race but we were able to hold that spot and finish second. Unfortunately, that was the highest point of the night. During the pace laps for the feature the pace car was moving very slow and our car for some reason our car was idling higher than normal. We had to really abuse the brakes to keep our car in line. After dragging the brakes for 3 laps they over heated and locked up ending our night before it started. What a major disappointment after running so well early and having a fast car to end the evening like that.
7/10/08 Lawrenceburg Speedway Lawrenceburg, In
WOW!!! What a magnificent facility!! If you have not been to the new Lawrenceburg Speedway to see a night of racing action, plan a night a go you will not be disappointed. Hats of to all of the UMRA drivers for a great show that made our club look great. During hot laps our car was tight in the middle of the corner and needed a little less gear. We drew the 3rd starting spot for the 1st heat race and with the changes we made the car was pretty good and managed to finish 4th. Still not seeing the rpm’s we were looking for we decided to change gear. That change was not a good one. The track got faster and our line got better and with those improvements we didn’t have enough gear to get us down the straight away. Another 15th place finish, not a great point’s night but we didn’t tear anything up and we got valuable seat time.
7/7/2008Bartholomew County Fairgrounds Columbus, IN
Mother Nature was kind to us on Monday as she spared Columbus which didn’t need any more rain. Even with all the rain it didn’t take long for the track to follow its natural course, hard and slick. In practice the car was descent but definitely needed adjustments. We were lucky on the draw again drawing outside the first row in the second heat. The changes we made the car were not enough to keep us up front. We did manage to transfer to the feature. Starting 20th in the feature gave us plenty of room for improvement. After a few laps we developed a brake problem again which was a shame because the car was getting faster and we were slowly moving forward but had to back out early because of the soft brake pedal. We did manage to hang on to 15th as the checkered flag flew.
7/28/2008 Rushville Nationals (Night 2)
After many hours of waiting on the track crew to prepare the track after the hard rain overnight we all were confused if we were racing or if the super cross were coming in for a show. After nearly a 2hr delay we got to hot lap and the car was great. However, I knew that starting up front was going to be the key to success and we were lucky enough to draw up front and start 3rd in the second heat. The 8 lap heat went very smooth and was able to learn from Friday night’s mistakes and bring it home 3rd and transfer to the feature. Thanks to an inverted start for the feature we got our first front row start. Starting on the outside the front row on a rough track is not the best place to be but we were up front. I knew if I kept the car on the bottom and didn’t get into a big rut we would end up good. We were fortunate to be able to get that done. After 20 laps of bumping around we crossed the line 6th our best finish yet 6 spots better than our previous best. We were very happy to leave Rushville after 2 nights of racing with a 17th and a 6th place finish and possibly qualifying for the Rushville National race on the 4th of July.
June 27, 2008 Rushville Nationals Rushville, In Night
Our first experience on the short track rich in history with the UMRA was pretty good! We were pretty good off of the trailer and qualified 13th fastest out of 33 cars which put us on the outside second row for the 1st heat. The outside was no place to be, Friday’s track was one groove around the bottom. I got into turn 1 to hot and to the back I went. Thanks to some timely cautions and a few cars falling out we were able get to back to 6th one out of a transfer spot with 4 laps to go. We were able to get around the 88 car with 3 laps to go for the final transfer spot to the feature. However, coming to take the white flag I spun the car in turn 3 allowing the 88 back by. With only 1 lap left I wasn’t able to get back around 88 car to transfer to the feature, so another semi was in our future. Starting 3rd in the semi for a 10 lap sprint to make the feature we were able to finish second with the 11 of Brandon Gray hot on our tail. With rain looming again there was just enough time to fuel the car and pull out the body panels from the rough track and head to the shoot for the feature. Starting 20th the name of the game was to take what was given and not to force any issues. We worked all the way to 14th right behind the 11 car of Brandon Gray. Entering turn 4 to take the white flag we got hit and moved from the bottom and fell back to 17th where we finished. We left Rushville with no major damage and the car in one piece.
6/21/08 Mt Lawn Rained out..
6/15/08 Kokomo Rained out..
6/13/08 I69 Gas City Rained out.
6/07/08 Rushville Rained out.
6/01/08 Twin CitiesNorth Vernon, In
We had high expectations for North Vernon since it was the only track we have been on. We drew the 1st heat which was loaded with fast cars. We were running 7th one position out of a transfer spot and had to spin to avoid a crash as a result we restarted on the tail and just couldn’t move forward with our tight race car. Starting 11th in the semi we got to 6th early on and were just counting laps riding in a transfer spot. After a late race caution flag we were not ready to go back to green we got caught sleeping (another rookie lesson). We just couldn’t get our transfer spot back. However, luck was on our side a transfer car spun taking the checkered flag moving us into a transfer spot. After taking the checkered flag our left front locked up and we had to be towed back to our pit to diagnose the problem. Hats off to my crew you were able to repair the problem and get the car ready to run the feature. We rolled off 24th in the feature and started moving forward immediately. We battled the 80 car all feature long were able to get by them but a caution soon followed and we had to give the spots back. We were never able to get those spots again. After 25 laps we got another top 15 and were the highest finishing rookie. Another good night for the Koontz Racing Team. It’s off to a short track at Rushville..
5/31/08 Ripley County Fairgrounds Osgood, In
Another night out and another new track. Osgood wasn’t kind to us, it was the first night we didn’t make the feature. The car was tight all night long and just couldn’t get it loosened up enough to get it to turn. Osgood ended up being a one groove track and starting in the back with an ill handling car usually means a semi is in your future. After spinning early in the heat and then again on the last lap the semi was in our future. We made a couple changes to help the car turn for the semi. The car was much better but still tight. We got to 4th early but it didn’t last long. We got shuffled back and then had to play catch up. Tried to make the outside work however, with all the marbles up the traction wasn’t there and we spun for the 3rd time. With only 3 laps left on the restart there wasn’t enough time to get into a transfer spot. We did miss our 1st feature of the year but we did leave Osgood with a lot of knowledge that will help us in future races.
5/16/08 Bloomington
Another new track and a night full of education. Hats off the Mike Miles and his staff for getting his facility in great shape after 3 days of rain. We unloaded and again were pretty good in hot laps unfortunately it didn't last long. We anticipated the track getting dry and slick and made changes. However, the changes were not enough. Starting last in the 1st heat we managed to get to 7th and missing the feature by 1 spot. Off to the semi our last chance to make the feature. After a few changes to tighten the car we rolled out 11th. With a loose car and a rookie driver speed was difficult to find. A 7th place finish left us 1 spot from making the feature. Just after the checkard flag fell the 77 car had a motor problem and was unable to start the feature and we were next in line to take his spot. Rolling off 24th of 24 cars in the feature we had our work cut out for us. After about 5 laps I figured out a line the car was fast on and began to move forward. Climbing to around 17th on lap 10 and still moving forward until a car got loose below us and forced us up the track into the marbles and over the banking and I spun out to avoid the front stretch wall. Back to the tail end of the field again. With 15 laps to go we were able to pass 7 more cars and finish 17th. Overall, we were able to get more valuable seat time, not tear up any equipment and take everything we learned into our next race in Osgood, In on the 30th.
5/3/2008 Brownstown
Our first night of racing exceeded all of my expectations! My car was pretty good right off of the trailer Saturday night but needed more forward bite after hot laps. According to UMRA rules all rookies must start on the tail for the first 3 races and then receive an evaluation before they are allowed to start in their appropriate position. I drew the 1st heat race and started 10th. The car was fast but still was lacking forward bite and finished 5th and made the feature. After taking the checkered flag all brake pedal was lost and had very little brakes to get back to the pit area. Along with the shifter cable knob stripping and coming off, made getting back to the pits very interesting. Thanks to Vest racing for helping us out with the shifter knob and Stickels racing for the brake pads. After the repairs and chassis changes the car was ready for the feature starting 22nd of 24 cars. The only good thing about starting in the rear is, there is only one way to go, forward. After 7 laps the 1st caution came out and I had moved up to around 15th. On the restart I gained a couple of spots and was able to get back to the bottom. I made it all the way to 11th before getting loose and loosing a few spots. With a late race red flag that bunched up the field and gave me a few minutes to rest for the final 3 laps. The car was fast during the final laps but with a brake pedal getting softer I decided just to ride it out and finishing 12th. It was a great evening for our team. My crew Vestal, Chris and borrowed help Adam did a fantastic job on the car all night.
Thanks again to Sully, Mike, Derk and Chris for all of your support without great sponsors like you guys this wouldn’t be possible
Michael