07/05/2022
Ok. I better get to this recap thing. July 2, 2022 recap (work schedule sucks so it takes time). Here we go. Race weekend for the 11 of Wesley Newell , 72 of Angelo Stellon and the 54 of Robbie Morris. We will start with practices.
The 54 modified missed first practice arriving to the track late so we just had the 2 super street cars to work with. Both cars looked pretty decent in practice 1, but we saw room for improvement in both cars. The 11 had a funky roll to it through the corner and very loose on entry and exit. The 72 looked like he was trying his hand at dirt track racing exiting 4 and had a little slide on exit of 2. We brought both cars back to the pit area and made a few adjustments before practice 2 started.
Practice 2 saw the 54 car sitting in the pits on jack stands while tires were being handled so he missed his 2nd practice. The 11 had the same funky body roll going on, but reported that the car wasn't as loose as before although he was now having issues with the car staying in 2nd gear. It kept trying to jump to 3rd on its own. The 72 car continued his wild corner exits, but did manage to pick up a little more speed in round 2 and said he was pretty happy with the car. When the cars returned to the pit area we decided to check and adjust the sway bar on the 11 when we noticed the end link had snapped which was most likely the cause of our body roll issue as well as the loose entry. We made a fast run to the car builders shop so his son could fix the part and we rushed back getting him ready just in time for qualifying. The 72 was an easier fix with a simple adjustment to the air pressures and we were ready to qualify.
First up to qualify were the super streets and both drivers put down very solid times. Not as fast as we wanted for the 11, but with the practices being as they were he didn't want to press too hard and have an issue. The 72 had a much better handle on the track with the air pressure change following his slippery practice sessions. The 72 had a 19.486 and the 11 had a 19.527 setting the 13th and 14th for the start of race 1. The 54 modified rolled out for his 10 lap scuff session being the first time on track for the day. He ran several laps saying the motor wasn't running as it should and pulled in to line up for qualifying. He ran a 17.770 for his qualifying run placing him 12th on the grid for his 50 lap feature.
In between qualifying and feature time the crew ran to the infield to help diagnose and work on Robbies modified. It appeared to have worked and was proven successful when he got to run a few shakedown laps right before Super Street feature 1. In the meantime we were stuck in the infield and got to watch our friend Cheyenne Strandberg pick up her first ever win in rhe HRKC Pro Wing Champ race which had an amazing finish with the top 3 or 4 finishers crossing the stripe so close they could literally touch each other.
Now to our feature races. Super Street race 1 went pretty good for both cars. They managed traffic well and kept good pace with the field finishing on the lead lap. Wesley finished 10th and Angelo 11th. Both cars rolled back out to the pits and started preparing for race 2.
The 50 lap modified race fell in between the super street races so part of the crew returned to pit road (and I went back to the spotter stand) while the rest continued working on the 11 and 72. The race started and the car seemed to be running very good. Robbie was able to keep pace with those around him and made a pass for position as the handling started to fall off. The car became a bit of a handful sliding through the corners in both ends of the track. On lap 33 the cars were slowed for a caution just after the leaders put theb54 car a lap down. This gave Robbie the free pass and as he made his way around the track to rejoin the field he noticed his water temp climbing. To be safe and not hurt the motor he decided to park the car early placing him in 13th place. Still some learning to be done with the new motor, but we have the driver that can figure it out and keep getting better each week.
Super street race 2 for the night was a bit more eventful. The 11 car suffered a transmission issue in the pits before race 2. This caused him to be vary late to the grid, but he did manage to make it with a transmission that had park and 5 forward gears on a 3 speed automatic. Tricky huh??? So away we go starting 10th with the 11 and 11th with the 72. Both drivers handled themselves great throughout the race avoiding other drivers mishaps as they did in race 1. The 11 car had the transmission issue throughout the race and basically it just decided what gear it wanted to be in on its own. At some point it decided 3rd gear was its choice and it hurt the rpm of the car very bad making it a struggle to keep pace and fight off advances from the cars behind him. In the end we placed 9th with the 11 and 10th with the 72.
The 11 made great gains in the points this week. If my figures are correct he should have taken over the top of the battle for rookie of the year and moved himself to 10th in points. The 72 I believe has jumped from 19th to 14th in the points. These numbers SHOULD be available to confirm by mid week. Both drivers had very solid nights. It's great to see them grow and improve each weekend. And aside from a little nose damage they both came home in one piece again. Great job by both of you!
Next weekend will be Amanda Satterly in her 51 Grand Stock and Kevin Rickman in his Super Truck. As always we thank our crew for all of their hard work and dedication to making each of these cars better every time we hit the track! John F Satterly, Kevin, Alice, David Newell, Amanda, Jessica Satterly, Lisa McPadden Satterly, Wesley, Robbie, Courtney Ranger, Aaron Mcmillan, Albert Martin, Chad Martin, Angelo, and whoever I forgot. I'm tired. See everyone next time!
