07/16/2012
#53 JDS Racing Report
JDS Racing shifted gears midweek and made the call to go racing at the Dells Raceway Park on Saturday night. At 3:34 pm Friday afternoon a text message went out that the trailer was loaded and that JDS Racing was heading to Columbus. By 6:15 pm we were at the track to practice then make some tire changes and adjustments for qualifying. The adjustments netted out a 13.767 lap time and a P14 in qualifying out of 16 cars.
The changes were kept in the car for the heat and Joel started P3/inside row 2. As the Green flag waved the #53 was able to drive away from the rest of the cars in the heat and set his sights on the #15 who was in the lead. By lap 8 Joel had caught up to the #15 and was right on his bumper. Not enough laps left so a strong P2 finish was what Joel got.
For the feature a P14 starting spot on the outside of row 7 prompted the team to change the tires back and make some additional adjustments. The night ended quick for the #53 not because of the two cautions flags that were thrown prior to getting in the and then three additional during the 35 lap Feature event but for a failure of a small spring in the rear end. As lap 1 ended, the #53's night also ended with a P16.
With the night over and the car loaded the discussion turned to what about racing on Saturday night at the Dells Raceway Park? Since that was the original plan and with the car broke the original scheduled event was now an unknown.
Turn the page to day 2. Saturday morning is a 5 hour project of pulling the rear end out of the car, pulling apart the rear end, figuring out the problem, a small spring in the rear end locker, fixing the problem and putting it all back together for Joel and Dakota to leave at 1:00 pm for DRP.
Joel has not raced at DRP since the end of the 2010 season which ended in a crash 3 laps into the heat race. There has also been a change to the track in turns 3 and 4. A passing lane or a wider track gives more options of passing through those corners. DRP is also a 1/3 mile banked oval vs. the 1/4 flat track at Columbus 151. Track speeds are about 15 mph lap average higher (82 vs. 67) at DRP than at 151.
With minor adjustments from the setup at Columbus and a set of 4 new Goodyear tires, Joel and the #53 were 6th fastest in both of the practice sessions. This puts all of us in a much better mood as the car gets pushed into line for qualifying.
The first two laps of qualifying were a 14.673 and 14.724 which are about the same as Joel normally turns at DRP. But the third lap Joel put the hammer down and turned a 14.314 which was good enough for P4 out of 17 cars. This put Joel in the Fast Dash for the Late Models where the top 6 qualifiers get to run for a trophy and cash. The 14.314 is also Joel's personal best lap at DRP beating out the 14.404 from August 23rd of 2008.
In the Dash, Joel started P3/inside row 2 with high hopes but the car was a bit loose coming up out of 2 and 4 and he came in P5. After the Dash and much discussion a small adjustment to the sway bar was made and Joel was ready to to go for the feature.
The #53 had a P10/outside row 5 starting spot for the 40 lap feature. The race started smooth but on lap 1 the #7 was up in smoke but the green was still out. On lap 2 the #80 car was in the turn 1/2 wall and the caution was out. Just as the 151 Speedway in Columbus has a Competition Cone, DRP uses one here also. Leader gets row one and then everyone else gets to pick a lane. Joel stayed low and was P11. On lap 5 the #2, #31, and another #2 all crashed on the front stretch. The #99, #54, #10, and the #53 all spun taking evasive action. The #53 ended up taking a slow spin into the inside front stretch wall. The race was red flagged and Joel stayed on the track but pulled up to the spotters stand where we could check out the damage. The nose was pushed up, hood buckled and there was additional nose and right/left fender damage. After a lengthy discussion Joel said he was going to stay out and see what would happen. He was lined up P6 after the mess and was still P6 after the choice at the cone. So with 35 of 40 laps to go the green flag waved again and Joel ran P6 and was able to pass the #34 car for 5th on lap 13. From there the race settled down and when the checkered flag flew Joel had finished P5.
With a personal best qualifying lap, best qualifying position since July 2006, making the dash, and a P5 finish in the feature, it was a good night in the return to DRP. Thanks to all the friends and family that made it out to see the races and stopped by after to visit. At this point in time we are not even going to try to predict where the #53 will show up next week. Stay tuned and we will let you know.
Thank you for your support and see you at the track.
JDS Racing
A thank you to the JDS Racing 2012 sponsors:
Klitzke Metal Fab - Baraboo, WI.
Hermans Motor Clinic - Baraboo, WI.
Monk's Bar and Grill - Baraboo, WI.
Gawronski Signs - Reedsburg, WI.
Man Cave Bait Company - Franklin, WI.
Bluecreeper - Vernon, CT.
