VMCRA Racing - Orange County Speedway - 04/12/2008

Also, on a sad note, our condolences go out to Jay Dodson (Jason Moye’s crew chief) on the loss of his father who passed away last week. Jay, just know you’re in our thoughts and prayers and if there is anything we can do – let us know.

So now onto racing. First the Rain Cancelled our season opener forcing us to move to the next week which wasn’t suitable for everyone so we’re off to a “bumpy” start, but the 1st race is officially “in the books” with Jason Moye taking the 1st win of the season. Congratulations Jason and Jay – job well done. With 12 good looking cars showing up and 5 of them being Rookies and new to the VMCRA, we knew we were in for an eventful day. Little did we know just how eventful it would turn out to be. First off we leave home, cloudy and rainy, not knowing if we would even be able to run – several folks making the decision not to take the chance of showing up only to be sent back home. As in the past, in case of rain outs and you are at the track, you are given last place series and rookie points, so by making the choice to stay at home – you receive nothing. As it turned out, the skies opened up with heavy rains after the first practice, canceling our second practice but giving us time to qualify under sunny skies. Jason was our fastest qualifier with a time of 18.913 followed by Jerry Perdue in the #8 with an 18.926. We were only about 4 hours behind schedule by this time. So getting to the race, we were next to last to race so what was supposed to be a day race, came close to being a night race but we did get to see plenty of good racing leading up to our event and our thanks goes to Orange County Speedway for waiting it out rather than sending us home. As our event would go, Tyler Roach in the #24, not quite ready with his car, started the race, made a lap and brought it in to receive last place points and rookies points making the effort to be at the track with a car helping our field, the association, and his points. Next to come in was #2 of Travis Roach, who after lengthy work in the pits, finally got the car running good and was looking good on the track, but broke a chain forcing him in the pits and done for the night. Thanks to Scott and the entire Roach gang for overcoming the frustrations but still making the effort to make the trip and support the group. So, we made it to lap 5 before the 1st caution. One of our newcomers in the #27, Justin LaDuke, took a spin in turn 4. No contact, no problem, and he was able to continue in good shape. Lap 9 brought out our 2nd caution which was a lot more complicated and scary to everyone watching. Another newcomer #9, Darrel Williams, with a fantastic looking car at this time, spun in turn 4, stopping sideways in the middle of the track. As the #12 of Landon Sims and the #97 Andy Defilippis came around 3 and 4 and having very little time to react, Landon T-Boned Darrel with a very hard impact. The race was red flagged as the emergency personnel came to the rescue. The good news is that I’ve talked to both of them and they both are doing ok. As a matter of fact, Landon was pitching for a ballgame today so that’s the outcome we’re always hoping for. The track and emergency crews were impressed with the way our Mini Cup cars held up under such a violent impact. Darrel’s car suffered the worst damage, however the rescue personnel’s major concern was Landon’s well being. With the red flag lasting so long, our race was cut to 20 laps but an exciting 20 it was. When the 2nd caution flew, the #1 of Matt Wade lost a throttle spring and headed to the pits leaving him unable to return to the track, along with the #15 of Brandon Ward who lost his chain but was able to make repairs in the pits under caution and return in time for the restart. Jason was still leading the field in a slick looking and slick running car sporting a new #88. He continued to lead the pack for the last 11 laps followed by Jerry Perdue, also with a new number this year #8 which was running strong as ever with Jerry challenging several times for the lead. 3rd was our visiting Hooters Pro Cup Rookie of the year, Brandon Ward in the #15 which came from the back in 11 laps to take the position. So spots 1, 2 and 3 were taken by three of our former champions. With the number 4 position, we had a former Championship car driven by Jason Adkins and having a good run. 5th spot goes to last years Rookie of the Year, Amanda Forney who had a strong run as well and looking to improve. 6th goes to another newcomer and our new Rookie Points Leader, Andy Defilippis in the #97. 7th is another new rookie joining us this year from Rocky Mount, NC, Justin LaDuke, who we’ve already mentioned as being involved in the lap 5 incident was able to straighten it out and keep on going to the finish. The rest of the group had DNF’s with Matt, Landon, Darrel, Travis and Tyler finishing out the field. Better luck will come your way so keep your chin up and get back out there. With that said, we had a small field with lots of newcomers and 2 cautions. We had 1 bad wreck which was no fault of any driver. Being our first race, bad weather, a green track, a mix of veterans and rookies, it was expected that we could have spins and crashes but with our safety equipment and the construction of our cars, we came out ok. The tire chip was pulled for tech and all passed post race inspection.

All drivers that showed up at the track with cars were issued rule books when they joined the Association. A lot of time and effort goes into putting that rule book together. Everyone needs to spend as much time and effort into reading and following the rules. There were no penalties or fines issued at our first event but they will be in the future so consider this fair warning. Here’s a list of the infractions found as described in the rule book – everyone was notified however by listing them, this is your chance to go back and re-read and make sure you’re in compliance:

Under Safety – page 9 number 4, number 9, and number 12. There will be no further tolerance on safety issues.

Under Bodies – page 10, number 13B

Under Chassis – Page 11, number 2, number 2B, and number 7.

Under Engines – page 14, number 18

Under Tech and Protests – page 5, number 2.

Please make every effort to have your car race ready, safe and rule compliant when you arrive at the track. If you need assistance at the track, don’t be scared to ask any eboard member, driver or crew. We will all gladly advise or pitch in and help you out, lend parts, or whatever you need to get you running. A word of caution – Freddie is running into numerous situations where threads are stripped, especially in the head (valve cover bolt) so take it easy on them as it takes a lot of time and your money to repair.

Please remember your sponsors – Thank them, Use them, Visit them. They make it possible for us to keep doing what we’re doing. Our series sponsor, Aztec Rental – we have Jason Moye at the track every week so make sure you let him know how much we appreciate him and all of Aztec’s support. Jock Laliberte – our website designer and photographer. He’s at most of the events taking pictures which he makes available to everyone, and he keeps our site going and up to date. Make sure you get your info and pictures to him so they can be added to the site. Our newest sponsor, AIM (Micron Mike), plans to attend some of our events. Anyone that is interested in getting one of the Micron4 tachs can now get those through Mini Cup Supply and if you want to see one, they currently are on the #17, #2 and #24 cars. We also have some pamphlets with additional info if you’re interested. Steve Forney and Affordable Marine Service – If you need a boat – I’m sure he’ll fix you up. He’s also working on plans for the weekend that we go to Langley so within the next couple of weeks – I’ll be asking for a head count of how many will be going so we can get more details out. But again, my point being that these guys are at the track and you need to remember to thank them. Terry Walters, Moody Brothers, Kevin’s signs and Mini Cup Supply are also very valuable to our group so please make an effort to support them as well.

Our next race will be Saturday 4/19 at Shenandoah. Make sure to check the website for the schedule and make every effort to be there. We have over 20 members / drivers already joined and we’d love to see you all. Any questions, give us a call. See you next week.

Willie