Andretti Short Track - A Full 4-Race Weekend & Off To Pennsylvania

Andretti Short Track - A Full 4-Race Weekend & Off To Pennsylvania

Jun 14th 2017

The first of 9 races in 14 days kicked off at Montpelier Motor Speedway. We would be running in conjunction with Indiana Midget Week these first 4 races so we expected it to be slick, but this was more than we bargained for. We qualified 2nd in our group and were able to win our heat, but it was beginning to take rubber and there was plenty of racing still left. They took about an hour to grate the whole track, but unfortunately it didn’t help that much. We re-drew a 6 for the feature and would end up finishing there. I expected it to take rubber sooner in the feature but it didn’t and we were too free the whole race. We learned our lesson and took it with us into the next 3 nights.

The second night would take place at Gas City I69 Speedway in northern Indiana. We would use this as a Sprint Week tune-up as they only run 2 races a year here. We set quick time in our group, but it was tough to pass in the heat and we ended up finishing there. After starting 15th, we made our way to 6th by the end of the race. I had a lot of fun and it was one of the few times Gas City produced 3 groove racing and the rough middle of the track really made it interesting.

After a night off, we trekked south to the Bloomington Speedway. We set quick time again in our group but struggled in our heat race, which set us behind for the remainder of the night. We picked off positions quickly early in the feature, but were just too free at the end of the race to catch the next group of cars. It was very much a 1-lane track with everyone running on the bottom-middle part of the track and starting 12th is difficult to rebound from.

The final night of racing this weekend would take place at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. We set quick time in our group, but once again struggled in the heat race. A last-minute track re-work caught us out and we were too tight for the heat. Finishing 4th would line us up in 11th for the feature. We tightened up for the feature, but just didn’t go far enough and we made some positions early, but struggled through the middle part of the race. At the end, it started taking rubber and we were faster and drove up to the 6th place car, but just ran out of time to pass him. We learned a lot each night and we expect the Pennsylvania tracks to be very similar, slick and smooth, so hopefully we can apply what we learned next week!

If you want a recap of the races, Round 1 of the Indiana Sprint Car Series airs this Thursday at 11 AM and 2 PM on MAVTV. Check it out to relive the action!