|
|
|
RACING UPDATES, STORIES, AND OTHER RAMBLINGS Oct 22, 2006 Lakeland 50 lap FASCAR Pro Truck Race. Well we FINALLY got everything together to get to go racing again. After renting out the truck for 5 races this year and then having motor issues, and starting a new business, we took some time out to have a little fun. We loaded up and arrived at Lakeland on Saturday afternoon. Man, was it hot for this time of year. Everything went smooth through tech and practice, though the practice was very limited on Saturday (there was practice on Friday night for about 4 hours but we were unable to attend). The truck ran great but was very loose coming out of the turns and that problem plagued us through out the night. We qualified a respectable 13th out of some 31 trucks. Pretty good considering the limited practice and several months since we last raced. Now I have to comment on how things progressed during the night. As I mentioned, it was HOT Saturday. The person running things was very clear that time was tight and things had to run on schedule. When we lined up for qualifying we had to sit for what seemed 30 minutes in our driving suits in our trucks at 4:30pm. There was a stunt show scheduled, a Shriner motorcycle show and an autograph session. The autograph sessions was canceled even though it was a night of racing for children. Many teams had gifts, candy, etc. for the kids. We had several T-shirts to give away. We were instructed stage our trucks to get ready for our race before the stunt show was underway. After nearly 45 minutes of sitting strapped in our trucks a fellow driver informed us that the stunt show had two parts. That turned into another 30 minutes then they had to clean up the mess. The stunt show consisted of a car jumping a stack of cars then crashing into several cars lined up to break his fall. Of course there was the required big ball of fire each time. All I could see was the big balls of fire. Then I was told there were a couple of politicians running for office that gave speeches while we were roasting in our race trucks. Finally we got the race underway. We were pushed to the high side at the start of the race and got back in line in 17th place. Lakeland is a difficult place to pass. Even though it is a 3/4 mile track, it is difficult to get around the truck in front of you, especially when we were running sideways coming out of every turn. We had only one real close call when several trucks got together in front of us and we had to spin out, doing a complete 360 degree turn to avoid hitting them. Fortunately we did not suffer any damage. Just kind of scary! Well, with about 15 laps to go we were ready to start really racing. We had the trucks in front of us figured out and was ready to start our run to the front. That is when we suffered a "fuel system" malfunction that took us out for the night. After being pushed back to our hauler we diagnosed the problem, we had run out of gas! Now I need to explain how this happened. I must admit it was my mistake. Usually my crew chief, spotter and son, Shane, handles the fueling. But this time I put the fuel in the truck. The fuel cell in this truck takes a while to allow the fuel to be absorbed by the foam in the fuel cell. According to Shane, one must fill the cell two to three times to ensure it was completely full. Well, now I know how to make sure the fuel cell is completely full. This will be very important especially for the 100 lap race on Nov 25. I have done some dumb things during my racing career, but running out of gas has to rank at the top of this long list. This mistake cost us a top ten finish and disappointed my team. But, after putting some fuel in the race truck, we were able to drive the truck in the hauler in one piece. Now we will go through the race truck and get it ready for a couple of weekly races to prepare for the Florida Truck Championship 100 lap race at our home track, New Smyrna Speedway. Congratulations to Dustin Skinner in the #5 truck, the winner of the Lakeland race and to everyone who survived that long hot night. Bill Stacy RN
April 1, 2006 Well, we have had a rough start to the 2006 season in the FASCAR Pro Trucks Season. We rented the #32 Red Truck to a family from up north for 2006 Speed Weeks at New Smyrna. We installed a brand new motor for the 2006 Season. Everything went well for the first race, Jeremy Davis, the 15 year old driver from New Hampshire, finished 10th in his first truck race ever. The second night we broke a distributor gear about half way through the race and finished toward the rear of the field. The 3rd night Jeremy finished a very respectable 11th place. Now it was our turn to prepare to start the regular 2006 Season. We went to New Smyrna Speedway for a weekly 25 lap race just to practice but heard a noise in the new engine so we loaded the truck back in the trailer and went home. We missed the first regular season touring race. After having the engine checked out we went to Thursday night practice at New Smyrna. Unfortunately, the engine threw a rod during warm ups and destroyed itself. Now we are searching for a new engine! Stay tuned for our updates. Need parts?? Call us. |
|
Circle Track Racing Parts
For Circle Track Racing Parts E-Mail
BIll@StacyMotorsports.com with
questions or comments |
