HFRL at Talladega: Don't forget to open your eyes and breathe!
- Published ()
- Hurricane Force Racing League
The league is back at the superspeedways as Hurricane Force Racing file their rigs through the infields of Talladega. Practice goes uneventful as all drivers seem to have equal cars. The field is set with competative aerodynamic packages all around. Officials had all cars report to tech inspection stations in order to set the rear spoilers in accordance with Winston cup rules. The rule for success this weekend will be tight lines and careful passing. Avoiding wrecks will also be key for a good finish. Unfortunately, the cars run so fast and close together that very little can be done to miss an accident. Those drivers with the most experience and best fluid control of their rides will likely prevail in the end.
After a short rain delay, the field got the warning to get into the cars and prepare to fire them up. Bob Brewer's #40 team discovers a short in both ignition boxes after water was found leaking through one of the tarps and into the passenger side.
Troy Bouffard, #21, wins the Bud Pole Award by running nearly three-tenths faster than the rest of the field. Troy get's the field under way for the start of the race. Right away everyone gets into line and prepares for a clean run. Don Miller runs smartly in second deciding to not push and make an unsafe challenge for the lead.
Lap 3, #17, John McClaren loses the rear end in turn 4 bring ing the car sliding quickly up toward the wall. David Graham, #27, goes high to avoid and meets John in the retainer. David sustains significant damage to the rear end, eventually losing the bumper. John crinkles the rear-end a bit also, but took the most damage up front, losing his hood pittiing.
Lap 6, Rick Clark, #2, gets a clean run down the back stretch as the guys enjoy some side-by-side action.
Lap 7, Don Miller comes out of turn 2 sliding quickly up to the high line. Unfortunately, Jeff Stevenson, #52 is already there and makes contact with Don's right-rear quarter panel. Don's car angles into the wall and grinds out the next 1/4-mile on the retainer. No yellow comes out as Don get's the car straightened out safely.
Lap 10, The Big One!! #62, John Wilcko checks up in the middle of the tri-oval in an effort to keep the pace and distance stable. John develops an isolated fuel pump problem all of a sudden and discovers that the thottle doesn't respond immediately when he floors the accelerator again. John slows quickly and Rick Clark cannot avoid punting John. #30, Shawn Anthony gets turned 180� and nails the wall. Don Miller makes contact with Shawn's right-front panel and turns him another 90� followed by a 360� axis-spin nose-dive into the fence where the Shawn got wedged and suspended 4 feet off the track. Miller got turned around and headed down the track backwards with the brakes locked until the car dove for the inner retaining wall to finish Don off. Jim Russell, #18, gets tapped by Stevenson and spins twice before heading into the grass and getting stuck. David Stickney, #98, gets door-to-door with Troy and gets the #21 squirrely into the wall lightly and down into the spinning car of Jeff Stevenson and to the apron before coming to a safe halt. Unfortunately, the killer pace car driver from Martinsville took over the Talladega pace car and T-Boned Troy doing 194 mph!! David Stickney gets the car upset and spins it several times before coming to a stop undamaged. Brad Burns, #05 cruises through the carnage unscathed and David Graham loses control of his car trying to weave through the mess and points the car into a front-end bashing.
Lap 32, Troy's engine dies suddenly on the backstretch. The car's drive shaft reacted violently when the engine seized and the rear-end bottomed out violently. Fortunately it was on the flat backstretch and the car stayed managable enough for Bouffard to safely get out of the way.
Lap 42, The guys enjoy some excellent, tight-formation runs.
Lap 44, Rick Clark continues to struggle as he fights to maintain a smooth line. The car is not responding to him throughout the race.When the pack comes out of turn 2, Rick drifts high and gets into the back end of Jim Russell. Jim is helpless to control the car and starts spinning down the backstretch along with several other drivers who cannot avoid the mahem.
Lap 49, Brad Burns leads the group to the restart. John McClaren goes below the inside line to allow the other cars to pass safely, unfortunately, the timing was off a bit. John arrive at turn 1 near the middle of the field and decides to get back on the track at this point. Shawn Anthony is going for the inside line at the same time and both meet with disasterous results. Jim, Steve and Jeff all get collected in the ensuing carnage that folllows.
Lap 75, The #98 machine of David Stickney glances off of Brad in the tri-oval which upsets the car and slips it upwards into Steve Tanner. David recovers quickly, but Steve is doomed immediately. The car gets turned slightly and starts heading for the inside wall at the end of pit road. The car heads staright for a massive impact at 108 mph. The motor dies of fright before it even gets a chance to be flattened and piece's of Steve's body are found several hours later in Allison Grandstands outside of turn 2. ([Mr. Stickney], you killed Stevey.....you Bastard!). Later, doctors put him back together with glue and zip-ties and we caught up with him to find out what he thought about the incident. "It felt like I took off in the Space Shuttle!"
Lap 76, John Wilcko brings home the #62 for the win! John managed to keep out of trouble and that's exactly what was needed to finish this race up front..
Talladega was rough for some of the top points contenders in HFRL. The draft was tighter than normal and the cars seemed to have extra ponies under the hood. Next week we head to Fontana, California to enjoy the wide, sweeping banks on the West Coast. Those drivers that can exit the turns fastest will have all the advatages where others will suffer. Since it is rather difficult to pass at Cali, drivers will make sure that they can get on the gas as soon as possible.
It was an expensive weekend for some drivers as they packed up mangled cars, but next week should get everyone back in high-spirits again.
Profile of the week
Each week we will take an opportunity to get to know more about the people of HFRL. This week, we took the time to find out who's the man behind the wheel of the #05 car, Brad Burns.
Troy: Brad, thank you for taking the time to let us know about the person that is "Brad Burns".
Brad: No problem
Troy: We were very impressed by your performance at Talladega this week. We saw a side of you that was surprisingly talented. You drove a very clean, fast and smooth race, the best this year. Is this a favorite track for you and your team or are you guys figuring out what it takes to get through these events?
Brad: Talledega and Daytona are two of my favorite tracks and I probably tend to be a little more aggressive at them. I enjoy the drafting aspect of those tracks and have always seemed to do well unless I get in the "BIG ONE"
Troy: What has been the best experience(s) for you during this season?
Brad: So far this season the race at Talledega has definitely been the highlight, it's nice to finish well once in a while.
Troy: What racing skill(s) do you believe you have discovered or improved upon during your time with HFRL?
Brad: I would say "patience". Since I joined the HFRL, I have really been concentrating on not getting in the way of the faster cars and allowing room for people to pass [except of course at Dega]
Troy: Where else can you be found racing during the week regularly?
Brad: If I have time, I try and do some pickup races on Sierra at the track we will race on that week. Of course, it doesn't help a lot [other than the line] since those are usually fixed setups
Troy: What is your goal by the end of the season and for next season? Will there be a #05 returning?
Brad: Yes, I definitely will return for the next 12 weeks, in the present season we are running I would like to move up to at least 12th in the points, next season I'll try for a top 10. I'm trying to be realistic as I had drifted away from racing online for about a year and don't want to expect too much when just really starting again
Troy: Let's find out what you think about the organization itself. If you were president of NASCAR for one day, what would be your biggest change?
Brad: I think I would change the body styles of all the manufacturers and make then run templates that actually fit a production car. I think this would take a lot of the aero advantages away and put the races back into the hands of the drivers
Troy: Lots of teams do many things to get themselves into contention for a win. Do you have a training program or method you follow for racing practice? What does your team do to really prepare for races?
Brad: Actually, since I am a single-car team, I usually will go into testing and just try to get a good handling car. I probably prefer a car that is a little on the "loose" side. In the tests, I try and find a mark to let off going into turn one that will allow me to get off turn 2 faster
Troy: Brad, thank you for your time. It was a pleasure to speak with you and we wish you luck for the reast of the season. You are doing your native hometown of Toronto proud.
Brad: Thanks and have good day.