Weekly Update 5/21/11

Twin 50 lap features headlined an exciting night of Late Model racing at Old Dominion Speedway Saturday night. 

For the first time in the 2011 season Saturday afternoon came and the skies were clear and there was no threat of rain. David and his GazZu Energy, On The Run, Sun Drop Team were excited about the chance to run two races in one night.   

Practice

Last week the track officials decided to add 100 lbs to all of the crate motor Late Models to tighten up the field for qualifying and racing. Even though 100 lbs doesn’t seem like a lot, it can really upset the handling of the car. This presented somewhat of a challenge for the team to overcome. The crew worked feverishly throughout the three rounds of practice and made good headway on the handling. By the last round of practice David was third fastest.

 Qualifying

 David heading out on to the track for his qualifying effort.

After the three rounds of practice and many adjustments to the car David and the team were hopeful for a good qualifying time. David was up to the task and timed in second quickest. When the track has twin races they do a direct invert of the top four which would mean that David would be starting third in the first 50 lap feature.

Race #1

David started third in the first feature and on the initial start as the field settled out, he ended up running in third. About fifteen laps in to the race he started to complain that the car was too loose and he couldn’t get back to the throttle as quick as he would like to, coming off the corner. He was able to keep up to the cars in front of him but the car behind him was just a little better then David was. He managed to get to David’s back Bumper and kind of moved him out of the way. David pulled back down behind him and raced the rest of the race there, and finished fourth. 

Race #2

For the second race there was a direct invert of the top four from race 1 which put David on the pole for the start. During the break between races we made several adjustments on the car to tighten it up coming off the corner. On the start of the second race the car looked real good, and just a few laps in David said the car was much better. From that point on, while the second place car could get within a car length or so, he was never able to make a challenge for the lead. The race had several cautions which tightened the field up, and even with a green, white, checkered at the end, David would not be denied his first win of the 2011 season.

David is always a fan favorite before, during and after the races. Above he is signing autographs for the fans after the race. The rest of the team was busy as well, getting the car through post-race tech and handing out free GazZu energy drinks and Sun Drop soda. 

Next week at Old Dominion is the rescheduled Tornados 100 Powered by On The Run. The event sponsors have added $3,000 to the purse, the winner will get an extra $2,000 and the second place finisher will get an extra $1,000.

See you at the track,

Jeff Polenz

David Polenz Racing