Two weeks ago at Kalamazoo Speedway was interesting to say the least. After suffering ignition problems in our first two practice runs, we found an ignition coil was bad. After fixing the problem the car ran well for the third round of practice. Double features were set for the evening and we were slated to start 17th in the first feature.
When the race began it was apparent early that it would be a long race as there were several caution flags. Our car was great though and we were making our way to the front, while passing some very tough cars. On lap 22 we had moved from 17th to 9th and were threatening to take 8th when for no apparent reason the right front lower ball joint sheared off. The right front suspension left the car to include the spindle, and brakes. With no brakes hitting the wall was unavoidable. Unfortunately the damage to the car was unrepairable so in a huge hurry we took the trailer home and brought our other car to the track. We got it ready just in time to start the feature, but the car was not very competitive, as it was not set up to run at Kalamazoo. After the night was over we found extensive frame damage to the first car. After getting it home we discovered that the car was not salvageable so we went shopping for another one.
Last Friday we purchased a used Ellis car to replace the damaged one. I am happy to announce that Michigan Hall of Fame Driver Harry Foote Jr. will come out of retirement to drive the car at select events for the remainder of the season using his number 70 while I will remain in the 96 car for the remainder of the year. The point of the move is to put our efforts together to strengthen our team in the future.
Last Saturday night was scheduled double features at Kalamazoo. Several adjustments were made to our car throughout the evening, as it was the first time it was scheduled to compete at the speedway for the year. The adjustments were working and we qualified at a 13.905 for our best time of the year. In the first race the car handled well at first and then fell off leaving us with a 15th place finish. Before the second race, several more adjustments were made and it fared better finishing 10th after starting 15th. We learned some things that we can change this week in the shop to make the car better for our next race and are excited about our chances two weeks from now when we return to Kalamazoo Speedway.
See you at the races,
Dan Frazier #96
