Beck's Hybrids 6c Finishes 7th at Quincy

Sunday evening the 6c drove to a another top ten, finishing in 7th spot. The night featured both winged and non-winged sprints which created a much different racing surface. It was fun watching these cars that drew my interest to the sport some forty years ago. In my opinion, winged sprint car racing is the most enjoyable to watch.

We had plenty of time to hang out--This picture is of two of my racing friends: Bobby Anders (fellow racer) and Randy Uppinghouse (my crew chief).

Bobby Anders and Randy Uppinghouse 

We started outside the front row for the heat race. I was able to hold onto that position for just one lap. Bobby (pictured above) took over second in the fourth corner of the second lap. I was able to maintain third for most of the lap until Jeff Delonjay passed me on the outside to take over third. During final four laps I was able to hold onto fourth and qualify for the feature.

The Pits are Full of Sprinters! 

I started fourth for the feature. Randy made some adjustments to the car before we went out. They proved to suit my style of driving. The race was littered with cautions. We had multiple spins and crashes. This made for a very long race. I stayed in the top ten throughout the race and was able to make it up to fifth before the last caution. The final six laps of racing were some of my best even though I dropped to seventh to finish. We are making improvements each time we go out. I am looking forward to going back to Quincy for the June 1st race.

Come Along for a Ride

Solid Finish at Quincy Raceways

It was great to miss the rain on Sunday and go racing Sunday evening. After shaking off the rust of winter last week, I was ready to correct the error of my ways. It was a wonderful night for racing, and by the time of the feature, the weather was perfect.

The night started and we were lined up in fourth for the heat race. It was somewhat uneventful and I went on to hold that position to finish fourth after the eight-lap dash. But, at that time, we were starting to experience some carburetor trouble.

Thank you Jeff Carter for all your help!

I landed the six spot for the feature and was feeling a lot more comfortable in the car. It is amazing the muscle memory that goes into racing. A person on the street would never get that unless he went without driving for eight months and then drove in New York City the first time out.

The carburetor malfunctioned as we attempted to start it up to go out for the feature. With Randy thrashing on it, the engine fired just before the feature line-up was called.

As the green flag dropped, we were able to maintain our spot throughout the race. Missing several spins, the race drew out with some cautions.  I stayed on the high side for the majority of the race and stayed with the leaders for the most part. With one more caution the chief steward notified us that we had reached the time limit. This means that the green flag would drop one more time and the finish would be the next flag, whether checkered or yellow.

Never Unscaved at Quincy!

I began to struggle in the corners just before the caution. I decided, and it was a mistake, to change my line. With that decision, as the green flag dropped, I lost two spots. Two laps later the caution came out and the race was over. One poor decision gave me an eight place finish....lesson! We will be back at Quincy once again on Sunday evening.

Eighth Place at Quincy for 6c Season Opener

Cowman Racing kicked off the 2014 season at Quincy Raceways on Sunday, May 4th. It was a night filled with interesting twists and turns. After a long off-season away from the track, it was good to be back in action. 

Randy and I both needed to shake the dust off and Sunday was the perfect time to do it. Both of us certainly were due. I could list several things that I forgot to start off the season,  but it would take up the remainder of this blog...so we will just say that it was a night to remember.

I started in 7th place in the heat race. I finished 7th in the heat race. The take-away from the event was that I had a chance to redeem myself in the feature. As I pulled into the pits, before Randy could even say a word, I said, "I was junk and you work way too hard at this for me to drive that way."

It was great being at the track though. Getting reacquainted with several friends and looking at all the new rides for the year was exciting in and of itself.

Shiny and New

The sport mod feature rolled around and we were thirteenth in the line-up. Randy told me before going out to get some seat-time and bring the car back in one piece. I prepared myself to do just that. As the green flag dropped, we were off and running. By lap three I had made it into the top ten. I was somewhat satisfied to run there for a few laps and get my rhythm. I began to close the gap between myself and the ninth place car.

The race was somewhat uneventful until lap sixteen, when going into turn one I spun out. This brought out the caution and put me back to the fifteenth spot with two laps to go. At this time, I decided to push as hard as I could to recover from my mistake and to get to a somewhat respectable finish.

The Yellow Arches

The green flag dropped and I went to the bottom. I had decided I was going to hug the inside for two laps and nose my way up through the field. In lap seventeen I was able to pass four cars and on lap eighteen I was able to get around three more to finish in the eighth spot and was able to come back to the pits in one piece.

Overall it was a good night, even with all the mistakes and lapses. Week one is in the books!