Friday, July 11, 2008: Accord Speedway, NY
The WildLife Photography, Tire King, and PowerMist sponsored Stevens Racing ARDC midget was "back on track" this past weekend with yours truly behind the wheel. The ARDC midgets were competing at Accord Speedway, NY for the first time since 1986. Returning from a concussion, I was excited to race on a smaller track where I won a micro sprint race about 5 years ago. I started 3rd in the heat on Friday and finished 2nd, which qualified me for the inversion into the feature. In the main event, I started 7th in the full line-up of 26 cars. On the initial start, I found myself in a three wide battle for 2nd coming off turn two. Unfortunately, there was a restart, after which I settled into 4th. As the race continued, the bottom groove went away and with the accident still fresh in my head, I was leery of moving to the top of the track for fear of "jumping the cushion." I lost enough ground while running 4th that two cars passed me on the outside. I moved up top after they went by, but I should have done it much earlier. Running a comfortable 6th now, there was a restart with only a few laps to go. On the restart, the driver in front of me seemed to hesitate, and I accidentally bumped into the back of him, costing myself two more positions. My official finish was 8th.
Overall, it was a good night for the Stevens Racing team. The car was "hooked up" all night and came home in one piece. I particularly enjoyed racing on a smaller track. On behalf of ARDC, thank you to the die-hard midget fans who traveled from Massachusetts for example. It was nice meeting you guys. In addition, thank you to Winner's Circle BBQ for providing our team with good eats! As always, thank you to the sponsors listed below for supporting us throughout the entire season.
The Stevens Racing team is looking forward to the next ARDC race, which is at my favorite track-Big Diamond-on Friday, August 1st. We hope to see you there!