|
Hafertepe Jr. Just Misses Top-10 At Eldora
Daryl Turford
Sunnyvale, Texas-The Plumbfast Racing Team and Sam Hafertepe Jr were able to turn their season around this past weekend with two solid runs at Eldora Speedway. Friday night's program was rained out following the heats but the following night they were able to get the races in and Sam brought the Fusion Energy Boost #15H home in 11th place.
Friday night's action got underway under ominous skies and things didn't start off well for the team as Sam was only 21st in warm-ups but the team caught a break when they earned the final inversion spot with a 16th place effort in qualifying.
At the start of his heat race the 2007 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year wasted little time in asserting himself as he moved up in front of Lee Jacobs and drove away for a dominating win in his heat race over Terry McCarl.
There were 10 pills to draw from for the Dash line up and Sam did himself no favours by pulling the 10 but just moments after the draw the skies opened up and unfortunately the nights events had to be cancelled.
"It was really too bad that we couldn't get the race in", said Sam. "We bolted in a Fisher motor for the first time and it ran great. I'm really happy with how it ran, it has a ton of power but it doesn't spin the tires so it's very driveable."
The following night things got off to a rocky start as Sam had to pull into the pits before he was able to complete a lap in warm-ups.
"We had a fuel leak", said the Sunnyvale, Texas racer. "I was driving down the back straightaway and being drenched in fuel. I was pretty worried that we might catch on fire so I pulled it into the pits and shut everything down as quick as I possibly could".
Sam's luck seemed to change for the better when he was able to time in an impressive 7th place in time trials. Given the lack of warm ups and going out 2nd last in the time trial order the team was ecstatic with the performance.
"To go out and be that fast, that late in warm-ups was a huge boost", said the happy racer. "Chris and Kory did a great job and gave me a great race car and it finally seems like we are starting to get rewarded for their hard work".
The heat race however didn't quite go as planned as Sam entered the turn side by side with Ed Lynch Jr and had to take the high line which was not the place to be. Hafertepe exited turn 2 in 3rd with Sammy Swindell all over his tail tank but he was able to settle in and drive away for a solid 3rd place finish in the heat.
At the drop of the green flag in the feature race the Fusion Energy Boost 15H was a rocket as Sam was able to pick up several spots on the bottom before blasting by Ed Lynch Jr and setting his sights on Craig Dollansky for 7th. Dollansky rode the rode the rail while Sam ran the bottom, lap after lap the two duelled until a lap 7 caution.
A 3 lap green flag session saw Sam maintain the 7th position but a battle was shaping up between Sam and Tim Kaeding.
On the restart Sam and Kaeding immediately got after it exchanging slide job after slide job, coming closer and closer to disaster with each pass attempt. Lap after lap saw Kaeding slip by Sam only to have the 3rd year World of Outlaw (WoO) racer turned back under him and slide up just in front of him. Finally, after several heart-stopping moments Kaeding was able to complete the pass on lap 19 before the field was slowed for a lap 20 caution.
Sam once again found himself in another slide job competition with Cody Darrah on the restart as he had moved back to the bottom of the track while Darrah occupied the middle to the bottom. Darrah was able to slip by twice but with each attempt Sam was able to keep up his momentum and return the favour. Finally on the 3rd attempt Darrah was able to get around him as Sam was dealing with a slightly fading race car.
As the laps wound down Sam was reeling in the car of Jason Sides when a yellow flag flew on lap 24 with Sam holding down 10th. The WoO decided to red flag the race and allowed the teams to add fuel and adjust air pressure. Crew Chief Chris Strait adjusted the air pressure on the right rear and sent Sam back on his way.
The restart was wild as Sam was able to get around Sides on the restart but while the pass was taking place Kerry Madsen got a run on both of them around the top and passed them. As Sam's car faded a little more with each lap Joey Saldana and Terry McCarl were able to get him as Sam brought the Fusion Energy Boost 15H home in 11th.
"It was a blast to actually go out and be really competitive once again", exclaimed the Sunnyvale shoe. "The car was really good, it was probably a top-5 car but I got over-anxious a couple of times and overheated the tires. As the race went on that came back to bite us and we lost some spots late".
The Plumbfast Racing Team now find themselves with a busy week ahead of them. Tuesday night will see the WoO invading Delaware and then heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Pennsylvania Posse on the Thursday and Friday night at Williams Grove.
FUSION ENERGY BOOST FAST FACT-Following a very successful race at Lone Star Speedway the Hafertepe-owned facility is pleased to announce that the World of Outlaws will make a return later in the year. The Hafertepe's and the WoO were able to make an arrangement that will see the Outlaws return on October 24th in one of the final races of the season for the tour.
"We were ecstatic with how things went at the first show and we learned a lot", explained Sam Sr. "We were caught off guard by some problems at the first race but we are going to have everything taken care of and the fans are going to have a blast in October".
Support the people who support Sam: Fusion Energy Boost, G-H Plumbing, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, AFCO Racing Shocks and Smiley's Race Products
|
