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Brady Bacon – Surviving Sprintweek!
(Bill W) July 22, 2014 – It was not the Indiana Sprintweek that Brady Bacon and the Hoffman Racing #69 were hoping for, but they emerged from it in position for a USAC National Sprint Car championship. They are just five points out of the lead with eleven events remaining. The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driver will be campaigning his #99 410 winged machine this week in five races in the Midwest.
Indiana Sprintweek started at the I-69 Speedway in Gas City. “We had a bad pill draw in qualifying and still managed to qualify third,” says Brady. “That kind of saved our night. We had a tangle in the heat race and tore the car up a little bit. We had to fix the front end.” After winning the B main from the pole, Brady lined up seventh for the main event. “It was pretty much a go-kart race on the bottom, unfortunately,” he says. “I think I got up to fifth, and went to the top. Someone got by me, and I fell back in line and finished sixth. It wasn’t very exciting, but it could have been a lot worse.” Kokomo Speedway was up next. Brady timed in second quick. “We had the track record for a short amount of time, before Dave (Darland) went out and beat us,” he says. “Qualifying really saved us almost every night.” Brady would grab the final transfer (fourth) in his heat after starting sixth. He started the feature fifth. “We just weren’t that good,” he admits. “We maintained. The track was pretty much around the top. I probably spent a little too much time trying to make the bottom work and lost a couple of spots (finishing eighth). It seems like something’s changed a little bit. We just need to get back on track to where we were earlier in the year.” Lawrenceburg Speedway resulted in a rainout, but Brady got qualifying (11th quick) and his heat in (fourth). “The track was a little goofy,” he says. “The groove was around the bottom in qualifying and I went out early. I kind of didn’t know what to do, so I took a lap on the top and one on the bottom. If I would have stayed on the bottom, it would have been better.” The second half of Sprintweek started at the Terre Haute Action Track. “Terre Haute is our best track in Indiana,” says Brady. “The bigger the better for us is how it’s been pretty much. We were good all night (qualifying 3rd quick). There was a wreck on the first lap of the heat, so we were able to start inside row two and win that.” He would start fourth in the feature. “I got out to the lead, and it may not have been the best place to be,” says Brady. “We were running the top, which is usually the place to be there, but the bottom and middle of three and four were really good. (Bryan) Clauson and (Robert) Ballou got by me. Once they got by, we couldn’t get back by them. We just missed that spot on the racetrack. We were kind of ‘leading blind’. Unfortunately, third at Terre Haute was the highlight of the week for us.” Things started well at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville. Brady registered quick time. “We were good at the beginning of the night,” he says. “We weren’t able to get through the heat, but we won the B. We had an engine problem and we had to change it after the B. That wasn’t ideal.” Instead of starting seventh in the main event, Brady was penalized two rows. “USAC is implementing a time limit rule, which they haven’t perfected yet,” he says. “We were penalized two rows for being late, however, we were on the track waiting five minutes to be pushed off. That was a little extreme considering we had a mechanical problem.” He would checker ninth in the feature. “We could have probably gained a couple of spots if we hadn’t had the penalty,” says Brady. “We weren’t that great. We were just maintaining and missing some of the wrecks. We just could never get going. Everyone is so tough now…especially at Sprintweek.” Bloomington Speedway saw record times in qualifying. “We were 13th quick, but we were only a tenth out of quick time,” says Brady. “It felt a little like an Outlaw race. The track was really fast in qualifying. I think twenty cars broke the track record.” After winning his heat from third, Brady lined up for the feature. “We were running sixth or seventh and we had a tire start going down under yellow,” he says. “On the restart, we went into turn one and got run over. We had to go to the back and change the tire. The way the track was…it’s so narrow…you have guys racing side by side in front of you, and you can’t do anything (he finished 17th).” Tri-State Speedway near Haubstadt hosted the finale. “I was actually disappointed,” says Brady of his run at Haubstadt. “We were really good there last time out. We qualified second and made it out of the heat. It was just hard to make any ground up (he finished sixth after starting fifth). I think (Daron) Clayton passed a couple of cars, but other than that, everyone was racing with the same cars the whole race. I don’t know if everyone was just a little faster this time or what. If we started in the front, we probably would have finished there.” Though the team went from the point lead, to five points behind Darland in the USAC race, Brady still has confidence. “We have some things we need to figure out to finish the year,” he says. “Obviously, we’re in great position for a championship. We just need to finish off the year strong and get some bugs figured out.” There will be time for that. The next USAC National sprint car event will be the Kokomo Smackdown in late August. This week, Brady heads to Illinois Speedweek tomorrow night at Highland Speedway, Friday at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City and Friday at Jacksonville Speedway. On Saturday, he will run at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, before meeting up with the All Stars at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota on Sunday. Follow Brady on his Website, Twitter and Facebook! Follow Brady at his website located at www.BradyBaconRacing.com! Also keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter (which also can be accessed at the website) at the following links… Twitter Link – http://twitter.com/BradyBacon Facebook Link - www.facebook.com/pages/Brady-Bacon-Racing/278125555137
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Brady Bacon Racing would like the following sponsors for all their help: Fatheadz Eyewear, Tel-Star Communications, PPM Titanium Products, Triple X Race Components, Smiley's Racing Products, Heath Clips Lawn Care, VanDerBrink Designs, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Eaton Industrial Coatings, Pattison Precision Products, Oilfield Equipment and Manufacturing, Butlerbuilt Seats, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Diversified Machine Inc., Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Lightning Wings, Simpson, CP Pistons, Schoenfeld Headers, Carrillo Rods, Sweet Manufacturing, All Star Performance, King Racing, Schroth Racing, FSR Radiators and Fuel Safe.
The Hoffman #69 sprinter is sponsored by Mean Green, Mopar, Triple X Race Components, Hoosier, DMI, Lykins, Engler Machine & Tool, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, KSE, MPD Racing, CSI Shocks, XYZ Machining, Saldana Racing Products, Fuel Safe Racing Cells, Fastener Specialty Motorsports, Wilwood Brakes, Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, Zemco Headers, Chalk Racing Products and Weld.
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