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Here is the race report for race number ten for the
NASCAR AutoZone Elite Southwest Series. With half the team staying
in Colorado and with the disappointment still lingering from their
29th place finish at Pikes Peak, the team received an unexpected
invitation from fellow competitor MK Kanke and his car owners, Dan
and Kathy Nikolai. The invitation was the use of the team’s shop,
and an invite to a beautiful campground located just above
Colorado Springs.
The team would work on the racecar during the day and then head to
the campgrounds for a night under the stars. The team was allowed
to do some fishing in a private pond and all the team members were
very successful in catching their limits of fish.
With the team rejuvenated from their week of camping and working on
the car, the team was eager to get back to work. On Friday, the
team started the day off at the Stock Building Supply store #603
located in Denver, Colorado for a barbecue sponsored by the Stock
Building Supply vendor, James Hardie Sliding Products. The crew
had a meet and greet with the store’s associates, contractors, and
fans. The turn out for the barbecue was fantastic, and the team
would like to extend a great deal of thanks to Randy and Jenny for
their kind hospitality.
The team then headed to Erie, Colorado, home of Colorado National
Speedway. As the team unloaded the racecar, they were reminded
that their last visit to Colorado National Speedway in June
resulted in a Did Not Finish (DNF) because a mechanical failure.
With the problems that the team had experienced at Pikes Peak, the
team had great concern. They wanted to make sure that they had
fixed the problem in the fuel system that had plagued them all day
at Pikes.
The team rolled onto the track and the car was really fast, setting
the fastest time of the day. The team had been successful in
fixing the fuel problem. The team felt confident that they would
have a strong run. The team had two practice sessions on Saturday.
Rip was fastest in both practices session. Rip then backed that up
by capturing his first Bud Pole of his short career on the NASCAR
AutoZone Elite Southwest Division with a lap of 16.243
The team was really pumped up, they knew they had a fast racecar.
Rip pulled a ten for the invert, which put the tenth fastest
qualifier on the pole. Rip would start tenth in the race on the
outside of row number five. At the drop of the green flag, Rip
avoided getting caught up in an accident at the start of the race.
He dropped to the 15th position had started to make his way back
up through the field. He worked his way up to the 6th position by
lap 75. Rip was content to ride in the 6th position until lap 125.
Rip started to make his charge when he thought he had a right rear
tire going down.
He was getting ready to come into the pits when he was told to stay
out by his spotter, and Team Manager, Michael Medlin. He knew that
a caution flag was going to come out due to a spinning car. That
call saved Rip and the team from losing laps on the track. Rip did
not have a flat tire, a car had oiled the track down and Rip had
been losing traction because of the oil. Rip had dropped backed to
the 11th place position with seven laps to go and made it back up
to eight where he finished the night.
“We are really pleased with our performance tonight,” said Rip. “We
felt we had a top three car but circumstances just did not fall
our way. On the bright side of things we gained one position in
the points and the car is in one piece.”
The team will now head to Irwindale Speedway located in Irwindale,
California, for the Stock Building Supply Southwest Series 150 &
Home Improvement Show. Rip is the all time win leader at the track
with 41 victories. The Home Improvement Show starts at 4:00PM.
Look for more details on the show in this week’s press release.
For more information about Rip Michels and his sponsors, please
visit www.ripmichels.com
Source By: LRM Sports Marketing, Inc. |
