The opening race of Season 2 made the traditional visit to the famous Daytona Super Speedway in Florida. Most of the teams made the trip and their haulers were safely installed in the in-field – notably though the JW Racing team was missing. There was much speculation in pitlane, with whispered questions about new engines and set-ups – perhaps they were not quite legal and the team wouldn’t want to risk disqualification….
The short break after Season 1 had seen the formation of a new team, with three former independent drivers joining up to create Anglo Dutch Racing – young Wilfred van de Brink who showed great promise after joining Season 1 late, along-side veteran Stephen Netherwood and the experienced Pascal Dukers. Hoping to make a real impression this season, the team were looking forward to Daytona which provides real opportunities for team work as the draft is exploited. ’ We hope to be able to challenge the other teams, particularly the powerful TRM guys, but we.....
The last race of the season saw the Arca Re/Max circus visit another part of Florida, but a very different track awaited the drivers and teams as they moved their trailers and rigs to Lakeland from Daytona. This lightly banked track poses a particular set-up challenge – namely how to get the car turning well, especially mid-corner, without making it dangerously loose on exit….it would remain to be seen whether the teams were able to rise to the challenge.
After an eventful practice, with drivers testing their cars’ handling to the limit and often beyond, tyre smoke lingered over the track for the qualifying session. And it was the TRM team who prevailed with Chip Disharoon and Steve Jones taking pole and 2nd place respectively. Jones was very upbeat about the race, and in his pre-race interview talked excitedly of the same 1-2 being repeated in the race itself…..
At race start, it certainly looked good for the TRM duo, whilst battles raged for track posit.....
And so to Daytona, that famous track that in many ways is easy to drive, but is challenging to race, and of course is much harder to win at! 21 drivers sallied forth, and in practice it was clear that good drafting partners were going to be needed to ensure a respectable finish.
Qualification saw the yellow #34 Pontiac take pole position with an impressive turn of speed in the hands of Steve Jones. Jones was delighted with his first pole at this track, and was looking forward to the race tinged with apprehension about the possibility of a ‘big one’ for which this track is notorious.
Mike Morris was yet again very impressive in qualification, taking second place, and no doubt hoping that his race would be free of the bad luck that has dogged him over recent weeks.
Good form in practice was repeated by third in qualifying by newcomer Wilfred Van de Brink in his first race in the series, running a Toyota. Informed observers were impressed by h.....
The series made its debut on clay at the Du Quoin one mile track, down in Illinois, on the first day of July. Everyone was talking about the different feel of driving stock cars on dirt, and there was a lot of set-up work going in practice! Such a tight and relatively slow circuit was bound to create close racing, whilst the slippery surface added spice to the mix – drivers would need to be very aware that the cars would move around a lot more than on the usual blacktop.
Robin Van Brenk was impressive in qualifying and grabbed pole from series leader Chip Disharoon. Van Brenk was looking like he would be very much a force to be reckoned with at this track. With Zulehner not able to make this event, and a technical problem keeping Netherwood out as the green flag fell, the outcome was far from predictable.
The Arca series moved to the legendary Rockingham track this week – otherwise known as the North Carolina Speedway, all the drivers and teams were very aware of the challenges. The nature of the track holds real dangers particularly as cars enter turn 1, and later as they leave turn 4, where the transitions onto and off the banking call for careful set-up work. And tyre wear – this track is notorious for high levels of wear and rapid degradation of performance, and pre-race questions about how tyres would last in longer runs under the green flag remained unanswered before race day…..
The qualifying session saw Michael Zulehner grab pole, whilst series ace Chip Disharoon fried his chances with a disqualification, sending him to the back of the field. Chip’s on-track speed would no doubt ensure that he would figure in the race.
Just to let you know TRM's Official Members site is now open - Its work in progress at the moment but we hope to get everything in place as soon as we can.
This will be a members only area where you will have to register for races, receive information on up coming events, check league format and most importantly - Race Results & Stats.
I hope you like what you see and i'm sure with your help and support - Jolts TRM League will continue to be the 'Place to Race'
