Last weekend was a challenge for the EBR team. Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway, things seemed OK. Eric started started 4th and finished 3rd in the heat. He went into the feature starting 12th. He looked fast enough, but just couldn’t get any momentum. He tried running high or low and could hold his own with the lead pack, running in about 8th, but that’s about as good as it got. He finished 9th.
It was a fun night with the normal crew and Phil Espenes with us too. When Phil’s there, we know we have an experienced wrench on hand if something goes really wrong. This night he was able to take a break from his long working schedule. We were glad he took some time out to join us. Also, we thank him for officially coming on as a sponsor with C&A Express.
We pitted next to Badger Midget driver Pat Hensen and his crewman/son Bradley and Pat’s brother Steve. It was fun having that Sun Prairie connection.
ANGELL PARK SPEEDWAY
There was a lot of anticipation going into the Legend portion of the Norm Nelson Classic at Angell Park Speedway on Sunday. Eric knows he can contend for a win and APS is the place we want to win the most.
Just before hot laps the team noticed a problem with the engine. In short it was only running on two of four cylinders. Some of our most trusted minds in the pits came to diagnose the issue including Warren Ropp, Mike Mueller and Brian Pearson. They eliminated the engine itself (which is good) and narrowed the issued down to either a stray loose wire or the blue box. The later would require more work than we could do at the track, even though Eric had a spare.
He missed hot laps and the guys said it wouldn’t hurt him to run the car. It was decided he’d start in the back of his seven car heat, he was supposed to start 3rd. The car ran like a champ and Eric got really hooked up on the high side. He put on a good show and finished 3rd. “We were so busy on the engine, I didn’t even set him up for that race or he’d have probably won it,” said Justin (the Crew Chief if you are new to the site).
Now what? The boys went about setting the car up for the feature. Eric started about 6th. He looked strong at the drop of the green. Coming out of the fourth-turn to finish the first lap, Eric ducked under a car just as the next one was spinning. Eric couldn’t react fast enough and nipped the spun car.
THE PIT STOP
Eric made a lap pointing at the left front that was obviously damaged beyond repair, although Eric couldn’t see that. He came into the pit area with the left front wheel flat on the ground with the lugs pointing to the sky. Never the less, Justin, who had sprinted from the first turn area and Brady “The Jackman,” sprung into action. Brady got the car jacked, Justin spun off the lugs and “Maybe there’s hope,” I thought as I stood by. Nope, no such luck. The whole left front of the car was ripped apart right down to the brake line ripping out of the caliper. It was an $800 day, assuming we can salvage the tire.
Ryan hopped into the semi-sized tow truck, which he thought was cool, to guide the driver and we headed to the pits at the corner of Benzmiller and Speedway.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that we have never practiced a pit stop, but have been prepared for a tire change, bumper replacement or bend and other minor issues all season. At least we completed the stop pretty well even if it was all for naught.
THE AFTER PARTY
Lots of fans came down after the races which is much appreciated. Almost everyone who didn’t already have one, got a personalized Dog Guard Out of Sight Fencing Koozie.
At the risk of missing someone, it was especially nice to see Greg Leatherberry and his friend Michael (and son Michael) from University Towing. Also, old friends Bill Kastorff and his brother Bob came down. Bob was the regular bus driver when Eric was playing SPHS hockey. A special thanks to Bob for his extra support this night! When the EBR team finally packed up, there were not many haulers left in the pits. We had fun pitting next to the Ecker crew and hope we can make that a weekly event.
In reliving the pit stop, Justin noted Bob Koltes patted him on the back and said, “I didn’t know you could run that fast.” Justin then pointed out that he beat the rest of the team to the car and they were way closer than he was.
THIS WEEK SO FAR
Monday, Bill Tefft took the fenders for painting and repair. Ryan spent about eight hours at The Maynard Drive Facility, helping get the car out, fenders off and a lot of other cleaning. Joe Wipperfurth repaired a couple of bumpers too.
Eric’s put in 4 to 5 hours in the shop every night after work, getting the car repaired. As of Thursday afternoon, the engine issue is still not resolved, but we hope to have that squared away tonight. Justin’s been here until 9 every night after work, making for some very long days for him.
Brady has also been on hand to help as has Mike Hughes. We really appreciate all of their work and know how lucky we are to have them all!
We race at Beaver Dam Raceway Saturday night, Aug. 3 and that’s it for this week.
Thanks to all of the fans for their support!
As always, a big thanks goes to all of our sponsors: Dog Guard Out of Sight Fencing, Storage & Handling Systems, Quest Civil Engineers LLC, Club LaMark (Madison’s Race Car Bar), Bullseye Games, BRS Radiator Machine & Fabrication, Ground Up Lifts, Wilcenski Farms, Grandpa Blumer, Blumer Antiques, C&A Express and Sun Prairie Pack 243 of the Cub Scouts.
And thanks to the crew and those who have had a hand in the car this year: Justin Hoium, Cody Weisensel, Mike Hughes, Greg Leatherberry, Joe Wipperfurth, Brian Benisch, Bill Tefft, Brady Kruchten, Phil Espenes, Stephanie Blumer and Ryan Liegel.