It was another interesting night as the Eric Blumer Racing team finished out the Beaver Dam Raceway season. Going into the night, a little like last week, Eric found himself 5th in points. Only a catastrophe for him or the drivers on either side of him in points was going to change their standings. For a couple of weeks now with time and money running out as school and hockey season approached, Eric needed to save what he could in advance of the Dirt Nationals.
The action heated up on the second lap of the feature with one car spinning in the second turn. Two or three cars ping-ponged off him and Eric had nowhere to go and nipped one of the other spun cars. The immediate result was a bent bumper and flat tire on the 6E.
With the yellow flying, Eric came to the attention of the EBR pit crew. Justin Hoium was proud to note later, “Did you see I was the first one there?” in an apparent dig to DII athlete Brady Kruchten who was several seconds behind the much older Crew Chief.
The team went to work, bending back the bumper with the famed Zellichson Bar and changed the tire with time to spare. It was the team’s first effort at replacing a wheel and it went flawlessly. EBR is one of the few Legend teams that prepares a “war wagon,” which is a nod to one of its mentors, Pearson Racing.
EBR wasn’t done though, as the “Over the Wall Crew,” of Justin, Brady, Brian, Phil and Stephanie (Ryan “Speedy” Liegel, who prepares and hauls the War Wagon, doesn’t do live pit stops yet) then turned their attention to fellow competitor Dominic Troyan who needed a bumper totally replaced. Before the EBR crew could react, Troyan had unbuckled, exited his car and was running back to his pit to get a new bumper and other trappings to replace his damaged one.
While Dominic was still headed to his pit, our team went to work to remove the damaged piece of iron and put a fresh EBR one on. Stephanie chased down the driver of the 01 who had already reached his pit. He was told to get back to the car as it was already race-ready. Dominic strapped in and hit the track with the rest of the field. Dominic and Eric have been fierce competitors since their karting days and the dynamic continues today. An appreciative Troyan stopped by after the race to thank the team for their help.
Eric was relegated to 20th on the restart. He made a good charge, taking advantage of a couple of cautions and ended up 11th. After the race, it was discovered that an axel was damaged and we are assuming there will be more problems, but as of press time the car has not been properly inspected.
Unofficially, Eric did finish 5th in BDR points. Last season he was 14th.
NEWS AND NOTES:
It was great to see Team Advisor Brian Benisch ditch the suit, tie and desk job at EBR to take on the Crew Chief roll. The duty was short-lived as Justin Hoium and the Weisensel Midget team returned from their Indy adventure a day early. Justin could have easily taken a night off after spending most of the week on the road, but duty called.
As for Brian, “I was happy to see Justin. I don’t know what I’m doing with these cars,” he said, selling himself way short. He did arrive early at the Maynard Drive facility where it was learned just hours before leaving for the race that the team hauler had no tail lights. Brian got them fixed in short order.
Phil Espenes was a welcome addition to the crew on the night.
It was likely the last night of racing for Brady Kruchten and Ryan Liegel, as they have school during the first two days of the Dirt Nationals. EBR thanks them for their service this season and hopes they’ll be back next year!
Eric will be racing in the INEX Dirt Nationals at Wisconsin's 141 Speedway (basically between Green Bay and Manitowoc) Sept. 19 (practice day), 20 and 21.
As always, we couldn’t get to the races without the help of our supporters! Thanks to you all:
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 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.