“Always Forward,” the virus, last week’s race and more. In that order.
ALWAYS FORWARD
As Stephanie highlighted Saturday on Facebook, the 6E got a new graphic.
It’s our way of showing support for our good friend Brian Benisch
(the Dog Guard guy). In short, we’ve been going to the track with
the Benisch family for probably 15 years. Brian was Eric’s first
crew chief in the Legend, the first one to strap him in and he
continues to support us today.
About three and a half years ago, Brian beat back cancer. Unfortunately,
it wasn’t totally defeated and he learned last week that it has returned.
He’s truly confident that he’ll beat it this time and we want to be there to
support him.
“Always Forward,” is a phrase Brian has used to motivate himself. To remind him not to look back, but to always look ahead. He got a tattoo to help remind him of this when times get tough. Greg was able to duplicate Brian’s tat to put on the car.
THE VIRUS
At first glance, we were pleased to see that Beaver Dam Raceway was going ahead with “Fan Appreciation Night.” We look forward to this event every year and planned to participate in 2020. Upon further thought between Bill, Eric and Justin, it was decided that we will not be participating this year, due to the virus.
We truly appreciate the efforts BDR has made to allow us to race this year. We really want to thank the fans for coming out and supporting racing of any type. But, there are health concerns on the team and there are certainly arguments to be made on either doing the “meet and greet,” or not. We simply are choosing to err on the side of caution. We hope you understand.
LAST WEEK’S RACE
Saturday, July 11 had all the earmarks of one of those nights where you’d just be happy to roll the 6E on the trailer with no repair bills. The track was a bit dry and a little rough and the Legends brought another field north of 30 cars, so everyone was working toward just making the feature. Through the course of the night, there was a lot of contact with no less than five cars going to the pits on the hook.
Eric started 5th in his heat and just nipped Adam Clark as the two crossed the line to finish 4th, the last transfer spot.
Justin and Greg monitored the track and made the appropriate adjustments for the A-Main. Eric started 15th among the 20 starters and would likely need some cautions to get a shot at a win.
Disaster nearly struck on the first lap when the leader cut across the front of Tristan Furseth who was in second, as they exited turn-two. Furseth narrowly avoided contact and took the lead for a moment, but then gave up the point to Brian Peterson. Furseth regained the top spot about five laps in and put several car-lengths between the field and him.
Eric was patiently picking off cars, but the usual suspects were ahead in a pretty tight pack including Ryan Sullivan, Brian Peterson, Mike Mueller, Jordan Miklas and Ryan Mech starting 8th, 9th, 5th, 2nd and 11th respectively. Eric probably trailed them by five-lengths when the yellow came out on the tenth lap. When the green came out Eric was eighth and battling Ethan Diehl as the pack strung out a bit.
There were no more cautions and Eric tried most grooves at least once, but with all of the fast cars up front, he was only able to garner two more spots for a 6th place finish. He was satisfied with the car and felt he could run high or low, but the hill was too big to climb. The 6E was in one piece and we’d gained 11 spots, so it was a good night.
Furseth won by about half a straightaway. It was his first Legends feature win, he also won his heat.
UP NEXT
It will be another 5-Division night at BDR on Saturday, July 18. Please see the track’s site for full details.
POINTS
Out of 108 cars scored, Eric is currently ranked 25 in INEX Semi-Pro world points.
At Beaver Dam Raceway he’s tied with Brian Peterson for 4th.
While they have not been updated, we think Eric is 1st in Wisconsin Legends Racing Dirt Series points.
A NOTE OF THANKS!
As always, thanks to our sponsors: Dog Guard of Wisconsin; BRS Radiator, Machine & Fabrication; Northern Air Systems, Inc.; Phil Espenes; Storage & Handling Systems; Club LaMark; Bullseye Games; Ground Up Lifts; Sieg Law Office; OWL Graphics and Lettering; Grandpa Blumer.
We couldn’t do it without the folks who helped put the 6E on the track this season! Justin Hoium, Big Dumb Guy, Greg Leatherbeary, Joe Wipperfurth, Bill Tefft, Brian Benisch, Cody Weisensel and Stephanie Blumer.