04/14/11 – KC RacewayThe National Late Model Series Rolled into Kansas City Speedway this morning under cloudy skies for the 14th race of the points season. The uncertain weather has the officials guessing how much more water they need. A couple more loads could stop the show if it rains at all. If they don’t put any more water down it may just be a short delay in the show in the case of a small shower, but with no rain the track will get dry slick and dusty. The decision is made to retire the water truck for the evening. Crews arrived early and some took part in the decision.
Now they begin work on their cars. Setting up and making preparations for the nights event. The evening starts out with Driver interaction with the fans. 60 under privileged children have been given grandstand tickets and pre-race passes to the pits for an up-close look at some of the best racing equipment in the nation. The kids are in awe as the walk between the huge haulers and the rolling workshops inside.
The crews are working busily, but each team takes time to walk the kids through their pit area, explaining how the car works and the tools needed to keep them running. They explain the discipline that racing requires. With a final message of staying in school and out of trouble, the kids head to the grandstands excited to see the drivers they just met roar around the track.
Opening ceremonies are finished and the hot laps are wrapping up. Early on the crowd sees that Faschek is gonna be one to watch. ERL_BLKJAK, usually a fan favorite, seems to be having a bit of trouble this evening. But all eyes are on the points leader BLS_34. He has maintained the lead for several weeks, but the top 5 are inching closer. VLR_Shock has really been gaining ground in the last few weeks, moving up 3 spots to 5th place in points.
Heat 1 rolls onto the track. The drivers are stopped on the front straight for introductions. The Greater Kansas City Youth Organization gets introduced as well. The cars begin rolling and lining up in 1st place is XCR_AX with Squirrel outside. Row 2 has TXR_7 inside with Simon lining up outside. Row 3 has Faschek inside and ERL_Turbo outside. Row 4 lines up team-mates BLS_42 inside and BLS_34 outside.
They roll to the green and run to the checkered flag with XCR_AX getting the win and Faschek coming from 5th to finish 2nd. From the back row, Team BLS finishes with BLS_42 and BLS_34 3rd and fourth. Simon finishes 5th followed by ERL_Turbo, TXR_7, and Squirrel. Heat 2 rolls out and stops on the front stretch for their introductions. The kids crowd the fence trying to get their favorite drivers attention. The officials move them back for safety and the cars roll on.
Lining up on the pole is IFRT_RB, with ERL_BLKJAK outside. IFRT_Jim lines up inside 2nd row with XCR_SlyFly outside. 3rd row lines up with VLR_Shock inside and Kam outside. On the 4th row we find BLS_Jsn! inside and IFRT_14 outside. With the heats finished and the clouds still looming, no time is spared and the Dash lines up. XCR_AX starts on the pole with IFRT_Jim outside. Faschek starts in the 3rd position followed by ERL_BLKJAK, BLS_42, and BLS_Jsn!
They roll out of turn 4 to the green flag and they are off for 10 laps. IFRT_Jim crosses the finish line in first place with Faschek hot on his heals. Coming in 3rd is ERL_BLKJAK followed by BLS_42, XCR_AX, and BLS_Jsn!The track is drying out fast and there’s no sign of the rain yet. The B-Main lines up with BLS_34 on the pole and XCR_SlyFly outside followed by Simon, Kam, ERL_Turbo, VLR_Shock, TXR_7, IFRT_RB, Squirrel, and IFRT_14.
VLR_Shock gets the checkered flag followed by BLS_32, Squirrel, ERL_Turbo, Simon, XCR_SlyFly, Kam, TXR_7, IFRT_RB, and IFRT_14.The feature lines up. The track is slick and dusty and the crews have adjusted accordingly. Lining up on the pole is BLS_Jsn! with XCR_AX outside. 2nd row lines up with BLS_34 inside and ERL_BLKJAK outside. 3rd row lines up with Faschek inside and IFRT_Jim outside.
4th row is VLR_Shock inside and our points leader mired back in the 4th row outside. And the 5th row inside is Squirrel and outside is ERL_Turbo. They roll to the green flag and they are off for 40 laps of dirt slinging competition. Looking at this lineup with Jim, Shock, 34, and BLKJAK starting in the back, this is going to be a tough race. IFRT_Jim charges in right away making a daring dive into turn 1 rolling though on the bottom and taking the lead. From 6th to 1st in half a lap.
The action is everywhere. Just a few laps in BLS_42 and ERL_BLKJAK get over the edge of the backstretch. BLS_42 recovers but ERL_BLKJAK spins and goes to the rear. Meanwhile VLR_Shock and Faschek are moving up through the pack. They are racing each other hard, but clean. Through the pack the competition is intense. We are ¾ of the way through the race when BLS_Jsn! and BLS_42 make contact sending BLS_42 off the backstretch. His night is done.
VLR_Shock and Faschek have made there way to the front. We’re down to the last lap and there’s contact between Jim and Shock. Jim spins out and recovers at the rear of the pack Shock slows after the contact and Faschek takes the lead. Shock scrambles to chase Faschek down but it’s no use. Faschek crosses the finish-line first.
The finishing order is Fascheck in 1st, VLR_Shock in 2nd, followed by BLS_Jsn!, XCR_AX, BLS_34, Squirrel, ERL_BLKJAK, IFRT_Jim, ERL_Turbo, and BLS_42 with a DNF after mechanical failures incurred in the crash that took him off the backstretch. Congrats to Fascheck for the charge through the pack for the win.
In the Post Race events, Faschek failed tech and had to forfeit the win. VLR_Shock gave his spot to IFRT_Jim do to the contact that sent him to the rear on the last turn. IFRT_Jim is the scored with the win. In further news the contact between Simon and ERL_Turbo in the B-Main, ERL_Turbo forfeits his A-Main finish to Simon, who refused the transfer spot after the B-Main incident.
NLMS is off next week, but join us on 4/28/11 at Kentucky Lates Motor Speedway for the 15th race of the season. BLS_34 leaves KC Raceway with a 65 point lead over Simon. IFRT_14 is only 71 points back, can they gain ground in the points chase? They have inched closer in the last few weeks. See ya in two weeks. Written By: ERL_Turbo