It was the curse of the double mains to many at the Bullring last Saturday night!  Double Main night is always one that can either make or break a team, not only in the points hunt, but also the car itself.

My strategy has always been to survive the first and try to improve in the second.  We were able to manage in an excitement filled first main, but failed on our goal in the second main.

Our qualifying strategy paid off again. We qualified 12th out of 22 cars and were on the cusp of the dash. Our qualifying attempt put us on the infamous outside in row 12.  We had a very good start and were able to get into the groove after lap one, only being passed by two cars.

Being passed by only two cars starting on the outside at the Bullring is actually great because the track is known for only being one groove and if you get shuffled to the outside, sometimes it turns into a freight-train.  As the first main progressed, we saw crash after crash, many becoming victims to the survival of the double-main night.

We ended up finishing seventh in the first main with the car in one piece, running and handling fairly well. We wanted to loosen the car up in the center just a tick for the second main, so we made a few adjustments and hurried to get to line up.

During the second main we became victim of the double main night curse. The invert was five for the second race, so we were able to start inside row four, our best start of the year. With the adjustments we made and a great starting position, I could actually smell our first top five finish of the year, only to have the favorable fragrance drowned out with the smell of burning tires.  On lap number two, after we had another good start, I found myself in fifth, only to be taken out by somebody running behind me.  We were coming out of turn two and someone got into the back of me, spinning me in front of almost the entire field.  I was lucky enough to be able to control the spin and end up at the bottom of the track as everybody else went high causing the end of the night for a handful of cars, including teammate Jeff Bargerhuff in the No. 2 Late Model.

Because we were involved in an incident that brought out a caution, we were sent to the back of the field. No more smell of a top five. We tried our best on the next re-start but unfortunately the car was horrible!  After the incident, we ended up with a bent rear end housing and some bent heims in the rear. We plugged along and ended up with another top ten and plenty to fix!
Boy how I love those double Mains!

On a high note, the Modified from H-Town Racing Inc. driven by older brother Pat Petrie was able to come from the back and win his heat race.  I know it's not a main win, but we will take what we can after the season we had with that car.

We will be using the Final Points Night as a test ‘n' tune for the upcoming Fall Classic.  All three cars will be working primarily on our qualifying set-ups, trying to hit the mark of what made the show last year, scuffing tires and fine tuning the engines.

We would once again like to let everybody know we are still seeking a primary sponsor for the 2009 season that includes the Race to Success Reading Program and all of our other business driving marketing opportunities!  If you are interested please contact me at either htownspeed@cox.net or 702-378-2363.
And finally, an extra special thanks to Findlay Chevrolet for all of their support for the last couple of years, check them out at www.findlaychevy.com. Thank you to Dr. Mary Ann Shannon, SFC USA Inc., and Black Mountain Graphics!

See you on the 16th!

Jim Petrie
www.htownspeed.com

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