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How We Did
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| How We Did |
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| A race by race update as to how the Z-MAN and the 93 team did in the 2004 season. A New update will start for 2005 when the season opens. |
March 13 - BUG DAY - Mark only took the 93 out for one practice session. He felt the car was pretty awesome and didn't want to chance getting tangled with some of the cars that were driving a little over their heads.
Mark and the 93 crew are ready to go next Saturday.
March 20 - OPENING DAY - Mark started on the pole in the 4th heat and finished 4th.
Just as the cars were rolling out for the feature, the rain started falling and that's where the day ended. The feature will be run next week.
March 21 - Williams Grove - Mark started 18th in the feature and finished 12th.
March 27 - In the feature held over from last week, Mark started in the 19th slot. The feature ended with the 93 finishing 11th, but on the daylight surface, passing was limited and many cars dropped out moving us forward.
The regular show followed, and Mark started 6th in the 3rd heat. A third place finish gave him a 12 place starting spot, and 12th place is where he ended the feature. Mark was running 7th and running against the cushion. On the 23rd lap, he missed the cushion and made his 2nd great save of the day, but lost 5 spots. The other 'Save' came on the first lap, when Steve Cannon flipped when contact with Raymond Myers was made. Cannon was upside down near the flag stand and Myers was drifting to the inside wall. Mark made an amazing set of maneuvers to get the 93 through. He made a sharp left to avoid Steve, then cut back and was side ways facing the flag stand on the other side of the 23C, he then got back in the throttle and straightened it out, not only avoiding the wreck, but retaining his starting position on the restart. The car was working well and with a better starting spot, on the daytime surface, we had a top 5 car.
The day concluded with a pit-crew contest (which we didn't particapate in) and the turning on of the new lights which are a great improvement.
UPDATE: Jim Shuttlesworth was caught cheating and given credit for 22nd which moved Mark up one spot to 11th.
April 03 - Not a good night! Mark started 6th in the 3rd heat and was run over by JR Fry coming out of turn 4 on the first lap. The crew had the car ready for the C main in which Mark started dead last and moved through the field to finish 6th, which transfered him to the rear of the B main. Staring 21st, Mark drove hard to finish 12th and did not qualify for the feature. Damage to the car included a brake line, both front shocks (totally destroyed), a half dozen heim ends, left front tortion arm, and and several other things.
***It also appears that someone ran over the front end on the backstretch before the heat accident, which may have contributed to the accident in turn 4. The brakes line may have been broken at that poing.
April 10 [posted 4/21] - Sorry, with changes to my computer at work, I have been unable to access this sited for several weeks. Mark finished 13th in the feature, but my recolection of the heat is as clear as mud!
April 17 - Mark was to start 5th in his heat, but was moved to 4th when a car did not come out. Mark was fast and had passed the 3rd place car in turn 1 of lap 1. He was about to pass for second and hit the cushion and packed the right rear with mud. With both rear wheels bouncing terribly, the decision was made for Mark to stay out. Mark finished 4th which started him 17th in the feature. In the feature the 93 dropped a spot and finished 18th. The American Racer tire was apparently sealed over as it was the same tire that was run the last two weeks and has shown no wear. We are currently 17 in the point standings.
April 24 - Mark Started 6th in the first heat. His 4th place finish started the 93 in the 16th spot in the feature. At the start of the feature, Mard dropped a couple spots and was spun in turn 4 by Dwaine Smith, which sent him to the rear of the field. Mark continued to run near the back of the field until the engine blew on the backstretch more than halfway through the feature.
April 30 - Williams Grove - Did not attend because the small stroker was put in the car and would not run well at the Grove.
May 01 - Mark was to start 5th in the 4th heat. Two cars did not start, so he moved to 3rd for the start. Mark finished 6th which started him 9th in the B main, which is the position in which he finished and therefore did not make the feature.
May 08 - Mark was 4th quickest in the hot laps and 4th in the third heat was the position that Mark started and 4th is where he finished, which gave him an 18th place start in the feature. The small stroker is still under the hood, but the car was really fast in the feature. Mark was running 13th and holding off Hager (9th place finish), Smokie (10 pace in the feature), Calaman, Wilbur, and Smith. It didn't look like any of them had anything for him and a top 10 finish looked very likely. On lap 16, Wilbur passed 3 cars on the front stretch and dove under Mark in turn 1. Rupp who was running in ahead of the 93 and 59 got stopped in the middle of the turn and the 59 jammed his brakes and went sideways in front of Mark. There was plenty of room to get around the 33, but Wilbur exibited some poor driving and collected the 93. Mark came to the pits to have the car checked out and everything looked fine. On the restart the engine stumbled but then picked up again, then going down the front stretch it went sour, and Mark brought the 93 to a stop in the back stretch. In checking the engine, one of the sparkplugs was smashed shut, but nothing seemed to be in the cylinder. In a side note, as Mark was sitting on the backstretch, the East Penn Service Center tow truck came to push him and hit the car while moving, rather than stopping or slowing down. Mark's neck was hurt and went to the medical crew for ice.+
May 15 - New Engine * Hot Laps * RAIN!!!
Oh well, maybe next week.
May 22 - Well the 93 luck struck again, even though we had our best finish in a while, it could have been better with some breaks or some fairness.
Mark started 4th in the 2nd heat, the car was fast and he shot low in turn 1 on the first lap to take second, but a caution caused a restart. On the restart, Mark again put the 93 in 2nd in turn 1. A caution again came out, but after the first lap was complete. For some unknown reason, they called for a complete restart. (93 luck strikes) On the restart, the 93 got pinched coming out of 2 and then a lap or two later the 19 of Calaman got into Mark in turn 4 breaking the left rear shock. Mark was able to guide the 93 to a 5th place finish which started him 2nd in the B Main. Mark jumped to the lead at the drop of the green....twice...as there was a restart. Mark distanced himself from the field and was never challenged ever with a B main full of top cars including Frankie Herr.
Mark started 21st in the Feature and the 93 luck struck several times. First, the 2M of Ondek spun on the first or second lap. Mark was deep in the field and the officials stated over the radio the he had to stop because the track was blocked and he would not be peanalized for stopping. Of course, they reversed their decision and he went to the rear. Then, he lost his correct starting spot on two restarts. Mark had passed the 25 of Hammaker 3 laps prior to a caution, but was placed behind him on a restart. On another caution, he was ahead of Miller by almost a car length at the flag stand, but on the next lap caution, he was put behind Miller and the lap counted. Even thought Mark would re-pass both of these cars, it could him at least 2 spots at the finish and maybe more, as he was just behind a group of about 5 cars at the checkered. Mark finished 11th and moved from 25th to 20th in points. Mark's transponded was taken by Alan Kreitzer along with several others to see if they were working, but what's done is done and we got the short end of a lot of things. I feel we had a top 5 car, and if things would have worked out in the heat and he would have started up front.....who knows!!
May 29 - 30 Lap Will Kreitzer Memorial - I arrived at the track just as the feature was starting, so I don't know how Mark Timed or made the feature. He did start 6th and finished 15th. Watching from the stands was sure different. Mark basically lost all his spots in the turns, the car did not give up anything on the straights. Mark is now about 17th in points. I'm not sure what points were awarded for non-qualifiers. There are two cars 10 points ahead, tied for 15, then there is over a 10 point gap to 14th. Some good runs are needed to make the top 10.
June 5 - This is a hard report to write. Mark started the 3rd heat in the 5th position and finish in 4th, which started him in our familiar 18th spot in the feature. After an initial decent start, Mark and the 93 started dropping toward the rear. On lap 18, Mark spun on the inside of turn 4. He kept the car going and the officials never threw the yellow flag. This same type incident had happend 3 times earlier in the night in heat races in all the classes. They had so many cars there, especially in the 4 cylinders, that it appeared they were risking equipment and driver injury to keep the show moving!
Paul Troutman was leading the race and had a sizeable lead. Mark was the last car on the lap and on lap 20 Troutman caught him going into turn #1. Here is where, I can't be sure as to what exactly happened, but Paul went inside of Mark and they got together. Paul went over Mark's front end and flipped ending his night. Mark came to the pits giving him a 24th finish. Back to the accident, from my perspective, standing along the pit fence across from the flag stand, at first I thought Mark came down on Paul, but I really couldn't see much into the turn. After rethinking what I thought I saw, I'm convinced that what looked like Mark coming down on Paul, was just Mark entering the turn first and making his turn, but leaving sufficient room for Paul below him. At least a dozen people, who had a much better view than me, said that Paul went under Mark way too hard and came up on him. I had no one in the pits say anything different. Mark also said Paul came up on him and explained that if he would have chopped Paul, Paul wouldn't have run up over the front of the 93 and flipped.
I don't know, but I sure feel bad for Paul. It was his race. I also feel bad for Mark, as everyone on the message boards and the papers are faulting him entirely.
June 19th - The worst of the worst for the entire 93 team. Mark started 4th in the 4th heat. After the 52 jumped the start and caused a complete restart, outside front row starter, Lannie Hake hit the wall on the frontstretch. Mark was behind him and was able to avoid him and at the flag stand, Hake bounced down into Mark, sending the 93 airborne, flipping and being hit by other cars and landing at the first turn pit entrance. Mark refused medical attention saying he was just sore. His suit was torn on the back of the right shoulder and his tearoffs were torn, meaning something hit his helmet at eye level.
The car is basically a total loss. The wing and supports, of course are junk, the frame is badly bent. The engine mounts were broken, the headers destroyed, the front axle and everything attached bent or broken, the "W" link gone, nerf bars destroyed, fuel tank ripped loose from the mounts and badly pushed in, the rear bumper was torn right off the car. Not sure if the rear-end was bent or hurt, several tires were flat, but not sure if the rims are OK or not.
The sad part is that as of Saturday night, Walt said that he was done racing. It would cost too much money to build a new car for just the rest of this year, as he was probably calling it quits after this year. I'm hoping something can be done to get a car back on the track and Walt can get another win before he retires the 93 team. I really don't want it to end like this.
July 10 - After a whole lot of work and about $4000.00 the 93 returned to Silver Spring tonight with a little different look. The tail tank is one Walt had bought a year ago and it is RED.
Mark started 9th in the 5th heat and after two false starts by the polesitter, he moved to 8th. Mark got several brakes to move through the field. On the last lap, Mark passed the 59 coming out of turn 2 for 3rd place, but Wilbur came up on him and Mark had to let off. Coming out of 4, Mark made a run on the outside and just missed getting the 59 at the line by less than a foot. That gave the 93 a 20th spot in the feature and a dissapointing 19th place finish.
BUT...we are back and made the feature from the rear of our heat.
July 17 - 52 Lapper - RAINED OUT........ The rains came just before the start of
warm-ups. The race will be run over Labor Day weekend.
July 22 - Susquehanna - The 93 will not participate because we only have one engine and don't want to chance losing it. RAINED OUT!
July 24 - Mark started 4th in the 3rd heat and jump to 2nd on the first lap. This is where he finished. Mark lined the 93 up tenth for the feature, but after several 1st lap incidents, he was in 7th at the drop of the green. On lap 12, Steve Cannon was passing the 93 for 10th spot and going into turn 1, he cut up againt Mark and sent him into a spin. No cantact was made with any walls, but the damage caused by the 23 was enough to bring Mark in after several more laps. He finished 22nd, but the write-ups list him as 24th, don't know how they figure, as they put him behind Cannon who droppe out on lap 12 and Ort who also dropped out before Mark.
July 31 - Rain after 2nd hot laps.
August 1 - Selinsgrove - Rain after Heats. Mark will start 14th in the feature after a 10th place start and 7th place finish in his heat. This is starting to get sickening.
August 7 - Started 4thin in the first heat. Spun in turns 3 and 4 on the first lap and went back to 10th. Finished 5th for a pole position in the B main. Just barely qualified by finishing 6th in the B and started 26th in the feature, where he finished 22nd.
August 14 - Was not at the races because of directing a camp. So....I don't know where Mark started in his heat, but he did win it. I think he started 3rd in the feature and moved to 2nd on lap #4. He was chasing down the 55, who eventually won, but a caution on lap 14 gave the 55 a jump at the start that Mark could not close. The 93 came home in 2nd place which is the best finish this year. Let's hope this trend continues and we can get a win for Walt and Mark before the season's end...The 100 would be a good one to win!!
August 21 - The weather was OK, but previous rain had the track too sloppy and I heard the pond flooded and water was laying in the bottom of turns 1 and 2.
August 28 - Mark started 5th in the 3rd heat and dropped to 8th coming out of turn 4 to take the green flag. He advanced one spot and finished 7th which put him in the B main starting 13th. A mishap on the first lap moved Mark to 10th on the restart. At the end of the B Mark was running 8th, two spots out of qualifying.
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