Its been several years since I last ran the Tulsa Shootout , 9 years to be exact. The last few years I have been going to Australia and racing during the holidays. So I decided maybe it was time to go again and try my hand at getting a "driller". I don't get many opportunities to run smaller tracks, and its no secret of my dislike for them. I never really liked all the crashing and bumping associated with them, my idea of racing is not rooting someone out of the way, its about finding a line and taking advantage of your opponents weakness. The last several races I attended at the Tulsa Shootout were one lane rubber down affairs, combine that with the silly NMMA rules that they enforced made me cringe at the thought of going. The last few years the Shootout crew have really stepped up to the plate and put on a good track, they now separate the event into 3 days to give them plenty of time to get the track in great shape. Also with the advent of the ASCS2 Organization the rules are very relaxed from years past and my cars are able to meet all of them with minimum hassle.
I prepared my Outlaw 600 car for the shootout pretty well, decided to run a smaller engine instead of my big horsepower motor. FTZ has a great 1mm engine and I like the way the power range is more spread out. I also got a few new items from Stallard to try along with the earlier updates I added for the last few races of the season. The Jacob's ladder mod and radius rod changes really have helped the car in certain situations and I now have a car that can work on a greater range of tracks without committing myself one way or the other. This lets me get a lot done with just minor air pressure changes, wing changes, and shock changes. The car runs very well on more stagger than usual which really helps running smaller tracks. ARS also sent over some of their new valving shocks to run and they work wonders. As a last minute addition I decided about 2 days before we left to run the A-Class (stock engine), so I took my earlier 2009 car and put on a stock 2005 R6, with FTZ Carbs and FTZ Headers. I had to remove all my adjustable shocks, even built me a special LR shock using my new shock dyno. I quickly put on the new Stallard updates on the car and got it ready to rip, I had to order a 10sq top wing (which reminded me of the Australia car), to finish off the package.
Stock Class
A very large field of 154 cars were entered in this class. I drew a 112 for the heat draws, which put me starting 6th in the 18th heat (out of 20). I made quick work of the cars in front of me and ran down the leader, then gave him a couple of looks on the bottom before blasting to the cushion around turns 3 and 4 and going for the lead, then onto the heat race win. My first ever heat race win at Tulsa in a 600cc car. It was a good feeling and the car ran really well in the heat, starting 6th and winning gave me 2nd place in points for the enitre 154 car field through the heats. The top 60 in points then move on to qualifier races with the top 30 inverted. This put me starting 6th again in the 2nd qualifier. I moved up pretty quick but got held up behind the 2nd place car of Bryan Clauson and the leader Tyson Hall. The track was very narrow and I didn't have much of an opportunity to progress further than that and settled in for 3rd place. I could have probably pushed the issue and made a bold charge, but given the fact that points are important I elected to play just a little safe and make the finish. Once the qualifiers were done this put me starting 3rd position in Saturday's A Feature. A very good spot to start given the amount of competitors. I was pleased and ready to race.
Saturday came and we watched the track, but really didn't do much to the car all weekend long. I lined up 3rd in the feature behind Scott Sawyer and my plan was to just follow him through and sniff around the track for a place to race good. I get a decent start and I'm running 4th behind Sawyer and the leaders and once we get free I jump up to the cushion and man that thing sticks like glue I figure what the heck I'll just rip around here and see what I got, once I get some momentum I pass all 3 cars ahead of me and take the lead. It was a good feeling and the car was working well, I start closing in on lap traffic but most are running on the bottom and I easily rail around the top of them. At about lap 15 the cushion is starting really go away in turns 1 and 2, but by now I have almost a 1/2 track lead and things are looking good. Then the caution flew, and my lead is erased and all lap cars out of the way. I look down at the water temp and that gauge is reading 270F!! I try to cool it off under caution but its doesn't want to go down. On the restart the engine sputters a bit and the cushion is a long way around 1 and 2 and I see Crawford on the bottom, we race side-by-side for a couple of laps before he gets in front. I get one more restart and one more shot at him on the white flag lap but it was just too little too late. I sure could have used an adjustable shock or two, but given that was my first time ever running in the A-Class, and my first time ever running a stock engine I can't complain. Finishing 2nd out of 154 is no small feat and I'm more thankful for just bringing the car home in one piece, than anything. Congrats to Donnie Ray Crawford for another Driller and I want to thank him for running a very clean race, he could have easily played dirty and slipped up on me down the straights but he didn't and I appreciate that, that shows just how classy of a racer he really is. One thing I don't like about the A-Class racing is the engine tech, man I was hoping to sell that engine but having to pull it off the car then pull the timing cover, stator cover, valve cover, oil pan, cams, head, etc all off made for a long night in less than desirable conditions. I do appreciate that they perform good tech inspection as I don't condone any form of cheating. My Dad was almost wanting me to consider just skipping the tech inspection to keep the engine intact, but I don't want to be called a cheater and if I had skipped that then everyone would have assumed I was illegal. But once we got done we were perfectly legal and got credited with 2nd place fair and square.
Outlaw Class
The outlaw class had 135 total entries in this years Tulsa Shootout, with most of all the heavy hitters represented in the field. I drew a 14 at the draw out of 150 pills. This was not good and possibly my downfall for the entire weekend. The lineups are all setup by passing points and finish points, and since I drew a 14 this made me start on the pole of the 13th heat. I started pole and quickly moved to the front and led every lap of the heat race. The car ran good and handled quite well. However due to the lack of passing points this put me 25th in points after the heat races were over. The only shining moment of a low draw number is that you don't have to worry about crashes and pile-up in front of you. You do have to worry about mechanical issues, but with our maintenance program and the well built FTZ engines there were no issues to be had. In the qualifier I once again had to start on the pole because of the top 30 being inverted, I was on the pole of the 5th and final qualifier and final race of Thursday night. I had a great car for the qualifier and it was setup to perfection. I moved to the front quickly and made good use of the cushion to pull away for the easy win. Winning both heats is usually a dream come true at the Shootout, but I knew I had a better car than others and could have made use of that and passed cars for extra points. When all the races were said and done I was 13th in points out of the 135 total entries. This is not where I wanted to be, but it sure was better than being in a E, D, C, or B Main, so I was plenty pleased. Mark Stallard was also pleased, that the car looked so good on the track and he was impressed by how very little we had to work on it to be capable of making the main event.
Once Saturday arrived I knew the Outlaw race would be the last one, and I also had the benefit of running the A-Class race just before the Outlaw class so I would have an idea of what the track was like. I had to start 13th just behind Brady Bacon, and the track was slightly loose, but the cushion was deep enough to run. My goal was to just get clear of a few cars and pick them off one by one. I dodged Bacon spinning early and then got in a slight tangle with Crawford in turn two, this allowed another car to get too close to me and hit my left front tire hard enough to knock a hole in it. I ran for a couple of laps after that, but during one of the cautions I could barely keep the thing on the track and had to pull into the pits ending my race. I was disappointed, you work real hard to get in a good position and you always hate to have accidents cause a DNF. Oh well the car was not damaged too bad (just a tire) and I can be pleased with making the main events in both classes and putting on a good showing for my sponsors and manufacturers. I have to thank my crew Tommy and Pete for driving the truck up and getting the pit area setup, they did a great job through the week, but I'm sure their feet are killing them. I also have to thank my Dad, Clayton Robertson, the Wren Family and my Family for coming over and giving us support.
All in all I enjoyed myself at this years Tulsa Shootout, it was a great show and its always good to get to mingle with people who support your racing through the year. I've always called Tulsa a glorified car show with a race at one end of the building, because almost everyone in the industry was there and you get to see all the new tricks and ideas for the upcoming season. Congrats to all the winners in every class. A grand total of 584 mini sprint entries made this race very impressive. I only wish the promoter would increase the purse to justify my expense in going, but with so many cars going there and only paying $500 to win in each class why change a thing he's making money. The prestige, the crowd, the manufacturers, the event is why we attend; not the purse. I'm not sure if I'll go back next year or not, I may be racing in Australia again, but I will say I enjoyed myself and I want to personally thank the Hahn family for putting this type event on for our class, its very well worth the effort involved.
I also want to give a shout out to fellow Stallard drivers who did very well during this years Australian Oval Express Series . Ben McLeod won the series and Matt Brown finished 3rd. Both had good runs through the week, but it was McLeod getting the job done. I also want to give a big congrats to my mate Greg Wickham for finishing 7th in the points, its been quite sometime since he last ran a small car and he was very consistent throughout the week. Maybe I rubbed off on him a little since he was with me as a crew member for every race I ran in Australia. Good job guys.
Well it’s been quite some time since I last updated, but I’ve had quite a f ull plate lately. I’ll start with a quick update from the California trip. I have to first and foremost thank the Hagopian family for inviting myself and my crew guy Tommy out to race their spare car. They welcomed us into their home, and gave us all the tools necessary to get the job done. Unfortunately bad luck was on our side from the beginning. I had chain issues the first night, and this put us behind in points, the second night I won the heat and had a decent top five run going and jumped the cushion and looped the car, just plain driver error. The final night I had to come from the B-Main and managed to squeak my way into the A-Main, and from there it was just charge as far forward as you could. I managed to dodge a few crashes and pass a few cars and ended up finishing 10th. I had some good battles, and met some great racers so I enjoyed myself while I was there. On a side note I was terribly sick with Allergies while I was there so I feel bad for the Hagopians that I couldn’t quite give 100%, but I tried.
Next up was the Gold Crown race at Granite City, IL, however the day before the race the POWRi guys decided to cancel, due to all the rain. After that was our crown jewel race, the I- 30 600 Nationals. I had the car ready and loaded and Mark Stallard flew in from Delaware, and just as we were about to leave they decided to cancel the race, due to all the rain we had. In the end it was a good call, I believe the state of Arkansas received nearly 8 inches of rain that week. Mark had to rearrange a flight home, and I was pretty bummed out about it. So the entire months of September and October were pretty much washed out.
I did manage to break the frustration by crewing for Sammy Swindell during the big end of the year 360 races he went to. I helped him at the Devil’s Bowl on for the ASCS race, and then I helped him just 2 weeks later at I-30 for the Short Track Nationals where he almost won if not for a stuck bleeder valve.
So what’s next? Well you’ll be surprised to know I have entered for the Tulsa Shootout to take place on New Year’s Eve and the 2nd of January. I haven’t been in five years, and haven’t raced there since 2001. I look forward to the challenge and seeing some old faces. After that we will venture down the Florida for the East Bay Winter Nationals, then its back to I-30 Speedway for the postponed 600 Nationals on March 10th. I may or may not make the trek to Cowtown for the ASCS2 race on February 12th and 13th, just depends on what all is going on.
I also want to express my sadness upon hearing of the death of Jeff Hicks, Shane and Tim Hicks’ father. They are the guys who allowed me to race their car on my first trip to Australia, and their father opened his home to us strangers. We had a great time with him and had some good laughs. My dad especially had a memorable late night ride home with him from Adelaide to Murray Bridge, completely lost and nearly out of fuel. I last saw him at the presentation night during this year’s Oval Express and I knew he had cancer, and he almost didn’t know how to tell me goodbye, I could sense that he knew it might be the last time I’d ever see him. He will be missed…
Its been quite some time since I have reported any news from the Senter Racing team.This summer h as been filled with rain outs, I can't even count the number of events I had planned on attending and then getting rained out. Most were cancelled well in advance, even our biggest race of the year, the 600 Nationals was a wash out. It was a shame too, I had all my ducks in a row for that one. The car was working perfectly and I won the two races prior to the big event in dominating fashion. The race has now been postponed until March 10th, 2010. Nobody know whats in stores for us at that date, if I recall correctly on March, 1 2009 I had about 2 feet of snow in my yard. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this time.
I will board a flight in the morning headed for California to race at the Super 600 Nationals at Plaza Park (Oct. 1st-3rd). I'm looking forward to an exciting challenge out there, and spending some time with the Hagopian family. They kindly allowed me to use their spare car and I shipped on of my FTZ engines over to keep my comfort level high. I haven't really ran on a small track since Laang in Australia (Jan. 3rd-4th, 2009), so I may be a bit rusty. However the goal is the same finish the race and try to be up front.
Once were back from California, its just 3 short days and we will be back on the road heading to St. Louis for the Gold Crown race at Granite City, IL. I really enjoy that track and I'm very pleased the the promoters have allowed micros to run at that race. It will be a great crowd, and I'm sure we will have a good result.
After that I'm not sure whats on the agenda, I'm sure we will run at East Bay this year (if we are on the schedule), and of course March 10 will be I-30.
I've been racing for various classes for 16 years now, and I've been to
countless races along the way, and never in my life have I had
something like this happen to me.
Night 1 of the PA Speed Week was a
race to forget, after running second in the first heat and then last in
the second heat race I found myself stuck in the C-Main on a one-grove
race track. I made it to the B-Main, but only managed to squeeze my way
to 12th. Not a good start, but could be worse.
Night 2 started better, just looking at the track (Lincoln Speedway) I
knew I would have a good run. Big track, plenty of grip, is what I love
in a track. I started 3rd in the first heat, behind Dicely and followed
him for several laps before passing him into turn 3, and won the first
heat. In the second heat I was supposed to line up 8th and on the first
lap I found my way to the front to win heat 2. Winning both heats and
getting plenty of passing points should have put me firmly at the front
of the A-Main. I was happy, we fueled up the car for the main and
worked on setup, and then 10 or so minutes after the heat someone came
up and told me we have to re-run the heat race "You've go to be kidding
me!" I said. Come to find out Ben Murphy (whom is related to track
promoter) was late getting to the grid in time and so they decided he
needed another chance to get points. Huh? I listened to them argue, and
just walked to my trailer, and started draining fuel to re-run this
heat race again. All the while I'm thinking, what-if I crash in this
one and don't make the show, what-if I blow an engine and don't make
the show. Here I am going from being on the pole (or close to it) in
the A-Main to being back in a heat trying to make it again.
So I walk back over to the Speed Week promoter and promptly tell them
that if I have to re-run this heat race I'm leaving in the morning
headed home, and I have a good mind to pack my stuff up now and leave.
Do you think that they would allow me to re-do a heat race if I missed
it? They'd be like "Tough S***!" Never in my life have I seen such
blatant favoritism. Its hard enough to win a race in Pennsylvania, let
alone be screwed over by someone's inability to pay attention and then
use his "get out of jail free" card to bail him out. I busted my tail
getting to PA, I worked hard getting my car ready, I payed attention at
the drivers meeting ("We're not going to wait on you they said!"), I
counted the heat races in my head and knew exactly what race was out at
all times (Heat 8 on the track, calling 9 to the grid, 10 on stand-by).
Why should I be penalized by someone else's mistake was all I could
think about.
Well we finally get to this re-do heat race. I line up 8th again, and
Ben Murphy is on the pole. I make my way through the pack and end up
2nd to Murphy who checked out pretty good. In the end this put me on
the outside pole of the feature, not a bad place, but anything could
have happened. Mike Dicely ran 4th in the re-run race (instead of 2nd
in the first one), putting him further back of the main. It was just a
plain sorry way to handle the situation. Penalize 9 other drives for 1
drivers mistake.
In the feature I start outside pole and lead the first 11 laps, after
the caution I look down and Shane Lewis slides under me, then out of
nowhere Jake Murphy slides under both of us, and down the backstretch
he comes up just as I go to turn under him and we touch. Just the tip
of my nose wing caught him and he hit the fence. I narrowly escape
flipping myself. Truly not an intentional move (contrary to Jake's crew
members), I can't say I've ever had to wreck anyone to win a race and
nor will I ever. It was a racing deal, two cars going for same
real-estate. I go over after the race and offer my apology to Jake
Murphy (much to their dismay). All I could do was offer that. Jake's
crew members made it uncomfortable after the race running their mouths
at me, but I can take it.
After the red flag was over, I resumed the lead, and led for maybe 3
laps and got passed by Ben Murphy for the lead, he was going pretty
good and I couldn't manage to keep pace and settled in for 2nd place.
When the checkered flag dropped I couldn't help but think back to that
re-do heat race and the fact that Ben Murphy shouldn't even have been
in that race cause he was late getting to the line. Oh well, to the
scales, and then to the tech area. I watched as Ben crossed the scales
and then they backed him up and tried again, and again, and again. To
no avail Ben Murphy was 4 pounds too light handing me the victory. Now I
hate to win by default, but considering the circumstances of the heat
race situation I'll take this one, because I earned it, I was at the
staging area early for my races, I payed attention to the race order, I
managed to get my job done, and I don't like getting taken advantage of
by favoritism by family members.
In the end, and true to my word, my race team and I loaded up and left
Pennsylvania for home. Like I said above it is hard enough to win a
race in PA, even make a race in PA, to have to worry about this kind of
stuff taking place is absurd. I can go to my local tracks and enjoy
myself without having to deal with this. I have won a PA Speed Week
race (the first for a non-PA driver), I am honored to even be able to
race at a fine venue like Lincoln Speedway, and I have many, many
friends who I enjoy visiting with while in Pennsylvania. I hate that
this sort of thing happened, and hope all goes well the rest of the
races. I hate that Jake Murphy and I got involved in a wreck and hope
that we can race against each other in the future without incident. I
am glad I made the trip up, we had a great time and I had something
happen to me that I could never forget, re-do, re-do, re-do....
Wish us luck this coming weekend at Riverside Speedway for the big ASCS show. Friday and Saturday night.
Trying out a new feature to Senter Racing tonight, the Trailer Cam. Hope it works well and uploads properly. Will really depend on if we have a signal at the racetrack. Timer is set to upload new photo each 60 seconds, I will tune that in if it works right and doesn't cause any problems with the router.
Update: The wireless signal for my in truck router struggled to find enough signal to upload the images. It would almost work, but just didn't have enough to push the images through. I tried for about 30 minutes and gave up on it. We will try again next week on our trip to Pennsylvania.
Update2: Miserable Failure, I still can't get a good signal from the router in the truck to the camera. The trailer walls somehow block too much of the signal to upload a photo. I tried a bigger antenna, but to no avail. I'll keep working on it.
Tom Harris was kind enough to allow me to test the new smartycam offered by AIM, which connects to the mychron and overlays the data. The camera is a very nice unit which can also act as a standalone camera plus it has a built in GPS which will show speed and mapping. AIM also have a reputation of having great hardware which is upgradeable over time so new features will be added through a firmware update. www.aim-sportline.comwww.aimsports.com
Here is a video I took the other night from the POWRi show at Granite City, IL. My TPS settings were off and so the throttle bar didn't work, but all the other features worked perfect.
Our complete video section, with updated videos from week to week. Including the ever popular In-Car Cam, as-well-as Highlight Reels, and the view from the Stands. 
A showcase of all our sponsors. To be featured on our Race Cars, Website, or Videos there is information inside to help you out. 
uploads properly. Will really depend on if we have a signal at the racetrack. Timer is set to upload new photo each 60 seconds, I will tune that in if it works right and doesn't cause any problems with the router.
