After missing the previous race in New Hampshire, it really felt good to get back behind the wheel again. In practice the car was a little bit loose in turns 3 and 4 again, but felt good in turns 1 and 2. After adjusting the cross weight some, the car was much better in 3 and 4, but had become tight in 1 and 2, and was pushing up the track almost half a car width.
For the heat race, we went back a little with the cross weight, and that seemed an average of both: a little loose in 3 and 4, and a little tight in 1 and 2. There was some pretty close competition in the heat race, and although the #20 finished 6th, for the first time it actually felt like the car was coming in, rather than going away as the race went on.
For the feature Team SAR dropped the rear tire pressures a little, and made a very fine adjustment to the cross weight. Based on the way the feature went, Mark was hopeful that as the cool evening air was settling in, the track was coming to them. Team SAR was right on track.
The start of the feature was a bit hairy. Since we missed the previous race and were behind in points, we had to start at the rear of the field. When the green came out, there was quite a bit of bumping going on up front, and people started checking up. The #1 car checked up a bit too late and drove under the car in front of him, turning him sideways and spinning himself out - right in front of the #20! Mark barely slipped by between the car on the inside and the #1 car spinning on the outside. When the field restarted after the caution, it wasn't much different. The front runners were bouncing off each other like bumper cars. The only difference was that somehow everyone managed to keep their car under them, and no one spun. Seeing everything unfold in front, Mark laid back for a second or two, fearing the worst.
When nothing unfolded from the fray, Mark found himself 4 or 5 cars back from the bunch, and needing to make up ground. Surprisingly, the car actually drove the best it's been all year. Mark was able to dive down low, turn tight and make up a lot of ground. Unfortunately, Team SAR just ran out of race. The remainder of the race was caution free, and although the #20 passed several cars, a quick race meant a 12th place finish. We're looking forward to making some noise at Wiscassett!