Brad racing at Tri-City Speedway (Mark Funderburk Racing Photos)
(Bill W) April 19, 2016 – Brad Loyet’s attempt at his third win in a row fell one spot short on Friday night with the MOWA Series at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois. The Vacuworx Global #o5 was also fast in Sedalia, Missouri on Sunday, but some freak occurrences ruined a good day there. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver will compete with MOWA again this Friday night in Illinois at Jacksonville Speedway.
Brad set the second quick time of the night on the 3/8-mile oval Friday. That would put him on the pole of his heat where he won a spirited duel with five-time MOWA champ, Jerrod Hull. “The heat was really fun,” he says. “Jerrod Hull and I were dipping and diving for eight laps. We were able to get by him there at the end to win.”
He would start inside row two in the main event, but got off to a sluggish start. “I got stuck in a bad spot on the start and got shuffled back to eighth or so,” says Brad. “That made my work a lot harder. I had an awesome racecar. The car has been working no matter the track conditions, super-heavy or super-slick. It’s been dialed in perfect.”
He slowly worked his way back through the field despite conditions that became rubber-down. “We were able to work back to third,” says Brad. “(Kody) Kinser was making it hard to pass. He was staying wide. He finally made a mistake and we were able to get by him with two to go. That didn’t give us enough time to chase down (Ryan) Bunton. That was too bad, because we had a great racecar. Overall, it was a pretty good night.”
The team switched to the 360 to run with the ASCS-Warrior region on the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia Sunday. “In hot laps, we were cutting laps like we never have on a half-mile,” says Brad. “The car has been just so good. I was hooking up where everyone else was sliding.”
Something was definitely amiss for Brad in the heat. “I went into turn one, and it was like I had never driven a racecar before,” he says. “It was terrible. I just couldn’t run anywhere. I couldn’t run the curb or the bottom. I got over the cushion and hit a rock or some sheet metal and cut the tire down. It may have been the best thing to happen in the end.”
Though they had some damage from the blown tire, the real issue was up top. “We had ripped the torsion arm and brake line off,” says Brad. “We got all of that fixed. When we set the car down, I looked at the top wing. It looked like the wing posts were bent. I looked closer and the posts weren’t bent at all. The tube had started to rip off. The weld had stayed on the tubes, but the tubing had ripped itself off of it. We couldn’t run the feature, because it would have peeled off in no time.”
That forced Brad to take the green and pull in. “There was already a 1/8” or ¼” gap there…so we just made a lap and pulled in,” he says. “It stunk because that was one of the best cars I’ve ever had at Sedalia.”
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.
Photo: Brad competes at Tri-City Speedway (Mark Funderburk Racing Photos)
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