Brad trailed Ryan Bunton on a one-lane track in Granite City (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
(Bill W) April 17, 2017 – Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global #o5 team stayed atop the MOWA point standings last Friday with a second-place finish at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver hopes to perform double duty this weekend in midget and sprint competition. On Friday, Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois hosts the POWRi midgets. On Saturday, POWRi will head to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, and they’ll be joined by the World of Outlaws.
Brad was second quick last Friday in Granite Ciy. “We were actually the first car out, and we set a new track record,” he says. “(Paul) Nienhiser ended up breaking it by seven-hudredths of a second. The car missed on the entry to turn three. We found a cracked fitting on the barrel valve, otherwise we could have been a little faster.”
Second quick meant starting sixth in the heat. “The track was really nice in the heat,” says Brad. “It was up on the wall. I had a really fast racecar and got to second. We were able to throw a slider on (Ryan) Bunton for the lead. He threw one back on me, and we weren’t going to bust our tail to win the heat. With the format, I just needed to finish in the top four.”
An invert of eight was drawn for the feature, setting Brad up inside row four. “We were able to get up to fourth by the second lap,” he says. “There was a caution at that point. We were able to pick off the third and second place cars pretty quickly after that.”
He set his sights on the leader. “I caught Bunton, and the track locked down rubber at that point,” says Brad. “That was pretty much it. He got down in the rubber and led the rest of the race with us on his rear bumper. We only caught two lapped cars. I thought we may get him when we caught the one, but he just got out of the way.”
Brad feels the team got the most out of what they were given. “It was what it was,” he says. “He started on the front row and we had to run him down. We knew it was going to take rubber, so we got by as many cars as we could early. By the time we got to second, it was too late.”
The team hope their recent momentum carries them into this weekend. “We were really happy with the car,” says Brad. “Hopefully, that will continue Saturday with the Outlaws. We’re also looking forward to getting in the midget at Belleville Friday and Peverly Saturday.”
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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 trailed Ryan Bunton on a one-lane track in Granite City (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
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Monroe, IA USA