Brad at Macon (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
(Bill W) August 2, 2017 – Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global #o5 team had third and fourth place finishes in MOWA Illinois Sprintweek action last weekend. The Sunset Hills, Missouri native is excited to race close to home at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri with both the World of Outlaws and the POWRi midgets as part of the two-night “Ironman 55” show this Friday and Saturday. As a bonus, Vacuworx will be holding a hospitality event as part of the festivities.
After getting rained out of the first two nights of Illinois Sprintweek, the team headed to Jacksonville Speedway Friday. “It was more of an ‘Old School’ Jacksonville,” says Brad. “It was slick top to bottom. Qualifying was already slick and we ended up sixth quick.”
Brad started fifth in his heat. “Heats were just tough to pass,” he says. “You have to run top five to make the feature, but top four to get your time back. We started fifth and we were doing everything to stay there. The track was blown off, and if you tried a slide job, the guy behind you would be caught up to you. We settled for fifth.”
The main event was next. “We ended up starting inside row four for the feature,” says Brad. “We were able to get up to third. We had passed the guys to get into third two or three times and the yellow would come out. They figured out what I was doing, and it took me longer to get by them. There were only about five laps left at that point. We settled for third.”
Macon Speedway is known for being tight for sprint cars, but Brad’s car was running well. “Macon was actually better than I thought it would be going in,” he says. “We went out early in qualifying, but that kind of hurt us. They had knocked down the curb, and that didn’t give us anything to lean on. We ended up sixth quick.”
He started fifth in his heat and charged to the front. “We had a really good car in the heat,” says Brad. “The track was widening to the point you could make some moves, but you still had to tippy toe to get by someone. We ended up getting to the front and winning that.”
Brad lined up for the feature outside row three. “The track got to where it was slick and the way around was on top,” he says. “We were making some moves on the bottom. Every time we caught a lapped car, they were on the bottom. So that was a challenge. We ended up getting up to fourth. We felt we had a better car than that, but we ended in one piece.”
The team is excited about Pevely this weekend. “Vacuworx is having a hospitality event with a bunch of their people coming out,” says Brad. “We’re excited. We won the midget race on Friday there last year, and we were good in the sprint car too. It’s nice to race within five miles of the shop.”
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Visit Brad on the web at www.LoyetMotorsports.com!
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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 races at Macon (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
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Monroe, IA USA