Brad tries to track down Hunter Schuerenberg at Spoon River (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
(Bill W) September 11, 2017 – Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global #o5 team racked up a pair of podium finishes last weekend in Illinois with the MOWA Series. Third place finishes came at Jacksonville Speedway’s Herb Barlow Memorial Friday, and the Tom Knowles Memorial at Spoon River Speedway south of Canton Saturday. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver hopes to be in action this Saturday at St. Francois County Raceway near Farmington, Missouri, and has an eye on Sunday’s Sprint Invaders event at Quincy Raceways in Illinois.
Brad came out late in qualifying Friday and timed in eighth quick. “That killed us, because we ended up missing the invert (top three rows) by one spot in the feature,” he says. “I just missed it a little bit.”
After winning his heat from fourth, he lined up inside row four for the feature. “We had a good car,” says Brad. “I was rolling in the spot where the rubber was eventually laid. The yellow came out, and everyone started running that line. That kind of took away the line I needed to move further forward.”
Brad says his car couldn’t have been better. “We ended up third, but even at the end, I thought we were better than the top two cars,” he says. “There was just no way I could get around them with the rubber. That’s how it ended up.”
Saturday’s Tom Knowles Memorial at Spoon River saw a typical dry-slick surface on the high banks. “When we got there, I knew it was going to be very dry,” says Brad. “We were o.k. in qualifying. We were sixth quick. I knew we left a little bit on the table there.”
Needing to make the top four in the heat, Brad advanced one spot from his starting spot inside row three. “I just missed the setup in the heat race,” he says. “I thought the track would stay a little bit for us, and it didn’t. I didn’t tighten the car enough, but we ended up fourth, which got us in the invert.”
While the team and most others thought the track would rubber-down early in the feature, it remained slick from top to bottom until the late stages. “(Hunter) Schuerenberg was in the good stuff and got the jump on the start,” says Brad, who started outside row one. “It was the same deal as Friday. I think we found the line before anyone else. We were able to reel him in, and the yellow came out. That was pretty much it.”
By then, rubber was forming through the middle. Brad was second and looking to make a move on the leader. “I thought maybe I could buzz around the top once and get around him,” he says. “That ended up being the corner that Paul (Nienhiser) got by me. We just fell in line from there and finished third.”
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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 tries to track down Hunter Schuerenberg at Spoon River (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
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Monroe, IA USA