Ben will continue to participate at local tracks in the Deep South in addition to regional events in Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.

Passing points determined Saturday night’s lineup and Ben would once again start 5^th, inside the third row. “Our real challenge for the evening was trying to determine what chassis changes we would need on a race track that had just accommodated a 100 lap Super Late Model race,” Ben stated. “My track condition crystal ball was a little out of focus so we assumed the track would be pretty slick and made the corresponding adjustments. As soon as the race started I realized the track still had more bite in it than after previous 100 lap events,” Ben added. 

Early in the race Ben dropped back to 8^th as he searched low and high to find a line and corner entry to maximize his chassis setup. Several cautions kept the field relatively close and just past mid-way of the 25-lap event, Ben started making forward progress. When the last of five cautions waved Ben was in 5^th and there were ten laps remaining. On the restart Ben returned to the high-side next to what little berm was left and started marching to the front. Ben cleared the 4^th place car and kept his momentum up. With two laps remaining he assumed 3^rd place and was making a run on the second place car that was running the bottom groove. As the checkers flew Ben was nosed out at the finish line for second and returned to the pits with a well-deserved 3^rd place finish.

 “The car was really too tight from the middle of the corner off and I tried to heat up the right rear tire to create more stagger across the rear and hopefully loosen the car up,” Ben commented to his crew and friends after the race. “I’ve never seen this track have this much bite left in it so I just kept driving in harder and harder, happy that it stuck. It was a lot of work but it was very rewarding to take a less-than-perfect race car and finish the way we did tonight.”

 Ben will close out the 2011 season with a three-day visit to Royal Purple Raceway, November 17-19 in Baytown, Texas as he battles the traveling professionals of the USMTS circuit. Ben’s 5 wins, 18 top 5 finishes and 18 top 10’s would not have been possible without the support of his loyal sponsors. “We really appreciate their trust and support in us and we look forward to working with everyone in 2012,” Ben noted.

 Eighteen modifieds were on hand with similar intentions and the track couldn’t have been in better condition. Ben started 6^th in his heat race and finished 3^rd which positioned him for a 5^th place start in the Main event. As the green flag dropped the field quickly set a torrid pace. Ben found the high side to his liking and he set sail for the front. The eventual winner had extended his lead as Ben was maneuvering past his competitors. Once clear and comfortably in 2^nd Ben set his sights on the leader and started reeling him in. Unfortunately the lap counter ran out before Ben could complete the pass on the leader and settled for a hard-charging second place finish.

 “We really didn’t have to adjust much from the heat race to the A-Main and the car really felt good,” Ben stated after loading up for the night. “If next week’s track preparation is anything like it was tonight I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. I believe we’ve finally found the heart of our setup envelope and hopefully we can add to our mid-season 5-race win streak.”

 Ben will close out the 2011 season with a road trip to Houston’s Royal Purple Raceway November 17-19 to do battle with the big names of the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS).

Ben started 7^th in his heat race and after the first caution flag was already in 3^rd. On the restart Ben zeroed in on the front two and by mid-race had assumed the lead and checked out on the field. He took the checkers with a comfortable straight away lead. His heat race win placed him on the pole for the night’s main event. 

Twenty-one modifieds took the green flag for a 20-lap feature race that included additional money and contingency awards. The track had slicked off, it was rougher than normal and numerous cautions slow the initial race pace. Ben continued his dominance and was never seriously challenged. “We really had a well balanced car for Hattiesburg and we’ll take what we’ve learned in our last ten weeks and focus in on the Fall Classic at Whynot Motorsports Park in two weeks,” Ben commented. “We’ll use next Saturday night as our own personal test and tune for the $1,500 to win Fall Classic.” 

Ben will close out the 2011 season with a road trip to Houston’s Royal Purple Raceway November 17-19 to do battle with the big names of the United States Modified Touring Series (USMTS).

Forty-plus topless modifieds were on hand for the main event and Ben lined up 4^th in his heat race. Ben and crew chief Jacob Burns had added more gear to the car in an attempt to give the car more drive off the bottom groove. As the green flag flew Ben tried working the bottom and middle grooves but just couldn’t get the car to work as well as he needed. He slipped a spot and finished 5^th. 

After making some adjustments to his car, Ben started outside the front row of his B-Main. He quickly grabbed the lead and took the checkers distancing himself from the field. Ben had a few extra minutes during intermission to fine tune his ride even more as he was scheduled to line up 17^th in the big $4,004 to win event. The packed grandstands got a great view of the twenty-five modified drivers racing “topless” for the Jason Robbins Memorial. Long green-flag runs gave Ben an opportunity to parlay his high-side groove into an early top-10. As cautions reset the field, Ben progressed to the front and kept his eyes on the lead pack. “I tried to cut down across the middle of the track to get under a couple of guys and just didn’t have enough traction to make the pass on the bottom,” Ben commented. “I went back to the top and got by the last two guys and tried to get inside the top-5 but fell one spot short by the time the checkers flew. All-in-all it was a good run and the car was really fun to drive.” 

We’ll take a break next weekend to do some heavy maintenance on our primary car plus continue work on what will eventually be our concept backup car. Our main focus for the remainder of the season will be the Fall Classic next month at Whynot Motorsports Park and the USMTS Winter Festival in Houston.

Ben started third in his heat race and took the checkers in second. The track was unusually smooth and slick which made for some great racing even though the evening ran well into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Ben lined up third in the A-main and maintained his position for the majority of the race. A late race caution re-set the field and on the restart Ben felt as though his tires had glazed over resulting in a loss of forward drive. “The car was a little looser after the restart and we had lost a little forward drive,” Ben commented at 3:30 AM after the race was over. He lost two spots and took the checkers in 5^th. 

“All-in-all it was a good top-5 night for us and we’ll take what we learned and prepare for next week’s big money race,” Ben noted. “We’ve made it through the dog days of summer and our performance as well as luck has taken a turn for the better. The remainder of the season has some big races with opportunities to finish the 2011 season off in fine fashion. The Jason Robbins $4,004 to win, October’s Fall Classic at Whynot Motorsports Park and November’s 5^th Annual USMTS Winter Festival at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, Texas will be our main focus.”

Ben started on the pole for the A-Main and cruised to an easy victory and took the colors of his sponsors to victory lane for the fourth time this season. Ben’s next outing will be at Whynot Motorsports Park next Saturday night, September 3^rd.

Saturday night Ben returned to Whynot Motorsports Park in an attempt to repeat last week’s victory and make it a double for the weekend. Starting 5^th in his heat race, Ben knew early on that his car wasn’t quite right. Post-race inspection revealed a right rear tire that was loosing air pressure. With some new hides on, Ben was able to maneuver his way from the back of the feature field and finish a respectable 3^rd. Overall a good weekend for the #34 LUCAS Oil/Schoenfeld Headers/AERO Race Wheels/BRINN/Hughes modified.

On a track that was heavier than normal, Ben lined up 9^th in his heat race and finished a respectable 4^th in a caution-free race. “I got hung up behind one car for a few laps which prevented us from making it closer to the front,” Ben commented after the heat. For the A-Main Ben lined up on the inside of row two and at the drop of the green flag knew the track was going to be “hammer down” and fast. As the field stretched out a bit Ben took to the high side to make his move to the front. Famed Super Late Model pilot and Track Star chassis builder Mike Boland and multi-feature winner Randy King made up the front row but Ben had his sights set on both of them with a good hot rod beneath him. Ben dispatched King in the early circuits and set sail for Boland. The race was slowed only once with a caution and by the mid-point, Ben caught and passed Boland for the lead and never looked back. 

 “It’s nice to get our sponsors back to victory lane so soon after the struggles we’ve had earlier in the season,” Ben stated before loading up his mount. “We’ll continue to build on this setup and hopefully we’ve found the hart of the envelope that will allow us to be more competitive where ever we race.”