THRILLING 2ND PLACE FINISH SATURDAY NIGHT….

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Bob Stephens

(Hattiesburg, MS) Ben came close to making it back-to-back wins Friday night at Hattiesburg Motorsports Park in a thrilling A-Main event. Ben was scheduled to start 7th in a field of eight cars in the second modified heat race. The two cars in front of Ben were not completely lined up as the field entered turn three but the flagman threw the green flag and Ben chased the field from a distance. He quickly closed on the pack and started carving his way through the field. He made an aggressive move between two cars coming out of turn two and was up to third. After setting up the second place car on the high side for a few laps he finally cleared him and rocketed out for the leader. Ben got to the rear bumper of the leader as the checkers flew to settle for a second place finish. 

Ben and Jacob made minor changes for the A-Main which was scheduled to follow the Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series Super Late Model main event. “Running after the late models creates a problem because they usually burn the track up pretty good so it makes it difficult to determine what changes we need to make for our feature,” Ben stated. Starting 4th, outside the second row, Ben was clearly committed to the top groove as the green flag flew. He quickly moved up to 3rd and at times made it three wide as the top two cars battled for the bottom groove. A caution after lap one placed the leader out front with Ben lined up outside the first double-file row. Ben got a great start and after two laps had move to the point and started pulling away only to have it erased by a second caution. An unusual call from track officials took the field back to the line up from the first caution placing Ben back to third. The remainder of the race was a great battle between Mike Ladner, eventual winner Ronnie Roberts and Ben. With two laps to go Ben pulled to the outside of Roberts and it looked like it was going to be a close battle to the checkers but another caution gave the advantage to Roberts. Roberts was able to hold on for the win with Ben finishing a strong second. “The car was great and that was the most fun I’ve had racing in a long time,” Ben said after the hard-fought battle. 

Ben took his LUCAS OIL/SCHOENFELD HEADERS/AERO RACE WHEELS/GENESIS SHOCKS/HUGHES modified to Jackson Motorsports Park Saturday night for another “Hot August Night” of racing. Ben started 6th in his heat race and once again started making his way through the field. He made his way to second on the white flag lap but was beat by a nose at the flag stand and finished 3rd. Running after the SLM’s again presented even bigger problems Saturday night on a track that was rough and dry-slick. Ben started 5th in the A-Main and really didn’t have the setup dialed in for track conditions and finished 6th. 

A great weekend of racing and no damage which is great compared to the first half of the season. A video of Friday night’s heat race and A-Main can be view the following link: 

Thanks to all of our sponsors who help make our racing program possible.