MOSEN WINS "KING OF THE SPRINGS" 40 LAP FEATURE

The one that didn't get away. Last nights racing had two distinct elements to it that made it an 'edge of your seat night'. The racing was electric with the top five cars battling all throughout the feature race, as well as the anticipation of the officials decisions that dictated the action. 

Early in the night the Test Teams ran three exciting heats, each grided a front, middle and a back starting position. The first heat had all bar 4 cars on the infield with broken gear. Brad had got tangled in a pile up comming off Turn 2 with Palmer and consequently Swindell getting out of shape. Brad hit next with nowhere to go and then Pickens followed suit like dominos. We had a fair bit of work to get done to ready the car for the second run with replacing the headers, muffler, nerf bars, and with two rims having flat tyres. I guess this is what you tend to expect when you throw a bunch of fast guys into a heat which determines starting grids for the main event. Huge thanks to Andrew Stewart, Barry Graham and Scott Buckley for lending us the parts we needed to get back on the track.

Our car was far too loose on a track that was quickly slicking off which left little drive to work with. However, Brad did a great job of keeping it together and snuck away with a 3rd place in the second test and a 5th in the third. Some complications arose with Swindell and Brad being equal on points. The short story is we didn't make the 'Pole Shuffle' which saw the top 8 cars run off against each other one at a time. This gives each driver the opportunity to improve their starting grid for the feature. We got locked in on Grid 9.

The 'Pole Shuffle was great to watch and the highlight for me was to see Wayne Green drive the wheels off his car to just beat Jerry Coons Jnr. Kendall qualified on pole and raced a great night from where we were sitting.

The feature had all the drivers settle in for the long haul to begin with. Kendall was forced to retire after a couple of laps with a flat left rear. Shayne Alach dominated the first third of the race showing he was in it to win it right from the get go. Pickens took control of the middle third of the race as he was first to find the high line through town-bend and utilised it well. Brad's car was set-up to stay in touch with the fast guys for the first half of the race and then push hard in the later stages. His car started to come on with about 20 to go and we could see him realing in Coons Jnr who he eventually passed for 4th place. Swindell was next as he searched the top in Turns 1 and 2. Alach got picked up in town-bend. It was clear that our car was the fastest car on the track at this point. Brad had Pickens in his sights. When we got the yellow near the end we felt strongly like this would be our race. Brad and Pickens ran hard and took the white for one lap to go. They went into Turn One with Pickens trying to protect the botom racing line. Pickens hit a hole and his car jumped leaving enough room for Brad to roll up under his car.This is when it got tight and both cars touched, Pickens rolled and Brad just managed to keep our car moving. This is where the controversy started but I am not going to dwell on this other than to say that the racing incident was what it was and it was just the way it was. Brad was eventually returned to the front of the field after the officials deliberation and when he did so, the crowd got up on their feet and cheered him on through to the finish.

Having finished 2nd in the 25 lapper and being gone for all money in the 30 lapper until a hiem broke, Brad was in good form to challenge for this win. We look forward to defending the 50 Lap Title on Wednesday night. We will certainly be a bit busy in the next couple of days organising a bunch of new parts. Thanks to all of you who took the time to stop by the pits offerring your encouragement.

Greg

Updated 3/1/10 10:40am

I will update all points as soon as they are available.

Tonight fans will witness international test team racing for the first time this 2009/10 summer. Five of the best local talent has been selected to face an international team featuring four Americans and a lone Australian. All ten are world-class drivers and are sure to put on a great show as they compete for their countries. The teams are as follows:

New Zealand Team

* Michael Pickens (captain)

* Brad Mosen

* Shayne Alach

* Shaun Insley

* Scott Buckley

International Team

* Jerry Coons Jnr. (captain) - USA

* Kevin Swindell – USA      

* Tony Elliot – USA

* Scott Hatton – USA

* Brendan Palmer - AUS

Round 2 of the international midget series unfolded on December 30, 2009. Having run 2nd to Jerry Coons Jnr on the first outing, we were determined to go back and push that little bit harder. We were lucky enough to draw a front row grid for our first heat. Brad briskly established control of the race and did so the entire race. It seemed that the track was going to be a little slippery to begin with and then tighten up. Our car was a little tight as we found we had a tyre leaking just before we headed out the gate and the replacement tyre we ran was too big.

As the night rolled on the track was getting faster and faster. This gave cause for the cushion to build up. It was great to see all the classes dealing with the bumps and ridges forming on the turns well. Brad headed out to run our second heat starting from grid 15. In order to equal Coons Jnr on points and start on the front row of the feature he had to get to third place. Brad drove the wheels off the car and with a lap to go he took the lead and won his second heat on the trot. The Officials threw a spanner in the mix, however, and relegated him 2 places for going on the grass, fortunately though this still put Brad on the front row with Coons Jnr.

The feature took a few starts to get underway and Brad pulled away from the field several times following yellow lights. It would be fair to say that no one in that field had an answer for the #13 Big Ben Midget, however, with just 4 laps to go the car broke a right rear heim (bolt) causing the car to drop to the ground. Our race was over and the result was gifted to both Pickens and Coons Jnr.

The silver lining is that we will go back Saturday Night to run the 40 Lap King of the Springs feature and then onto defending our 50 Lap title on Wednesday night, plenty of opportunity to put right our misfortune. Brad is very confident in the engine/chassis package and we are really looking forward to the racing ahead. 

 "THE DIRT TRACK CHANNEL" will host coverage of the Western Springs Samsung International Midget Series. 

If you can't make it to the Track, or you just want to re-live the racing action, go to this site to hear the actual coverage of the nights racing.

 This coverage includes:

+   Preview of the Series

+   Opening Night 25 Lap Feature 

+   World 30 Lap Feature 

+   King of the Springs 40  Lap Feature 

+   The World 50 Lap Final 

+    Series Review

Click on this logo to go directly to "The Dirt Track Channel".