Austin Kirkpatrick

Video

ULMSC Qualifying Run

Charlotte County Speedway - April 25, 2009



     Because of the long period of time in-between the 3rd and 4th ASA South races, AK Motorsports decided to load up and head down to Chalotte County Motorsports Park for the Caming World 100. During Friday practice, the crew was experimenting with a new suspension package and Austin was able to go relatively fast. When new tires were put on the car, Austin was able to run a few really quick lap times, but then the cars handling would drop off like a rock. The crew made a few adjustments, and the car got a little better.

       At the start of Saturday practice, Austin would run the same times as he did the night before. As the practice progressed, the car dropped off. The crew thought that it was just the tires wearing out, but still made adjustments to try to make the car a little bit more drivable for Austin. These adjustments didn't make a difference and it soon became evident that no matter what adjustments were made, the handling of the car wasn't going to change because the tires were all used up. At the end of practice, Austin's lap times were nearly a second off the pace. Crew chief Dave Pletcher decided to go with a completely different setup for qualifying. He reverted to a setup comparable to the setup that was used the night before, but Dave went to a different suspension package. For qualifying, Austin drove the car as hard as he could for 2 laps. Surprisingly, he qualified 2nd out of a strong 27 car field, just 5 hundredths of a second off of the pole. The setup Dave used worked perfectly. Unfortunately, Austin would draw a 6 pill meaning he would have to start the race in 6th place.

       A few extra adjustments were made to the car for the race, so that it would handle better in the long run. On the start, the car starting 2 ahead of Austin missed a shift and caused the whole outside lane to stack up. Austin got the worst end of the deal and was shuffled all the way back to 15th. With only minor damage, Austin was able to methodically work his way through the field. As he cracked the top 10, a big wreck occurred ahead of him. Austin was hit from behind which sent him spinning through the chaos. In the process, a right front fender was torn off, and the right-side door was destroyed. Fortunately, the handling of the car wasn't affected, and Austin was able to continue. When the racing resumed, Austin once again started marching his way through the field. On lap 50, he got rear-ended, while running 6th, and looped it through the infield. Nothing on the car was hurt in the process, and Austin was given his spot back. Once the green flag flew, Austin picked off a few more cars to put him in 3rd. The front two drivers were driving pretty rough, so Austin elected to give them some room and let them wreck themselves. After a few laps of that, Austin saw a chance to pass the second place car and pulled up right beside him going into the next corner. The driver in second completely chopped Austin down giving him a chance to use some of his dirt track experience as he power-slid all the way through the grass back up on to the track. Austin was fortunate enough to not lose any positions. As the race wound down, Austin was able to catch back up to the top 2, but wasn't able to pass them. Austin said after the race, "If we would've had any luck at all, we would have won that race. I'm shocked that we finished as well as we did considering the pill draw and how many times I got wrecked. This is a tough track to pass on, but my car was handing well enough so that I could pull low and pass people pretty easily. I'd like to thank my crew chief Dave Pletcher for working his magic once again. Id also like to thank my crew: Dad, Ronnie, Ryan, and all of my sponsors for making this finish possible. Hopefully we can carry this momentum to the next ASA South race at Cordele Speedway.




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Schedule

  • 6/4Bubba Raceway Park
  • 6/18Bubba Raceway Park
  • 6/24Oglethorpe Speedway
  • 6/25Volusia Speedway Park
  • 7/2Albany Speedway
  • 7/3Dixie Land Speedway
  • 7/16Bubba Raceway Park
  • 7/23Waycross Speedway
  • 7/30Bubba Raceway Park
Schedule

Results

  • 4/2 - North Florida Speedway
    Finished: 18th

  • 4/8 - Bubba Raceway Park
    Finished: 4th

  • 4/9 - Dixie Land Speedway
    Finished: 2nd

  • 4/16 - Waycross Speedway
    Finished: 6th

  • 4/29 - Oglethorpe Speedway
    Finished: 4th

  • 4/30 - Screven Speedway
    Finished: DNF

  • 5/13 - Bubba Raceway Park
    Finished: 7th