Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global/Miller Truck Lines #o5 team escaped the rain plagued Jackson Nationals in Minnesota by extending their point lead in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. At the beginning of the night, it looked like it may be a disastrous night, but perseverance and some misfortune for other teams made it salvageable. The team will take the weekend off before the ASCS series hits the Texas Motor Speedway near Dallas/Fort Worth September 12 and 13.
Friday’s prelim at Jackson Speedway was a wash. The track received a large amount of rain, making for an extremely heavy track. “We were there the day before and saw how much rain they had,” says Brad. “We kind of knew what it was going to be. When you run a 360 on a half-mile, often your draw is going to dictate your finish...let alone the track being as heavy and lockdown as it was.”
The pill draw would see the Sunset Hills, Missouri driver starting seventh in his heat race. “When I drew that pill, I got a little down about the night,” says Brad. “The guys we’re competing with in the points (Jeff Swindell and Jason Johnson) looked like they were in good position. We had to do our best at that point.”
Brad would run fifth in the heat. “We scrounged for what we could get in the heat,” he says. “It wasn’t quite enough to make it in the feature. We started on the pole of the B and won that.”
He would start 18th on the feature grid. “Misfortunes for other teams ended up making our night not that bad,” says Brad. “My Dad was telling me to keep my head up and stay positive. You never know what can happen. What could have been a bad night for us ended up being a big bullet dodged. Jeff had issues with his motor and wasn’t able to start the feature. Jason was penalized in his heat race and had to run the B too.”
Brad would checker the long 30-lapper in 13th. “Everybody was in the same boat in that we wanted to bring the car home in one piece and come back to the next race,” he says of the one-lane track. “It was so heavy and narrow, you just had to wait for something to happen and hope to make a move. When the flagman gave the halfway signal, I just thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ I was sitting in the car thinking this needs to be over with.”
The team will use this week to prepare for the stretch run with ASCS. “We’re taking a week off to regroup and make sure everything is ready for Texas Motor Speedway in a couple weeks,” says Brad. “Maybe just maybe I’ll run the midget Sunday night in Belleville, Illinois. That’s a big maybe.”
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global, Miller Truck Lines, 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.
- administrator on Sep 02, 2014
- Article Date: 9/2/2014 by Bill Wright