September 15, 2014 – Charges last weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway saw Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global/Miller Truck Lines #o5 pass a total of twenty cars over the weekend. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver takes the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series points’ lead to the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska this weekend for the Fall Brawl.
Things started in the back of Friday’s heat in Texas. “One of my crew guys drew a solid 70,” says Brad. “We started at the back, and it was another incidence where the track was hard to pass. We went from eighth to sixth and it wasn’t enough.”
Brad would drive into the third and final transfer to the feature through the B. “It was kind of wide open around the track,” he says. “It was just tough to go anywhere. We were lucky not to need a provisional.”
Starting 22nd, he would charge to eighth in the main event. “We had a really, really good racecar in the feature,” says Brad. “I just started going where people weren’t. We escaped any problems and we were able to make it up to eighth. My goal was to get to tenth. Points work a little better in your favor at that point. You want to get to a certain area, and we were able to do that.”
The second night’s draw had a better look to it. “We had Bryan Hulbert’s girlfriend draw for us,” says Brad. “I figured with Bryan doing the draw, she couldn’t do that badly for us. That was our strategy. We were actually in a pretty tough heat. On the start, the inside row was trying to slide the outside and we were able to crossover and get to second (from fourth). With them only taking four cars for the redraw on the second night, and we missed it by one spot.”
That put Brad inside row five for the finale. “It was supposed to be a forty lap race and the officials told us they weren’t going to cut it,” he says. “We made a tire choice, and right before the feature, they came and told everyone it was going to be thirty laps. We not only changed a tire, but we were one of two or three teams that prepared for forty laps with a big fuel tank. That kind of upset us.”
Nonetheless, Brad would persevere and drive from 9th to a third place finish. “The top was a long ways around,” he says. “I may have only ran two laps up there the whole race. We kept trying to make the bottom work. As the race went on, it started to get more grip down there and I noticed it was taking rubber. We were able to get up to third and then the yellow came out. I don’t want to say shoulda, coulda, woulda, but I think without the yellow, we would have had a good run at them.”
The team left the Metroplex with an 83 point lead over Sam Hafertepe Jr. in the standings. “Overall, it was another successful weekend,” says Brad. “Most would be happy with the way it ended up, but at this point of the season, we’re trying to knock down some wins.”
Running for a championship is hard enough without other competitors’ foolishness. Unfortunately, that was the case at TMS. “One of the Print Place sponsored cars was a lapped car,” says Brad. “During the race, after I lapped him, he ran into the back of me. He flipped me off and pulled off the racetrack. Last year, I was informed by someone in the know that the Print Place guys had a bounty to take me out.”
Brad wants that fact publicly known. “We’re racing for a championship with ASCS, and we can’t afford to get taken out because this team is just doing ‘whatever’ on the racetrack, acting like this is demo derby instead of sprint car racing,” he says. “We’ve got another weekend down in Dallas, and I want it to be public knowledge that there is a bounty out for us for anyone sponsored by Print Place Motorsports to take us out. That way, if they try to pull something when we go back to Devil’s Bowl, everyone will know why.”
Brad’s Weekly Releases
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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 16, 2014
- Article Date: 9/16/2014 by Bill Wright