A busy week saw driver Josh Schneiderman and the Deuce Motorsports #49 team compete at three events. An eighth place finish (without brakes) with the Sprint Invaders at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, was followed by a pair of FVP National Sprint League events. The week saw perseverance both on the track and on the interstate!
Last Wednesday saw the team draw a starting spot in row four for their Sprint Invaders heat at Oskaloosa. “That’s what I call a typical Deuce Motorsports draw,” says Josh. “It was only my second time at Osky, but the track was beautiful. It was really too good in the heat race. We got a good jump though, and we were able to get up to fourth. We had a good racecar.”
The finish put Josh in the main event, starting 11th. “Unfortunately, when I went for the brake pedal, there was no brake,” he says. “Whether or not you need brakes for Osky, you definitely need them to run the bottom. The biggest thing it does is mess with your head. You don’t want to run up behind anyone hard and have no stopping power.”
Josh hung in there for an eighth place finish. “I was just trying to salvage what we could,” he says. “We had a beautiful racecar, it was just unfortunate we didn’t have the brakes. I think we may have had something for the top five. The Sprint Invaders field is getting tougher and tougher though. It’s almost getting to be where you have to start up front to finish there.”
The team headed for Friday’s FVP National Sprint League show at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska, but suffered a flat tire on the rig about a half hour west of Des Moines on I-80. “It was an exciting experience…I don’t know of any other way to put it,” says Josh. “We were two and a half hours out (from the track) and at 4:20 p.m. the tire finally showed up. I had given up hope. But that dude changed that tire in about twenty minutes. He was a rock star. I asked the boys if they wanted to go on to Eagle or head to Knoxville and relax. They said, ‘Hell, we came this far, we might as well go now.’ That showed the dedication our team has to race.”
Without ever seeing the track and arriving as hot laps were starting, Josh laid down the sixth quick time of the night amongst a stout 30-car field. “That was awesome,” he says. “I had made just a handful of laps. I went out there and didn’t really think about it. I was focused on keeping the car straight as possible and making the best lap I could. I think it shows how far our program has come over the years in trying to get our qualifying better.”
After battling into the fifth and final transfer spot in his heat race, he would slip on the last lap and miss by one spot. “I came for the white flag and got into the hole in turn one,” says Josh. “It was just a complete driver error. It was poor management on my part. I had been catching (Danny) Lasoski a little…I don’t know, it was just driver error.”
Josh would bounce back in the B and garner the fourth and final transfer there. “We got a little high in one,” he says. “It seemed there in the B, it hurt us to start on the bottom. The guy on the top seemed to get a little better run. We did what we had to do to make it out though.”
Starting on the tail of the feature, Josh would officially be scored 20th. “We were just trying to stay out of trouble,” he says. “I knew that hole in turn one was going to be a hindrance. I told the guys if we ran thirty laps in that hole, we were going to come back with a junk racecar. We just never ran as good as we would have liked. The driver needed to sit up in the seat a little more. We kept the car in one piece and we lived to fight another day. Eagle is a really neat place, and we had a lot of fans traveling over from Iowa to see us. We’re looking forward to going back there.”
The NSL series moved on to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday. Qualifying went well again for Josh, as he was ninth quick in the 38-car field. “We went out mid-pack, and we really were able to lay a nice lap down on the bottom,” he says. “We’ve struggled with that the last few years. We were really pumped to be ninth quick. We were really nice in the heat too. We had a shot at second and we ended up third.”
That was enough to put Josh in the redraw for the feature. He would start outside row two. “I could see that Terry (McCarl) had problems coming off of four,” he says of a four-car crash. “I was more or less just trying to get out of the way. We were able to avoid that. They ended up counting the lap, which hurt us a little bit. (Tim) Kaeding kind of snuck underneath us.”
Josh would settle in for the feature after that. “We ran sixth or seventh most of the race,” he says. “Towards the end, we gained a lot of stagger, and the car got free. We just weren’t really comfortable…we faded a little bit at the end and we finished 13th. I think we’re going to get better every week there. We’re excited to build on that.”
The team is looking forward to a two-race weekend that will include “Sprints Gone Wild” pitting the NSL vs. the MOWA series in Jacksonville, Illinois on Friday. Saturday, they will be back for weekly competition at Knoxville. “The last time I was at Jacksonville was 2008,” says Josh. “We won with the Sprint Invaders there. I convinced my car owner to go back. We’re having a lot of fun running these races right now. Also, it makes you a lot better getting these laps. It makes your car better, makes you sharp and helps you get your motor tuned too.”
World of Wheels
World of Wheels has proudly been servicing the Des Moines area for over 25 years, selling quality pre-owned vehicles. World of Wheels #1 priority is helping you find the vehicle of your choice. At the World of Wheels location you will find one of the nicest showrooms in town, in addition to a friendly, knowledge sales staff, backed with an exceptional service department. Please visit World of Wheels today for your next vehicle purchase or let them assist you with your automotive service and maintenance needs. Visit their website at www.worldofwheelsonline.com.
Universal Therapy Group
Universal Therapy Group offers comprehensive therapeutic care and support service. They offer a variety of services including; pre and post-surgery rehab, work-related injury prevention and rehab, sports enhancement, and personal training. With locations in Burlington, IA; Chesterfield, MO; Fort Madison, IA; and a new location coming to North Liberty, IA, they are here to help you with your health care needs. Universal Therapy Group has also recently added a new fitness facility, Universal Fitness located in Burlington, IA. Universal Fitness features state of the art training equipment, along with a knowledge staff to help you train properly and efficiently. Visit them today and let them show you how they can assist you with your health care goals. Visit their website at www.universaltherapygroup.com.
Josh on Twitter and Facebook
Be sure to keep up with Josh and the Deuce Motorsports #49 team…
Twitter: @JSRACING49
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsracing49?fref=ts
Josh’s Weekly Releases
If you’d like to be added to Josh’s e-mail list for weekly releases, e-mail sprntcar@hotmail.com with “Josh” in the Subject Line.
Deuce Motorsports would like to extend thanks to all of their partners for the 2015 Season: World of Wheels, Universal Therapy Group, Universal Fitness, MD Orthopedics, Morning Sun Farm Implement, Kubota, Gear Heads for God, Trinity Archery, Ideal Ready Mix, Ted's Body Shop, Norm's Koestner Electric, Automotive Machine, J&J Auto Racing, Engler Injection, Hoosier Tire, Grand Strand Salon, Haircrafters, Matteson Marine, SignTec, Weld Wheels, Hepfner Race Products, and Mountain Dew Kick Start.
Photo: Josh races at Knoxville (Danny Howk Photo)
Bill W Media
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Monroe, IA USA
- administrator on May 15, 2015
- Article Date: 5/15/2015 by Bill Wright