[i By Bill Sullivan, Racing for the Troops]
[b PETALUMA, CA, 6-12-10 –] On a night when Elk Grove's Bobby McMahan clearly had a car capable of winning, a simple twist of fate caused him to come up short on Saturday night during a rare visit to Petaluma Speedway. In the end, McMahan still managed to take home a second place finish aboard his Steve Harris Racing for the Troops #26b sprint car.
"We had the car to win tonight, it was really hooked up good especially with the tough track conditions," said McMahan. "A long story short, we got caught up with a spinning lapped car and it ended up costing us the win. Another win would have been good but I'm happy with second too. We will be back here soon to get another one."
In qualifying, McMahan drove World Environmental Energy, ART Chassis to the second fastest time of the night with a 13:0443 second lap on the 3/8 mile track. In his heat race he charged from 5th place into second and earned the pole for the 25-lap feature event.
At the waving of the green flag McMahan muscled ahead of the local favorite Camron Mendes to take the lead of the event on an extremely dry slick track that was already affected by the heavy afternoon winds in the North Bay. For the first seven laps McMahan hugged the bottom of the track in search of moisture.
On the eighth circuit McMahan continued to drive the preferred lower line with Mendes in his wake. However, when a lapped car spun in front of him he veered to the high side and left an open door for Mendes to steal the lead during the incident that didn't draw a caution flag. In the closing laps McMahan remained within striking distance of Mendes but had no competitive edge or driving line to overtake him for the lead.
"Once he got passed me it didn't matter how much power you had or how the car was set up, it was a one lane deal and there was no place I was going to be able to pass him," said McMahan. "Second is ok we were just disappointed because we had the car to win tonight."
On Friday night, Sean Becker represented the Racing for the Troops team at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for the Golden State Challenge opener to Western Speedweek. Driving the Brian Sperry fielded Cherry Street Mini-Storage #51, Becker was the sixth fastest car in qualifying with an 11:786. After finishing second in his heat race he placed eighth in the dash and started on the outside of row four for the start of the 30-lap feature event.
In the early laps of the event Becker dueled for the top position with early race leader Brent Kaeding. Zach Zimmerly eventually got past both of the veteran front runners to win the race. Becker ended the night with a fourth place finish.
This week McMahan and the Racing for the Troops team will take a week off from competition and will announce their next venue in the week to come.
Steve Harris Racing and the Racing for the Troops sprint car team have a number of marketing partners for the 2010 racing season. Proud supporters of the team include World Environmental Energy Incorporated, C & H Service Disabled Veterans Enterprises, Benic Enterprises, Simpson Race Products Butler Built Seats, SS Racing, Art Enterprises, and Redline Oil.
The Racing for the Troops team is proud to honor military veterans and active duty service members. They carry the legacy started by the late Steve Harris by educating the public on the needs of those returning from war and supporting activities which provide resources to America's active military, veterans and their families. You can learn more about the Racing for the Troops Sprint Car Team including its history and its mission by visiting their website at www.racingforthetroops.com.
- Bill Sullivan on Jun 17, 2010
- Article Date: 6/17/2010