6/9/2014
Brady Bacon
Win at the Port Highlights Eastern Storm Championship!
Brady Bacon – Win at the Port Highlights Eastern Storm Championship!
(Bill W) June 9, 2014 – Brady Bacon and the Hoffman #69 team supplied the thunder in USAC’s “Eastern Storm” tour last week in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A win at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania highlighted the trip for the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma driver. He also chipped in a pair of top fives and a new track record. The series lost two features to rain. There is no rest for the weary as USAC’s Indiana midget week looms, beginning Wednesday night in Gas City. Midget week continues at Putnamville, Bloomington, Lawrenceburg and concludes at Kokomo on Sunday.
Five nights of racing started in Pennsylvania at Grandview Speedway near Bechtelsville on Tuesday. Brady timed in fourth quick and won his heat from inside row three. “We were good early on,” he says. “With this team, it just makes it a lot easier knowing that you’re going to be good in qualifying. You try to get some extra points in the heat, and we were able to do that.”
Brady started fourth in the feature. “The track changed a bit,” he says of the banked 3/8-mile oval. “We were kind of rushed. We were running in fourth, and the track was fast on the bottom. I was kind of waiting for the bottom to slow down and the top to get going. I tried going up there to get around Justin Grant and Dave (Darland) got by me.”
Running fifth, his progress was halted by a rain shower. “Dave was able to get by Justin and I was running the top there with Justin for a while,” says Brady. “It was starting to come in a little bit, and he was reeling in Dave. It started raining, and we had a twenty minute delay. Obviously, when we went back out, it was heavy and there wasn’t a whole lot of passing. We settled for fifth, which was a pretty good run for us. We were ninth or tenth there last year, so that was a solid improvement.”
At Lincoln Speedway near Abbottstown, Pennsyvlvania, Brady was able to register the second quick time of the night, a shade off of Darland’s new track record. “I think Dave beat us by sixteen-thousandths, so we were right there again,” he says. “We were able to finish fourth in the heat and then the rains came.”
Competitors got an early start on Thursday’s venue, New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey. “That’s probably the most unique dirt track I’ve been to so far,” says Brady. “The shape of it is pretty wild to go there for the first time. It’s fun to run something a little different like that. It is a really nice facility. Obviously, the fans are great at all the tracks up there.”
Brady established a new track record at 15.655 seconds on the 7/16-mile speedway. “We went out pretty late, but we were able to put down a good lap and get quick time,” he says. “I think we beat (Bryan) Clauson by six-thousandths of a second. That sets you up for the rest of the night, when you can qualify in the top six. We passed a few cars in the heat too (finishing third).”
He would start sixth in the main event. “The track had gotten rough in spots,” says Brady. “It started getting better in the feature, and it slicked off a little more than we were anticipating. We were able to get up to third. We just really didn’t have anything for Clauson. He was a little better in the slick than us. That’s been typical for us…start sixth and finish second, third or fourth…there’s probably a lot of drivers that would take that though.”
With Friday night off, the tour was back in action in Pennsylvania Saturday at the Port. “We ran well last year there,” says Brady. “We started twelfth and finished third, I think. We were confident going in. We were fourth quick (Saturday). We were a little tight, and I got a little hesitant in qualifying. That may have helped us later a little bit.”
After running fifth to second in his heat, Brady would start third in the main event. “The track was better than last year,” he says. “It was rough in spots, but by the feature, it smoothed itself out. We were able to get to second. (Kevin) Thomas passed (Jon) Stanbrough for the lead and we were able to go with him.”
Once in second, he stalked the leader. “I tried to work the bottom to get by, but it wasn’t there,” says Brady. “The momentum on the top was too much. I moved up there, and had to wait until lapped traffic. That slowed him down a little, and I was able to slide him.”
Brady was able to hold on for his second USAC win of the season and his fifth overall in 2014. It was worth $6,000. “I think we put a pretty good lead on for a while,” he says. “We were able to get through lapped traffic pretty easily early in the race, but at the end I was getting nervous. I had two of them in front of me, one on top, and one on the bottom. I really didn’t have a place to get by them. It made me a little nervous, but we were able to hold on and get the win.”
Brady thinks a lot of Port Royal Speedway. “I was really hoping to get a win out on the ‘Eastern Storm’,” he says. “Port Royal is a great place to do it. It’s quickly become one of my favorite tracks. The promotional crew and the track crew really do their best. They show you that they care. A lot of tracks have lost that. They’re always making their facility and the sport better.”
The final stop for the tour came at Susquehanna Speedway Park near Newberrytown. It was a wash after qualifying. Brady timed in seventh quick. “We went out a little late in qualifying,” he says. “It slicked off a little more than I thought it would. I got a little crossed up coming out of four on my first lap, which screwed them both up. I think we would have been in good shape for the rest of the night though.”
Coming home with the “Eastern Storm” title and holding a forty-four point lead over Darland in USAC points was the high point of the trip, but the fans in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are also special to Brady. “We got to go to all the tracks at least and get on them,” he says. “It’s definitely fun to go out there every year. Those fans are really excited to see non-wing sprint cars. We get a one-of-a-kind welcome out there. They voice their opinion and let us know they like it when we come out. You like to race and put on a show for fans like that!”
Follow Brady on his Website, Twitter and Facebook!
Follow Brady at his website located at www.BradyBaconRacing.com! Also keep up with him on Facebook and Twitter (which also can be accessed at the website) at the following links…
Twitter Link – http://twitter.com/BradyBacon
Facebook Link - www.facebook.com/pages/Brady-Bacon-Racing/278125555137
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Brady Bacon Racing would like the following sponsors for all their help: Fatheadz Eyewear, Tel-Star Communications, PPM Titanium Products, Triple X Race Components, Smiley's Racing Products, Heath Clips Lawn Care, VanDerBrink Designs, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Eaton Industrial Coatings, Pattison Precision Products, Oilfield Equipment and Manufacturing, Butlerbuilt Seats, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Diversified Machine Inc., Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Lightning Wings, Simpson, CP Pistons, Schoenfeld Headers, Carrillo Rods, Sweet Manufacturing, All Star Performance, King Racing, Schroth Racing, FSR Radiators and Fuel Safe.
The Hoffman #69 sprinter is sponsored by Mean Green, Mopar, Triple X Race Components, Hoosier, DMI, Lykins, Engler Machine & Tool, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, KSE, MPD Racing, CSI Shocks, XYZ Machining, Saldana Racing Products, Fuel Safe Racing Cells, Fastener Specialty Motorsports, Wilwood Brakes, Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, Zemco Headers, Chalk Racing Products and Weld.
Attached: Brady poses in Victory Lane at Port Royal (Kris Keath Photos)
Bill W Media
Monroe, IA USA
Twitter: @BillWMedia
e-mail: sprntcar@iowatelecom.net
Article Credit: Bill W
Submitted By: Brady Bacon
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