The weekend started out very promising on Friday night as Justin qualified 2nd with a personal best lap of 14.80, despite sub par track conditions. After heat races were rained out on Saturday, the starting lineup was set for the feature with an invert of the whole 17 car field. Sunday's feature started out by Justin quickly climbing to 3rd place with aggressive 3 wide moves. Contact with the 2nd place car put a damper on the progress and Justin had to settle for a solid 3rd place finish.
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The Claucherty Racing Team had a very enjoyable trip for their first ever race at the Onaway Speedway for the Can/Am Northern Nationals. Justin was able to set fast time in qualifying on Saturday. With the invert, Justin started Sunday's 50 lap feature in the 12th position. Track champion and regular feature winner Todd Rosebrugh started just ahead of Justin in the 11th position. Todd and Justin quickly sliced their way to the front of the field, with Todd getting to the lead first. Justin was able to mount a challenge in the middle stages and in traffic, but in the end wasn't able to get by the black #1. Todd's brother, and Onaway regular, Tony Rosebrugh rounded out the top 3.  After a respectable 3rd place qualifying effort, Justin was on his way to the front in the feature race, before a questionable call sent him to the year. Without the aid of a caution flag, Justin was only able to battle his way back to the 4th position.
A broken lower control arm in hot laps sent Justin for a wild ride off the edge of the turn 3 banking and into the weeds. The crew worked quick and feverishly to repair the damage so that Justin could make qualifying, where he clocked in the 3rd fastest time against a stout field. After starting 6th in the race, and enduring a long rain delay on lap 38 of the 100 lap event, Justin was able to bring home a solid 5th place finish. The car was just a little off, but en lieu of the days events there was no shame in a top 5. Special thanks to the competitors who offered assistance and parts. Also a special thanks to the track crew at Owosso Speedway for carefully removing the car from a precarious position without further damaging it.  Birch Run: Planned back to back races at Birch Run Speedway (Friday) and Springport Mid-Michigan Speedway (Saturday) got off to a bad start when the motor dropped a valve at the beginning of hot laps on Friday. Since that was the backup motor and the primary hadn't been repair yet, the prospects for racing the following night were looking bleak. Jim Galloway and Jesse Vanavery reached out to Justin late that night and it was determined that the team would be competing in the #38 car owned by Galloway the following night.
Springport: The team worked feverishly making adjustments to the #38 car all day to dial it into the driver's liking. A 4th place qualifying effort was backed up with a respectable 4th place finish. Special thanks to Jim and Jesse for allowing us the opportunity to race! With the SAS Auto Club primary motor not expected back for a couple of more weeks, the team has circled the August 11th Main Event Outlaw Tour race at Owosso for their likely return to the track. Unfortunately that rules out competing in two of the biggest races of the year with the New Paris Summer Sizzler and Kalamazoo Klash. Things were looking up when Justin set fast time in qualifying. After starting 11th Justin was working his way to the front when the transmission broke around the halfway point of the race. The team will be taking a much needed weekend off before a double header weekend the following weekend.
26 cars showed up for the $2,500 to win Old Glory 75. Justin qualified 3rd and started 8th after the invert of 10. Despite an ill handling race car and a very competitive field of cars, Justin was able to move up the the 3rd position and maintained that position until the last lap of the race. Contact with the 4th place car on the last lap resulted in an oil cooler line getting torn off and Justin spinning in the oil slick that was being laid down on the track. Due to the long green flag run and the fact that so may cars were lapped, Justin actually ended up in the 8th position. The starvation of oil to the motor resulted in enough damage that the backup motor has to be put in. Next up is Springport again on July 14th.
Making the trip up to the annual $5,000 to win Growler 100, the team was looking for some momentum. They did just that, when Justin set fast time against the extremely stout field of competition. After starting 8th, Justin was able to move up and bring home a solid 3rd place finish in the prestigious event. Next up is the $2,500 to win Old Glory 75 at Springport Mid-Michigan Speedway.After spending the night in Birch Run on Friday night, Saturday late morning the team learned that the Flat Rock Joy Fair Memorial 100 had been cancelled due to weather. With the car in the trailer the team scrambled to find a place to race. They decided on making the long journey north to the Onaway Speedway. Despite never seeing the place previously, Justin was able to set fast time in qualifying. As the cars were lined up for the feature event, the rains rolled in cancelling the event and ruining what was looking to be a great run in the team's maiden voyage to the track. As with Birch Run Speedway the previous night, the team would like to tip their hat to the staff and ownership at Onaway Speedway for their great hospitality.
After a promising 4th place qualifying effort against a stout field of cars, Justin had to settle for a 5th place finish when the handling went away in the feature event. The team would like to thank the staff and new owner of the Birch Run Speedway (formerly Dixie Motor Speedway) for their excellent hospitality!
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AuthorJustin Claucherty Archives
August 2020
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