Gordie Mannes Weekend 2012

Penticton Speedway

The #99 team decided to race in their hometown event with the other late model touring series in the province; the ASA Advanced Testing Series. It was a good change of pace for the team not having to worry about points racing, although with a points race the following weekend it was going to be important to keep the car clean throughout the two 100 lap events.

On Saturday the team qualified 10th out of 15 cars and was 3rd in the B heat race, heading into the main event the car wasn't working the way the team had hoped it was loose and a difficult car to race. Despite that Sarah battled back to finish 7th and the car was damage free.

Sunday night came quickly after a long day at the race shop changing setups on the car in hopes to increase the speed of the car. Sarah hoped for the best with one 7 minute practice session, the car would have to be good enough.

A 9th place qualifying run of 16 cars was a good start for the team, but they were still trying to improve the handling through the center of the corner before the feature. 2nd place in the B heat showed even more signs of improvement, and the car wasn't too far off.

The main event was a great learning experience for the Midtown RV sponsored team, they came out of the race 7th and rounded out the weekend in 6th place overall. With no damage to the car everyone on the team is looking ahead to next weekends Arca Series points race in Agassiz, BC.

" We can take many positives away from this weekend, it was only my second time in a late model at this track and I was able to make some strong outside groove passes. The car is relatively unmarked and we have a great starting point for setup to head to Agassiz with."

Saturday August 11 the Arca Ok Tire Series will roll into Agassiz to compete in the second last race of the tour in 2012.

Quesnel 2012

The fourth stop on the Arca Ok Tire Series Tour was at Gold Pan Speedway in Quesnel, BC, and the 99 team was hoping to continue their momentum from the previous weeks top five finish. It was a hot day at the track and the mornings practice was spent unfortunately chasing a shock that was binding, with the handling of the car an unknown going into qualifying the team had to hope for the best.

A somewhat disappointing qualifying effort landed her 8th of 13 cars, and would have her starting in the slow heat race. Working her way from the back to the front in the heat she finished 3rd. After a few more adjustments on the car the team hoped the car would be what they wanted in the 100 lap main event.

A great start to the feature running up in the second position and staying top 5 for the first half of the race, a few consecutive restarts would prove to be the downfall and some contact causing bent suspension and a rough last half of the race for the 99 Snap-On Tools Cadillac. 

"It's disappointing to continue to have these small issues plague us throughout these races, all we can do now is look ahead to Agassiz where we had a great run last year and work to build on that." Said the exasperated young driver.

Watch for the Arca Ok Tire Series as it makes one of the last stops on the tour to Agassiz Speedway.