5th Career Heat Race Win at Luxemburg; Pair of 9th Place Feature Finishes for Budzo Racing

(Photo credit to Andy Springborn)

Two weeks ago, the night of racing at Luxemburg Speedway did not end on a high note for our team. After a 3rd place finish in the heat race, things were shaping up well for a solid feature run. However, as I was running the outside line around the track, JJ Andersen had slipped off the edge of the track. He was unable to get his car back up to speed in time, and I was forced to slam on my brakes, sending me into a spin.

Unfortunately, Dennis Miesler had to do the same thing to avoid me, but clipped the tail of my car. That incident forced me down pit lane with a busted rear bumper, and I was unable to rejoin the field on the lead lap. I was scored officially in 17th position.

This past Friday night, a total of 20 sportmods entered to do battle at Luxemburg. I would start on the outside of row 2, and was able to get up to the 3rd spot after getting shuffled back in the early going. Contact between the 1st and 2nd place cars brought out a caution, and on the restart I was able to grab the lead away from Jake Maurer. I fought off Eric Mahlik to the checkers, picking up my 3rd heat race win of the season.

For the feature, I lined up 2nd on the grid alongside Mark Joski. Joski got the upper hand at the drop of the green, as I looked to keep up pace on the outside groove. A caution flag flew, setting me up on the bottom groove on the restart. I would stay on the bottom lane of the track for the rest of the race, battling Brad Lautenbach for the 8th spot at the checkers. Lautenbach won the drag race to the line, so we were scored in the 9th position.

On Saturday night, we made the trip back to Shawano Speedway for the 2nd time this season. The night was very special, as it was the 2nd annual “Racing for a Reason” night at the speedway, a benefit put together for cancer research and awareness. We donated several items to the cause, and in the end, over $9,000 was raised on the night.

As for the racing part of the program, I started 7th in the heat race and used the entirety of the race to re-familiarize myself with the ½ mile track. I ended up finishing in 6th place. For the feature, I had a 16th place starting position, and quickly made my way towards the top 10 cars. Mainly running the low groove of the track, I made it all the way up to the 8th position, and battled Jake Solin for 7th after the final restart.

I slipped up with a few laps to go coming out of turn 4, allowing Jeff Becker and Chucky Forstner to get by on the outside. With two laps to go, Becker clipped an infield tire in turn 2, and I narrowly avoided his racer as he spun to the infield. The race stayed green, and I crossed the finish line in 9th place.

This weekend we’ll be back at Luxemburg Speedway on Friday night, and at the moment that will be our only night of racing on tap for us this weekend. Remember to check out Budzo Racing on the web at budzoracing.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/budzoracing, on YouTube at youtube.com/budzoracing and on Twitter at twitter.com/budzoracing.