Having only been to Columbus Motor Speedway once for the Main Event Finale last fall we wanted to use this first visit this year to build on the success we had then.  Columbus is a hard track to get hold of and one where the driver never gets the car straightened out, the car is always turning.  We had three times on the track for practice making changes but not getting the speed we wanted to see in this new race car.   By qualifying time we felt we would be fair but with several Columbus track regulars there it would be difficult to qualify up front.  The result of our efforts was a 10^th place qualifying position resulting in an outside 5^th row start, not the place you want to be at this track at the start.

As expected everyone kept it tight at the start and Drew fell back to 13^th before he could fall in line and settle in to race.  The car was real good and he passed three cars real quick going both high and low to get by them, then catching the lead pack quickly.  Now Drew was in heavy traffic among the fast cars making it difficult to pass.  At times there was heavy pressure from behind as well as Drew pressuring the cars ahead of him as he attempted to pass them.  With attrition and another couple of passes Drew finished the 75 lap race in 7^th place without a scratch on the car.  We learned a lot and will be better when we return for the second race there, the Main Event Finale on Sept 25^th and 26^th.

Midvale Speedway July 2nd

Midvale Speedway was our worst track last year, but was pretty decent the last time we were there this year as we had a 7^th place finish but had brake problems that we thought would be cured this time around but we could not find the speed we needed.   Midvale is a 3/8 mile track that has tight turns and then straightaways that one must drag race down then hit the brakes hard, do a tight turn and then do it again.  We just couldn’t get the car to rotate in the center of the corner.  By qualifying time we still didn’t have it right and had to settle for a 19^th starting position.  It would be a long day for Drew starting this far back in the field.

We made another adjustment or two and went out to race.  The car seemed much better as Drew started moving up through the field.  Lots of wrecks at this track and Drew was doing a great job avoiding them, then a crazy thing happened, or maybe it was intentional.  Under one of the many cautions the 212 car turned hard right into Drew and tore the right front fender extension completely off Drew’s car.  These cars are so aero sensitive that it upset the handling, and along with our brake problem that we seemed to not have resolved yet, Drew ended up finishing the race in 9^th place.    The right front tire blew on the very last lap between turns one and two, Drew saved it without loosing any positions on the track, drove the car through turns three and four with the right front on the rim to take the checkered flag.  Can you imagine blowing out a tire doing about 80 mph in the middle of a tight turn?  WOW, you talk about timing.  The brakes causing the front rotors to get red hot for the last ½ of the race (all 50 laps of the last ½ went green flag) heated up the wheel so much it melted the rubber valve stem out of the wheel.  We put steel ones in to keep this from happening but some how we missed two rubber ones and it just so happened that this critical right front had one.  Last year I think we averaged a 16^th place finish for the two races we ran at Midvale so an average finish of 8^th this year is an improvement.  Now we have to get some serious work done on the brakes!

Sandusky Speedway July 10^th

Sandusky is a flat ½ mile track with room to pass, but it has long straightaways that take lots of power and fairly tight corners where the car has to rotate well to maneuver the turn.  Consider this, run your car up to 130 mph then hit the brakes as hard as you can, turn hard left, mash the gas with your 600 or 700 horses under the hood, and then do it again!  We figured out some things we were doing wrong that kept the car from turning well last week at Midvale and they paid off here but we seemed to be off in the horsepower area compared to the fast guys in practice.  We put our biggest carburetor on the car but there seemed to be a sputter, most likely too big or too much jet.  It was used last on our ARCA 800 plus horsepower car so go figure, and we left our second largest carburetor at home, darn!!  We got the car handling good, Drew went out to qualify and ended up with a 13^th starting position which is at least an inside starting position.  We made a couple of tweak adjustments and waited for the race to begin.

The car started out strong, a little sputter from that over sized carb under acceleration the first lap or two but he held his 13^th place position.  The car was great and he passed cars outside, inside moving up to 9^th place, then caught the lead pack, sound familiar!  Now with the faster cars bunched up it became much harder to pass!  After about 15 hard laps the front brakes were again glowing red hot, our brake problem was still not solved.  Good thing this was only 75 laps!  There was not much more passing and through attrition Drew would move up to 5^th by the end.  He would be giving the 4^th place car heavy pressure but he was also getting heavy pressure fronm behind and the brakes were getting spongy.  Thanks to the #12 Don Harvey for not putting excess pressure on Drew and wrecking us.  It was a very good run, our first top five for the year and the good news was we had a car at the end that was faster than two or three of those ahead of us!!  But, those darn brakes are still acting up, getting the rotors red hot in front after about 10 to 15 laps of green flag running.  If that had been fixed and the smaller carburetor on Drew could have been in the mix for the win!

Thanks to all our sponsors, Aluma aluminum trailers, Elmer Schaeffer Amsoil dealer and Impact Racing Products.  Without your support we couldn’t be where we are today.  This top five finish should have moved Drew up a few spots in the points.  If we would not have had that motor problem and missed that first race at Angola we would have been in the top five in points by this time!  Our next race is the $20,000 to win Summer Sizzler at New Paris, Indiana on August 5^th.  Due to lack of sponsorship we were not able to run the Iowa ARCA 200 on July 10 and will also miss the Mansfield ARCA 200 on July 17.

On his first qualifying lap Drew ran a 12.66 and the second lap looked far better as the rev limiter hit hard on the middle of the back straightaway.  However this would upset the car entering turn 4 and lap two was not what we expected.  With all other qualifiers picking up around .2 on their second lap that could have been a pole or new track record but we had to settle for 4^th fastest with the top four witin .05 sec of each other.  Next time we pull the rev limiter chip and let Drew do his thing!!  An 8 pill was drawn which would put Drew in the 5^th starting position with the invert.

Drew fell in line in the fifth place at the start and would ride there for about twenty laps making a pass for fourth following the #11 Dick Dunlavy car.  Drew followed the #11 car for around 50 laps, all over him trying high and low to pass him but each time the #11 car would seem to know where Drew was going and block his every move (a sure sign the spotter was helping him drive a little).  Around lap 70 Drew and the .#11 car would move up one position as Harold Fair Jr. who was running 2^nd would drop out with mechanical problems.  On lap 76 the opportunity Drew was waiting patiently for opened when the #11 car slid up on the track between turn 3 and 4 and Drew stuck his car in the opening getting along side the #11 to make a pass for 2^nd.  At that point the #11 lost it spinning sideways, Drew caught his left front corner, they straightened out and who knows what happed next, but when the smoke cleared Drew’s #21 Aluma Trailers, Amsoil, Impact Racing race car was head on into the wall in front of the flag stand.  The front end was pretty well crushed in and water leaking from the radiator.  Our night was ended early but they new we were there!  Drew was FAST!  The car doesn’t look as bad as originally thought with no frame damage, but we need the radiator, front bumper assy, straighten out some stuff, new right fender, hood, both front fender extensions, rebuild the nose, duct to the radiator and we will be back in business.  We will however miss the Stan Perry Memorial $10,000 to win race at Angola Speedway on Thursday June 10 and the Ft. Wayne race the following Saturday June 12.  We will be ready for them at Columbus Speedway Saturday June 26^th for the next Main Event Racing Series points race.

Thanks a  bunch to our sponsors Aluma Aluminum Trailers, Elmer Schaeffer Amsoil Dealer, Impact Racing Safety Products, and Mid America Properties for their support!

Our first test at KilKare Speedway saw the new car take off very well, it showed signs of speed and Drew felt the handling was much more solid than last years car.  BUT, on lap 17 the bolts pulled out of the panhard bracket on the rear end causing about $800 in damaged parts and the end of our practice.  The following week we got it back together and tested again at KilKare Speedway very successfully, making small adjustments and getting some very good times, putting in around 45 laps and feeling real good about our first race at Angola the following week.

We tested again the night before our first race May 8^th at Angola, got 3 laps in and the oil pump on the motor froze up, ending our practice session and our hopes at making the first race and the chance to run for the Main Event Series Championship!  Bummer!  The motor was dead, a broken timing gear put us out, the motor was taken out and brought to Rhyne Competition Engines to be rebuilt in only 10 days!  We had no time to test any more, barely got the motor in the car in time to make the next race at Midvale on May29th.  With the late start getting the new car going and all the trouble we had with it and lack of sponsorship we had to cancel the Toledo ARCA race we had on our schedule for May 23.  We have also taken the ARCA race off the schedule at Iowa Speedway July 10 for the same reasons as well as no time to get a good shakedown of the ARCA car at Toledo before hitting 160 mph at Iowa.  We still are planning on racing the ARCA races at Mansfield and Toledo later in the year but Rockingham is most likely now off the schedule too.  The Main Event Series had had to cancel races at Mansfield and added one at Sandusky.

Midvale Race May 29

The weather was great, a bit hot at 85 degrees as we pulled in to the Midvale Speedway May 28^th at 5 pm to practice for the 75 lap Main Event Race number 2 the next day. We hit the track three times with the car running very good and times to reflect that with best laps in the 14.0 range.  Before we would hit the track one last time with a full fuel load dark clouds came up, we loaded the car, and a down pour got us a little wet.

Race day saw a “green” track and some tweaking of the setup as we were only 23^rd fastest out of 26 cars that first hot lap session.  Next time out we improved to 15^th fastest and the final test session scuffing in out new tires we were 7^th quick and back to our 14.0 speeds of the day before with some to go in the car as it was very loose now with a little more stagger in the new tires than we really wanted.  The pole last year was a 13.8 and we were confident we could have a shot at a front 6 or 8 start if we get the loose fixed.  Our first qualifying lap was a 14.1, the second lap saw Drew wiggle considerably off turn two with the same result!  We didn’t get the loose out of the car with the adjustment we made and ended up 15^th fast where we would start.

We made a right rear spring change and sent Drew out for the feature.  At the drop of the green flag Drew took it easy, there were a couple cautions before we finally got started single file.  Drew came over the radio “the car is perfect”!  He bided his time through several cautions moving up to around 10^th when the longer runs started.  This is a very heavy braking track and from the spotters stand I could see that the front brakes were cherry red and the rears were not!  A bad sign!  He also came across the radio saying the car was missing, which turned out to be a plug wire but kept Drew from driving as hard as he wanted.  Drew went high to make a pass as he thought it would stick, but found that by now with the brake situation he had more rear brake than he wanted and almost spun loosing about 4 positions on the track.  He adjusted his brakes to give more front and continued to survive and move up through the field to finish a very respectable 7^th behind Gary Whipkey, Don Harvey, Jr., Mike Miller, Jimmy Carter, Donnie Hill and Charlie Schultz, all very respectable and good drivers.  The really good news is Drew brought the new car home with just a very minor dent in the right rear quarter panel.  A good shakedown outing for the new car and a driver still a bit rusty in his first race of the season.  With a little improvement to the car we will be faster!

Now it is on to the third race of the season June 4^th at KilKare Speedway.

Thanks a bunch to our sponsors Aluma Aluminum Trailers, Amsoil and Dealer Elmer Schaeffer, Impact Racing Products, and Mid America Properties.  Without their support we could not be here!

It was time for another fall festival in West Central Ohio, this one being the annual Minster, Ohio Oktoberfest which brings somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 people to the small town of 2000. There is always a very nice car show that goes along with the festivities and this year there was a record number of cars overflowing into the neighboring vacant lot. We loaded up the D C Racing Penske Aluma ARCA Dodge Charger (the former #12 Altel Dodge Charger of Ryan Newman) in our beautiful Aluma trailer and headed out first thing in the morning. The day looked as though it may be rainy one but things cleared off and we had a great time. The D C Racing Aluma Dodge Charger was a hit of the car show as there was always a crowd around the car. Drew worked the crowd handing out autographed pictures of his Aluma Amzoil Dodge Charger Outlaw Late Model and letting kids and adults alike take their turn having a chance to sit in a real Sprint Cup Race Car once driven by Ryan Newman. Although we didn’t win a trophy, we had a great time meeting lots of people.

Main Event Series Finale at Columbus Motor Speedway – 10/10 – 11/09

After being rained out two weeks before, the day finally came for the Grand Finale of the Main Event Outlaw Late Model Series. This race annually draws 40 to 50 of the finest Outlaw Late Models in the Midwest vying for the $6000 top prize and $1000 to start the race. Friday’s test was rained out but we had at least got a good feel for the track as we completed the Friday test two weeks before the rains came. We scramble a ton to get speed but it is difficult at this 1/3 mile nearly circular oval. The top ten qualifiers were locked into the show, with the rest having to vie for one of the twenty qualifying positions through heat and last chance races. Four Main Event Series Regulars would make it in on points provisionals. Drew got all he could out of the car qualifying 15th, which would put him in the outside front row of the second heat. Mike Stacy who recently won four out of four races would be on the pole for the same heat. At the drop of the green flag of the heat Drew and Mike Stacy would run side by side for a lap or two then Drew would fall into second place and the two would put a half lap on the field at the drop of the checkers with Drew close behind the #6 Stacy car.

The 100 lap feature would find Drew starting right where he qualified, 15th. Patience would not be a virtue for many as there were several wrecks during the race, all of which Drew found his way around. The most scary one (for the crew chief anyway) was when the 2nd fastest qualifier got real loose and started falling back. Drew got inside him to pass and just then he started to spin, he bumped Drew putting him sideways. Drew saved it, but that poor guy slammed the wall big time. Drew worked his way up to 8th place with about 25 laps to go, but a couple of the really fast guys that went to the tail got buy him and he finished in tenth place. We were very satisfied with that given that the car had gone quite loose on us and Drew brought it home once again with only a minor tire rub on the right front corner. Every one of the finishers ahead of Drew were veteran drivers with multiple wins and championships. Drew would be named rookie of the race! This finish moved us up one notch in the point standings to 9th place.

Winchester 400 Weekend Outlaw Late Model Race – 10/17/09

Brrrrrr what a cold weekend for racing, specially on the fastest track we go to and having never been there before. This was the weekend of the CRA Winchester 400 with Kyle Bush attending on Sunday and our Outlaw Super Late Models running a lead in feature on Saturday. We arrived at the Track about 11 am Friday morning and unloaded the car and all of our gear on pit road. We got two sessions of hot laps today and by the seventh lap Drew was running the same times that would later be the pole speed on Saturday. We did very little adjusting on the car for the second set of hot laps letting Drew get familiar with the high speeds which were averaging 120 mph laps and top speeds in the area of 140 mph. The setup we got from Port City seemed to be right on as the day went very well and we finished on top of the speed charts. We packed everything up, covered the car and went home for the night at 7 pm.

Saturday brought on a different story as during the first of our two hot lap session the car was wicked loose. We chased the setup doing a few adjustments to tighten things up. We found out that the spoiler height rule was 42″ so we opted to lay the spoiler down a bunch to gain 1 1/2″ of spoiler height. We hit the track again and Drew said there was no forward bite coming off the corners. We went to adjust the front rebound on the shocks a couple ticks so we would get more forward bite and found the left front shock was at the lightest possible setting which would make the car very loose off and lack forward bite. The car was perfect the night before and there was no way that adjustment can change. Someone must have crawled under the car and changed it as we left it in the pits covered up but on jack stands all night. We changed that and gave it a little more rebound up front and went out to qualify and turned in a time in the 17s, two seconds off the pace. Drew described it as zero forward bite. We checked for a broken axle, NOT. Checked the clutch and the flywheel was blue, the clutch was shot! Jason and Aaron Timmerman happened to be there, and one of Al Reeve’s guys from Mike Stacy’s team all jumped in and we tore it apart. Thanks a bunch guys!! One of the vendors had new discs, we overhauled the clutch in record time, about 45 minutes. To top it off Drew’s radio button on the steering wheel quit working and he could only hear me, I could not hear him. We knew it before we went out so we made up some hand signals in case.

We were slowest qualifiers so Drew had to start at the tail. There was an invert of 8. We got to take a slow lap to test the clutch but not the setup, all was ok so we were ready for the feature. Drew was going to follow Mike Stacy up through the pack but he didn’t know how the setup would be as we made lots of changes to compensate for the spoiler, the loose, etc., then found the bad clutch. They gave the field a few hot laps to test things and warm up tires, the car seemed good although not fully up to speed as they were under yellow and I could not hear anything from Drew. Drew could not keep up with Stacy at the start as planned as a few slow cars got in front of him. There were two running side by side that held Drew up for about ten laps that allowed the top three cars to get away 1/2 lap. Drew passed them, then passed the fifth place car, caught the fourth place car in about 5 laps and took about 10 laps to get by him, when he got by he left him in the dust but the top three were too far ahead to catch. He was running the same times as Mike Stacy who won! We finished 4th.

What a day, ups and downs but a good end and not a scratch on the car and lots of good comments on Drew and how fast and good he was with traffic. When asked how Drew liked Winchester he said “It’s awewome, I love it! It’s my new favorite track!”

The season is over, now it’s time to figure out how to make the car go faster for next year. Thanks a bunch to Aluma Trailers for the fantastic trailer, Elmer Schaeffer Amsoil Dealer for those super lubricants, and Impact Racing for their fine safety equipment.

We will keep everyone informed on our progress through the off season. We plan to run the Main Event Series again next year with a hand full of ARCA races, hopefully both Toledos, Mansfield, Iowa, and Rockingham. We are now seeking marketing partners and sponsors who we can help to market their products and allow us income enough to run these races. Anyone interested please contact Andy Charlson toll free at 877-272-8179 or on his cell phone 419-305-3772.

Thanks to everyone for your interest and help!!

Another beautiful day for racing as 30 fine Outlaw Late Models were on hand to take a try at the $2500 first place prize. Drew and team had practiced a week earlier with a conventional setup on the car and came out satisfied with some times that would get them well into the show on 100 to 150 lap tires. Hot laps saw us trim another two tenths off our practice times and we thought we could be set for a top 5 qualifying spot. But, again we over corrected for a loose condition and ended up with a thirteenth place qualifying position. Better than it has been, but not where we want to be.

The tight Shady Bowl track saw lots and lots of cautions which Drew avoided passed a couple and came up with a tenth place finish, right on the tail of the next four cars, and faster in the race than results show. A full month now till the next race on September 4th at KilKare Speedway, a couple of appearances in between, so we will tidy up the body of the #21 Aluma Trailers, Amsoil, Impact Racing Products, Mid America Properties, Dodge Charger.

Bremen Fest Parade – 8/16/09

It’s always lots of fun to pull the race car through the parade at our local Bremenfest Celebration. Thanks to our local Western Ohio True Value Hardware Store for providing the awesome Simplicity Garden Tractor to pull the car with. WOW! Those things now have power steering, super comfortable seats, tilt steering wheels, and even cup holders. Drew loves to start up the car and roar the motor as we all have fun throwing out candy to the crowd of thousands. And of coarse the crowd loves the noise, egging Drew on everywhere, to make it roar!

Amsoil Appearance at Piqua O’Reilly Auto Parts – 8/29/09

With the Aluma Trailers, Amsoil, Impact Racing, Mid America Properteis Dodge Charger still showing it’s shiny new nose and hood, all polished up, it was off to the Piqua, Ohio O’Reilly Auto Parts Store to do a promotional appearance for our Amsoil sponsor and local dealer, Elmer Schaeffer, who has provided us with the super Amsoil lubricants and other products. You always meet some car enthusiasts at these events, and among them was Rick Monroe who is from Piqua and is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Starter and Engine Tear Down Official. We had a very interesting conversation and now personally know a top NASCAR Official.

A Win Slips Away at KilKare – 9/4/09

The last run at KilKare for the Aluma Trailers, Amsoil, Mid America Properties, Impact Racing Dodge Charger was a good one with an 8th place qualifying effort which would start Drew in the 3rd position. If it wasn’t for a sputter from the motor on a restart putting Drew back to 17th with about 20 laps into the race, the 6th place finish might have been much better the way Drew was running.

Our goal was to improve on that finish, so we used the same basic setup since it was about as fast as the leaders. Qualifying would see Drew’s 12.69 second lap only .03 off the track record, but he was a bit out done by Mike Stacy who broke the track record with a 12.567 lap. Two other cars would better Drew as he would end up 4th in qualifying. That would start him in the fifth position with the invert and since the 8th place qualifier hit the wall hard on his first lap and could not start.

Drew would fall into the 4th position at the start and patiently ride there pursing the 3rd and 2nd place cars. They would get together on about lap 20 and the 3rd place car would have to go to the tail as he caused the spin. Whew, Drew just missed that one and now was in the third position. Within about ten laps Drew slipped under the second place car to take that position away. By this time the leader had checked out by a straightaway and Drew proceeded to run him down. It took Drew only a few laps to catch the leader, but passing him was another thing. Drew patiently followed the leader for nearly twenty laps with those two nose to tail a full straight away ahead of the field. That lead evaporated as several yellows came out but they would pull away from the third place car each time. Drew complained that the motor did not turn over well on the grid and it was obvious that the battery must be getting low as the motor started to miss at the end of the straight aways.

Another yellow fell on lap 72 with Drew still in second but the eventual winner had worked his way up to third and would get by Drew who said the car was noticeably starting to miss more. There was no holding the next two cars off as the motor was just too weak. Drew fell back to sixth where he would run until the yellow would fall again with 5 laps to go. The field bunched up and Drew would hold the car to the bottom of the track for the final 6 laps to hold off the rest of the field to finish in 6th.

A very encouraging race for Drew and the team but also let down in the fact that Drew was the class of the field, had been patient with the leader just waiting for him to make a mistake, or to make his move, only to have it erased with an alternator wire that came off allowing the battery to be almost completely dead at the end. To top it off, when we fueled the car for the next race we put 22 gallons of racing fuel in the 22 gallon fuel cell. It was completely dry; the motor would not start until we primed it. It would not have made one single additional lap on the track. Drew had gone 215 laps including all the green and yellow laps.

Shady Bowl Speedway – 9/6/09

The threat of rain was in the air tonight as Drew and team visited Shady Bowl Speedway for the third time this year. It was a non-points Labor Day Special with $2500 to win. Since Drew ran so well with the setup we had under the car at KilKare two nights ago we opted to leave that setup there. It worked well as we cut .3 of a second off our previous hot lap sessions at the track. We bolted on 3 new tires to scuff them in and put down a 12.99 second lap in hot laps. The pole for the last Main Event Series Race there was 12.89 so we thought we had a shot at it this time. Not to be as we should not have scuffed qualifying tires for this one. There was an oil down of the track and Drew would put down a 13.00 sec. lap, good enough for another 4th place qualifying run. The pill draw for the invert would be a roll of the dice and the invert came up 1, which set the field as they qualified. Drew would start outside row two.

Drew ran the outside for about 10 laps, the only car to do so, but there was no place for him to drop in line. Finally he got in line in 7th place. For some reason the car went very very loose entering, in the center and off the corner. On lap 16 there was a bad three car pile up between turn one and two and Drew threaded the needle to come out in 4th place. Drew decided he would try adjusting the brake bias and found that to be the cause of the extremely loose condition, he had to make a 12 turn adjustment. The car took off like a rocket!! The third place car fell out with mechanical problems which would put Drew a straightaway behind the second place car of veteran Late Model Driver Bud Perry. He would take no time to run him down only to loose it as they caught lap traffic. Again Drew would run the #10 car down and again they would hit lap traffic and Drew would loose ground. Finally with two laps to go Drew would be all over the second place car but would run out of time to set him up for the pass as the checkered flag would fall for a season record 3rd place finish.

Our next race is the season finale at Columbus Motor Speedway in Columbus, Ohio. It is a $6000 to win, $1000 to start two day show September 26 & 27. The top four cars in series points are in the show no matter where they qualify, the next ten are in on qualifying time, the next 6 come from 3 heats, two from each. And the final 6 will qualify through last chance races. Officials are expecting over 40 of the best Outlaw Late Model teams from the central part of the country.

Our next appearance will be at the Minster, Ohio Octoberfest parade and car show October 4th.

A very special thanks to Aluma Trailers, Elmer Scheiffer Amsoil Dealer and Impact Racing Products. Without the support of our super sponsors we couldn’t have come this far!

For more information call Andy Charlson at 419-305-3772.

Back to Midvale Speedway for the second time this year. The first time we broke the rear end bad the night before in practice and just made it in time to get two quick hot laps in, did not qualify well, were fast in the feature but overheated about lap 30 and had to drop out. This time it took some time to get dialed in and we were fast running 14.1 sec in the final hot laps on old tires (the pole today would be 13.8 sec). We put on the new tires, taped off, and qualified at 14.4 sec. very very loose and 18th out of 26 cars. Where did it go? We are now figuring the taping off is just getting us too loose and will just have to quit doing that. The new tires alone should have got us easily in the top 10.

The tape came off and that change brought back the car we needed. Drew moved up to 14th in about 20 laps and was making a pass for 13th , the car he was passing couldn’t handle it on the high side and spun out. Rules are that if two cars are involved in an altercation causing a yellow and no one accepts blame they both have to go to the tail. The guy wasn’t even close to Drew but that is the way it is. At the restart Drew was behind this loose guy and now two others, all four running nose to tail. A few laps into the restart and the two cars in front of this foursome spun together and there was no where to go but into them for the guy ahead of Drew and we crashed into the rear of that car taking out the nose and radiator. A 19th place finish was not what we were looking for today. On to Sandusky Speedway next week.

Sandusky Speedway – 7/11/09

A torrential rain came down this morning backing up loading the race car till it stopped which caused us to get to the race track later than we wanted. We just got the car out of the trailer, everything ready, and fired it up to make it for the first hot laps in time. This put a squeeze on time as we usually have our new tires picked out and mounted by now. Drew no more than got on the accelerator in the first hot lap session and he spun between turn one and two. “The power steering quit” came over the radio. The car was leaking fluid so it was pushed in. We found a power steering hose had blown out of it’s fitting due to improper installation somewhere previous to our ownership of this car. The underside of the car was coated with oil which got on the rear tires causing the spin. Thank heavens this was in an open space in hot laps and no damage was done. We had just put a new radiator in the car this past week and it seems like the air was not bled out of the system and we also noticed a crack in the seam of the cooling system overflow tank that was shooting out a fine stream of water. What else could happen?

We now had our work cut out for us as qualifying was in about an hour. The power steering hose was shortened and put back together and filled with fluid but we had a tough time getting it bled. The car was cleaned of oil underneath as best we could. We filled the radiator with water but the split overflow tank had yet to be repaired and it was now time to qualify. The officials let Drew go out on the track for two hot laps to test the car and get a feel of the track as he had not been up to speed yet. The power steering was not yet bled enough and was making the steering wheel pulsate back and forth when the car was on the track. We had this problem earlier in the year and it actually took a few laps to get the air bled out. Now it was time to qualify, the steering was not bled, the steering wheel was pulsing back and forth and we had no new tires mounted. We just had our 100 lap practice tires on the car. Drew went out and gave it a cautious two laps and qualified 16th out of 24 cars. He came in and said “Dad, I was only giving it 70%”! The car felt real good but still a little pulsing of the steering wheel, we had this overflow tank leak to contend with and the air not completely bled out of the cooling system. Now the question is “should we buy a set of tires of just start at the back and pull in after a few laps”?

We went to work on the over flow tank and bleeding the cooling system, found a welder that fixed the tank, needed a gear change as we were running 8700 rpm and were not at all up to speed in our two hot laps and qualifying, and added more power steering fluid and worked on bleeding that. No time for tires but we got all the rest done and ready for the feature, but still on our 100 lap practice tires. We had not touched the chassis at this point and would not. Drew says “lets start in our original 16th position and see what happens, the car is good”! So we did just that, started a 100 lap feature on 100 lap tires!

Drew fell in line and started passing cars almost immediately and over the radio came “everything is good”! Drew continued passing cars and was up to 8th place on the lead lap when a caution came out. He asked how many laps left, I said “35 to go” and he said “tires are gone”. Drew was actually still faster than the cars ahead of him and passed two more when another yellow came out. There was two laps to go, he was holding off 4 time champion and two time winner this year Gary Whipkey and behind him the Barberton winner Don Harvey Jr., and ahead of Drew was Harold Fair. Drew has been holding off the two behind him for 20 some laps and had caught Harold Fair’s from a ways behind him. With one lap to go Drew pulled it down under Fair’s race car and into turn one. Harold Fair came down on Drew, the pass did not work, and that is where we had to finish. By this time 200 race laps on his tires, one of 8 cars on the lead lap, and only running .1 to .2 sec. slower than the leaders. This tied our best finish of the year and given the hectic time we had to get there we were very pleased with the results, a win for us without winning the race. This same night we would hear Joey Lagano win his Nationwide race on old tires. Drew would comment “now I know what it is like to stay out on old tires”.

A special thanks to: Aluma Trailers for the awesome aluminum trailer, Elmer Schaeffer for the awesome Amsoil lubricants, Impact Safety Equipment for their super driver gear, and Scott Baker for helping us with parts and a setup for Sandusky that was right on.

For more information contact Andy Charlson
cell phone 419-305-3772
toll free 877-272-8179

The spring rains delayed this race one day so it was to the motel to wait it out till Friday June 11. The last time Drew and crew was at Angola it was for the his first race ever in the Outlaw Late Model and the Main Event Series Outlaw Late Model season opener where we unloaded fast off the trailer, were in the top 7 in hot laps, qualified 10th out of the 44 cars there, which put Drew on the pole with a draw of a 10 invert. That day we were very loose on the track and fell out with a broken transmission.

For this second time at Angola we tried some different setup things which didn’t seem to work and struggled to find the speed we needed all during hot laps. We were in the top 20, but only 18 would qualify for the main through time trials and the remaining 4 would come from the last chance race. Drew qualified 20th which put him on the outside front row for the 12 lap last chance race. He fell into third where he ran for about ½ of the race, constantly pressing the second place Bud Perry for that position. The fourth place car got a little too anxious waiting for Drew to get around and pressed his luck with a daring outside move around Drew and Bud Perry. That move would prove to be his demise as he lost it in front of Drew taking both of them out of the transfer positions ending Drew’s night.

Barberton Speedway Main Event Series Race #4 – 6/19/09

The rain again won out on Friday night relegating us to the motel once again. The weather cleared and we were able to get the race in at the tricky ¼ mile Martinsville like paper clip track. In hot laps we adjusted like crazy to get the car to turn in the center of the corner, a must at these short tracks, and really a must here at Barberton. We didn’t get it right by qualifying and Drew had to settle for a 19th starting spot. Thanks to Scott Baker for a little setup hint after qualifying! That little adjustment got the car real good, but on this short track with that number of cars, Drew was over ½ of a lap behind the leaders at the drop of the green flag. The car was good and Drew proceeded to carefully move by a few of the slower cars, but by this time the leaders were upon him and he went a lap down. As the first few cars went by Drew fell in behind them nearly keeping up with their pace. Several of the lead lap cars got by Drew but by this time it was his turn to start lapping the tail enders as well as pick off a few of more positions. At the end of the 75 lap race Drew ended up in the 11th position. If only we had qualified better!! We had the car rotating so good and the front end so hooked up that both front tires still had the dimples on them from when they were new. We came home with the car showing a few short track battle scars, but in one piece.

Lake Erie Speedway Main Event Series Race #5 – 6/27/09

It was a beautiful day for racing on the fast smooth 3/8 mile Lake Erie Speedway. This track is wide, has lots of grip and is fast. We decided to further our setup experience with big bar soft springs by pushing it a step further using bump stops. We again missed the setup pretty bad with the car not rotating in the middle of the corner and a push off during hot laps. Again we never got it right in qualifying and ended up in the 19th starting position. Starting that far back again put us ½ lap down at the drop of the drop of the green flag. Drew immediately started passing cars and came over the radio and said the car was perfect! Those last few adjustments must have finally hit the sweet spot! But not to last for long as one of the slower cars he was passing came down on him and took out the front of the right fender, taking away down force and creating a push that would never go away. As was the case last week, by the time Drew had worked by a few cars the leaders were coming and three of them got by Drew. He fell in line where he would stay for most of the race, running near the pace of the leaders, but a lap down. He continued to pass cars and with some attrition moved up to 8th place by the end of the 100 lap feature, right on the bumper of the 5th, 6th and 7th place cars. He had caught them from a straightaway behind with 10 laps to go, but a yellow flag and the restart put him to the tail since he was a lap down to the leaders. We didn’t have a winning car, but we found a setup that will be fast next time.

With these finishes Drew was only able to maintain his 9th place position in the points, but well within reach of 6th place and with five races to go coming back to tracks we have raced at once, a shot at the top five if we can get the car fast for qualifying.

A special thanks to Aluma Trailers for the super trailer that gets us to the track every race, to Elmer Schaeffer for those slick Amsoil lubricants, to Impact Racing for their super driver safety equipment, to Jeff Kendrick for reworking Drew’s website and keeping it up, and to Scott Baker of Baker Race Cars for those awesome last minute setup tips and for the super job putting our rear end together after it broke at Midvale.

Drew took to KilKare like he had raced there many times before and by midway through the first practice session he was tracking times that would put him in the top 20 in qualifying that was to come. The nose of the car was not down on the track like we wanted so we made some spring changes up front and went back out gaining a couple valuable tenths. We only took on new right side tires and put scuffs on the lefts that were left over from the last race’s early finish. They hardly were even scuffed in! We taped off the nose, freed up the car a bit and away he went out 6th to qualify. Bingo, Drew was on top of the speed charts at this point with a 12.9 second lap, .1 off the eventual pole and .3 off the track record. We would eventually end up eighth in the qualifying order. Now we would hear whether the pill draw would be an 8, which would put us on the pole, or 10 which would put us third. It was an eight and Drew would start third.

At the start of the race Drew fell into third place and ran there till the yellow flag would fall. At the restart the motor sputtered and Drew got freight trained to 11th. He was picking his way to the front in tight traffic with some lap cars now a factor. Someone up front nearly spun, the pack hit the brakes and Drew went high to avoid the mess and ended up spinning putting him to the rear of the lead lap in 17th place. The last 60 or so laps saw Drew steadily move up and maneuvered around lap traffic. Drew passed the 6th place car with ten to go and a straightaway behind the 5th place car. He caught the pack with 2 to go and settled to finish the 100 lap feature in 6th right on the rear bumper of the 3rd, 4th and 5th place cars. This moved Drew into the 8th place in points and well within reach of third place.

Our next race will be $10,000 to win special at Angola Speedway on Thursday June 11. This is the same track Drew sat on the pole in a field of 44 of the best Super Late Models in the Midwest, and ran top 3 till he fell out with a broken transmission on lap 30 in the first race of the year. We feel we have found a few things that will give us speed and now Drew has finally experienced making it to the end of one of these 100 lap features.

For more information you can go to www.drewcharlson.com. A special thanks to Aluma Trailers, Elmer Schaeffer and his fine Amsoil Products, Impact Racing Safety Products, and Mid America Properties.

Come race time we still could not get stagger, these tires would not stretch, so we took out some cross and raised the track bar one turn to free up the car center out. Drew went out for the feature not knowing what he was going to get under him for a setup for sure. The car was very loose!! Drew did a heck of a job avoiding wrecks and moving up to the front. He even put a Midvale stripe down the front stretch wall, his very first brush with the wall with this kind of race car. No damage was visible and he said the car was actually better. The car was over heating some at this point, a problem we have had and tried to remedy every time we had a chance to put enough laps on the car to get it to do it. He continued his move to the front but after several yellows and 27 green laps into the race the car was over heating too much and he was forced to pull in. At this point Drew was in 8th place and still on the move, considerably faster than several of the cars in front of him.

The next few days we took the motor to Rhyne Competition Engines for a check up only to find that there was no heating problem there and the engine was in as good a condition as it was in at the start of the season. We deemed the overheating problem to not enough radiator capacity. We had put the radiator/oil cooler in the car that Port City recommended but most racers are running motors in the 600 hp range, not ARCA engines with 770 hp. So, this week we are putting an ARCA radiator in the car with a separate oil cooler. We also found something on the setup that we had overlooked which should get the car to work better in the corners. We will also cut about 100 hp from the engine this week by switching to a 390 carb.

Wish us luck as we head to the very small challenging Kil-Kare Speedway this Friday June 5th and then on to the special $10,000 to win race at Angola Speedway on Thursday June 11th. We are very excited about this race as Drew was on the pole and ran right up front the last and only time we had been there.

A special thanks to Aluma Trailers for the great trailer that gets us to and from the track, Elmer Schaeffer & Amsoil for the super lubricants, Impact Safety Equipment for great safety equipment, and Scott Baker at Baker Performance for getting us up and running again Saturday morning.

The Aluma Trailers, Amsoil, Impact Racing, Dodge Charger #21 Outlaw Late Model Team

P.S. Drew got his first fan mail from a young race fan in New Jersey requesting an autographed picture. Thanks to all you race fans out there!!

Saturday May 2 is the big day for Drew’s debut in the new class. Forty three of the best Outlaw Late Model drivers in the Midwest had gathered at Angola Speedway. Cancellation of the ASA race at Nashville had some top teams parking their Template Late Models for the weekend and pulling out their Outlaw Late Models.

Changes were made to the car and two sets of hot laps were taken on the track putting Drew 7th quick among the 43 drivers. Two more sessions were to be run but the team parked the car for the remainder of the tests sessions as the feel was good and the car was fast. With qualifying setup and sticker tires we should be in the hunt. Fourteen cars must qualify to make it in to the 100 lap feature on time, then the top three in two last chance races would make it to the feature, and finally 4 provisionals from last years points finish would round out the field. An invert of eight or ten would be drawn after qualifying to determine the pole and those eight or ten starting positions.

Drew blasted a lap around the 3/8 mile track in 13.94 seconds to put him in the 10th position, solidly in the show without having to come through the second chance races. Now the nail biting would come waiting for the draw, would it be 8th, or 10th place the starts on the pole? IT WAS 10th, and Drew was on the pole for the biggest race of his career in his first start!

The hard work, the years of racing, the hype, the parade laps, all came down to the start of the race. The outside car jumped the start by 3 car lengths, there was no restart, and the race was on. Drew fell into second place. After several laps and restarts from back marker problems, the race settled down for a few laps as one of the race favorites Jack Landis got by Drew. Drew’s car came in, he got into his rythem, and dogged the leaders showing them his nose several times with the front three breaking away from the rest of the field. A few more restarts saw Drew loose several car lengths to the two leaders at the start, only for him to quickly catch them and dog them hard. Then, things seemed to change, the brakes had been glowing red, the car started getting loose, and over the radio came “brakes are gone”! With this new “big bar soft spring setup a driver no longer sets the rear of the car in the corners, but drives it in hard, hits the breaks hard dropping the nose of the car to the track and hitting the gas as hard and soon as possible. And to add to that being faster than the two cars ahead and being patient takes a lot out of the brakes. Very disappointed, Drew pulled the car in to find not only a soft brake pedal, but the two speed Jerico transmission stuck in high gear and a bulging crack in the top cover and oil on everything from there back. The tranny was broke and oil had been getting on his right rear. And to make things worse we found out later that the two that had been running in front of Drew also had problems and dropped back. It was our race to win, Drew did his job, a part failure did us in.

It was disappointing to see our prized swap meet tranny break! It was very encouraging to see Drew qualify well, then to be one of the fasted if not the fastest car in the field. All told we deemed the weekend a success for Drew’s first race with the big boys, they knew he was there!

A special thanks to Aluma Trailers, Elmer Schaeffer our Amsoil Distributor and Impact Racing Products for letting us help them market their great products. Without their products and help our success would not be possible!