Brad races with Joe B. Miller earlier this year in Jacksonville (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
(Bill W) July 6, 2016 – Brad Loyet and the Loyet Motorsports/Vacuworx Global #o5 pulled down a $6,000 second place finish Sunday at the rain-delayed Steve King Memorial at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver had another fast racecar and was in contention all weekend long. This weekend sees action closer to home as the MOWA series visits St. Francois County Raceway near Farmington, Missouri Saturday.
Things started in Dodge on Friday. “It was a typical back row heat draw for us,” says Brad. “We were able to get up to third. That put us in the redraw. I drew a five. Tony (Bruce) and (Jack) Dover drew a one and a three, so we were all in a row there.”
Brad would experience the effects of Mother Nature. “It just started sprinkling before the race,” he says. “It wasn’t terrible, but I thought I’d roll the top of one and two to start the race. That little bit of rain made it super-slick up there and I about drove it into the wall. In three and four, I did the same thing. I fell back to sixth at that point.”
He would also find moisture in the infield. “We got back down in line and started picking off some cars,” says Brad. “It had rained so much the day before, that the infield had a foot of muck in it. I got my left front in that, and it pulled the whole car into the infield. I came back on the track running last. We were able to drive back up to eighth, but I was pretty upset. We had a car that could have contended for the win, but I threw that away by screwing up.”
Saturday’s finale was postponed by weather to Sunday. “We were supposed to start fourth in the heat, but the guy in front of us elected to start at the tail with motor issues,” says Brad. “That ended up hurting us, because we started second and finished second. I wasn’t really happy with the car in the heat. The track went away a lot quicker than I thought it would. We were sixth highest in points heading into the Qualifier.”
That set Brad up inside row three. “The car was really good in the Qualifier, and I was able to get up to second,” he says. “I think we could have won it, but the leader screwed up their line a little bit, and I had to check up also. Overall, we were still the high point guy. The track was rubber-down by then, so I was happy to be up front for the feature.”
He was pleasantly surprised to see the track reworked. “Tommy (Estes) did an awesome job with the racetrack,” says Brad. “He went out and worked it for about an hour. It was an awesome track for the feature. We were hammer-down the first five or six laps, and then it widened out where you could run the top or the bottom.”
The first lap proved exciting. “We drove into turn one and had the lead,” says Brad. “Dover came on the low side of me like a rocket ship and passed me going down the back straightaway. I drove into three and passed him back. It was a heck of a first lap for the fans.”
Brad would take control of most of the race. “We ended up leading through lap 19,” he says. “I had been running the top of one and two and the bottom of three and four. When you are out front, sometimes you don’t know where the faster spot is. I was running my own pace, and the next thing I knew, (John) Carney put a slider on me. I had to saddle up again, and get hustling.”
He began his pursuit of the leader. “We were running the top on both ends,” says Brad. “We were able to run him down in traffic, and I knew by looking at the scoreboard, we had some laps left. I felt good in lapped traffic. We got right there and the yellow came out with four to go. He was really good in clean air, and we ended up second. He earned it.”
Brad was happy with the weekend overall. “I was a little disappointed that we came up one spot short,” he says. “There was a really good purse. I couldn’t believe there weren’t more cars there. We got $6,000 for second, so we were happy.”
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.
Photo: Brad races with Joe B. Miller earlier this year in Jacksonville (Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
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Monroe, IA USA