BARRIE, ON- Modified freshman Tommy Robb endured a frustrating outing to Barrie Speedway on June 14th for Round 3 of the OSCAAR Modified Tour, finding himself collected in a final lap incident that damaged his Sturrock Construction No. 88 and injured his wrist in the process.
“I think this might be the best example of how quickly a good night can go bad”, offered a frustrated Robb post-race.
The Durham, ON driver fought through engine troubles in practice, before earning his second career heat race victory. The strong qualifying effort earned Robb a third-place starting position in the 30-lap feature event.
“This team worked their guts out to get this car to handle the way it did in qualifying”, said Robb. “We struggled with both engine and setup troubles in practice, and these guys worked and worked until our car was exactly where we needed it to be”
“I wouldn’t have even been in the conversation tonight without my crew”
The former Ltd. Late Model regular ran within the top-3 for the opening 25-circuits, until a scuffle whilst racing for 2nd place drew a caution and sent Robb to the tail of the field as an involved car.
“We had a car capable of contending for a win tonight”, said Robb. “But, as soon as that caution flag came out, and we were signaled to go to the tail, I knew we were in trouble”
“The way some of the guys at the back of the field were racing, I just wanted to try my best and survive the final 5-laps without getting caught up in someone else’s mess”
Unfortunately for Robb, just one lap from the checkered flag, an incident on the back straightaway collected the Rookie and a number of others, relegating Robb to a disappointing 12th place finish.
“I’m not sure what hurts more, my wrist or knowing that we had a probable top-3 finish taken from us tonight”, sighed the likeable freshman. “The car can definitely be fixed. We’ll get it back to the shop, take it apart and make a list of what needs to be replaced before the Biederman Memorial [on June 28th & 29th]”
“I won’t be able to tell just how banged up my hand and wrist are until the swelling goes down”, continued Robb, “but come hell or high water I will be at Sunset in two weeks. I’ll tape it up, put it in a cast, whatever I have to do. I’ll be there. Guaranteed”
Despite the upsetting finish, Robb and team were able to look back on the event with a smile, when explaining just how well their No. 88 recovered after practice.
“Today was a huge comeback moment for us”, explained Robb. “Because we really were struggling in practice. We don’t have a lot of laps at Barrie, and we still don’t have a tonne of experience in a Modified. So, to be able to diagnose our problems, work through them and find the quick way around an unfamiliar speedway, tell us we’re headed in the right direction”
“Every time I’ve left the track this year, I’ve felt more confident in our program. If this team can continue to work together the way it has been, and we can keep improving with this car, we’ll be ready to contend for wins in a hurry”
Tommy Robb will return to action at Sunset Speedway for Rounds 4 & 5 of the OSCAAR Modified Tour, as part of the Don Biederman Memorial weekend on June 28th & 29th. Gate times and ticket prices will be available at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca
Tommy Robb’s 2014 Rookie of the Year campaign is powered by First General Services of Hanover and Kitchener, Sturrock Construction, Roymar Construction, Revolution Race Products and the ever-present support of Tommy’s Mother and Father.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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