HAMPTON, ON- With the frustration of a 9th place performance in Round 9 of the OSCAAR Super Late Model at Sunset Speedway on August 23rd still fresh in his mind, Kelly Balson is eager to return to action this Saturday, August 30th at Peterborough Speedway.
“Sunset was a headache for us pretty much from the word go”, offers Balson. “We’re working our way through a new shock system and – simply put – we haven’t quite got there yet”
“It’s defeating because we were markedly slower than we were the last time we raced Sunset. But, we’ve been reminding ourselves that – once we figure this new system out – the change is going to be worth it. We’re taking a step back with hopes of taking five steps forward very soon”
‘The Crowd Pleaser’ combated his handling issues as best he could at Sunset, earning his 9th straight top-10 finish in the process.
“That was just 50-laps of me holding on as best I could”, explains Balson. “The car developed a push on the pace laps, before we had even gone green. Once I realized I was having a hard time getting the car to turn at caution speeds, I realized we were in for a long night”
“I’m just happy to get back on track a week later”, continues Balson. “Two weeks to chew on this would have been way too long. Our performance at Sunset was the most disappointing day of my racing career. It felt like a big swing in the wrong direction after an entire season’s worth of small gains”
The multi-time Peterborough Speedway champion hopes the familiar surroundings will help the team come up to speed with their new setup package.
“Peterborough’s been good to me in just about everything I’ve ever raced”, says Balson. “It’s certainly a track I feel comfortable at. We’re sending the car to Simone Autosport on Friday, with hopes that they can help us diagnose what was wrong at Sunset”
“If we can get the car back to feeling manageable, I’m hoping we can make Peterborough the first step in fine tuning this new setup package”
“At the end of the day, we have good equipment, a great team and phenomenal sponsors”, continues Balson. “That’s a fantastic combination. Now, we just have to bring it all together”
For details on Saturday’s event, including gate times and ticket prices, visit www.PeterboroughSpeedway.com.
Balson’s 2014 efforts are supported by London Recreational Racing, Dan McHattie Racecars, Shelley Taxidermy, BARKER and Cochrane Automotive.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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