FRASERVILLE, ON – Most people are familiar with the expression “keeping up with the Jones’s”. Linc Brown’s goal heading into Kawartha Speedway’s 2012 season was to keep pace with the competition in the track’s
headline NAPA Auto Parts ACT Late Model division. With the exception of a couple of bumps in the road, the 47 year-old Colborne, Ontario racer is pleased with how things have progressed since the drop of the year’s first green flag.
His #99 Kawartha Metals/Rousseau Automobile Communications/The Wolf 101.5/Don Butt Auto Body/Mayhew Graphics/Clarke Motorsports Communications Dodge Charger currently sits 10th in points and with just 3 shows left on the schedule, Brown knows that anything is possible.
“A strong night could get us as high as 6th,” said Brown. “The standings usually get pretty tight toward the end of the year and if things go the way I hope they will, I think we have the ability to gain a few spots before the season wraps up. There is a double point show August 24th and that’ll help, but we can’t count on that one night to make all the difference. The team needs to produce a consistent effort on a week-to-week basis.”
In his first season back at the track since 2008, Linc Brown has ridden the rollercoaster of racing luck. During the Friday, July 27th event, the car felt great while running on old tires during the pre-race practice session and the team was excited about bolting on a fresh set of rubber for their qualifying heat. Starting from 5th spot, the car
was sluggish and couldn’t maintain the speed of the leaders. Even though he’d advance to the feature, it was a matter of running a few laps after the green flag before pulling into the infield.
“It was something we didn’t experience during practice, so I was very frustrated with how the car ran in the heat race, consolation round and the feature,” said Brown. “Back at the shop, we spent close to 2 days looking for the problem which involved taking apart almost the entire fuel system. There were 2 cracks in the line, just under the top plate of the fuel cell. It sucked air into the line, creating a bubble and robbed the car of power.”
Kawartha Speedway took a week off for the Civic Holiday weekend, but that break turned into a 2 week layoff when heavy rains forecast for across the province cancelled the Friday, August 10th event. The next show on the schedule hits the track Friday, August 17th and features a 100 lap Late Model ‘A’ main. Going through their extensive notes, Linc Brown is confident the team has found a set-up that will get the most from their equipment.
“There isn’t a car anywhere in the field that’ll be perfect,” said Brown. “Once the race starts, you’re kind of stuck with what you’ve got so you work toward something that’s close and hope for the best. The car will go through changes of its own as the race moves along. Once the fuel load burns off, the rear weight will change. Tires go through different heat cycles and depending on the length of the green flag segments, may never actually cool-down. It’s a roll of the dice, but we’re all out there playing the same game.
: Jim Clarke – Clarke Motorsports Communications
Discussion about this post