DURHAM, Ontario — After showing speed during the early portions of the Sprint into Spring 200 at Full Throttle Motor Speedway, Donny Beatty and Robert James Racing would suffer a DNF as a result of a broken spindle.
Starting at the rear of the field, Beatty started off the event strong, carving his way through the field in the first 90 lap segment of the event. The Thunder Car veteran was able to keep his nose clean, avoiding trouble all ends. As a result, he would come across the finish line in the second spot behind the No. 33 of Tom Houghton.
He would return to the track for the second 90 lap segment, looking to have another strong showing. However, the segment wouldn’t start off as hoped. Beatty would try to get a little too much through turn one and two, resulting in a spin off into the snow on the inside of turn two.
Stuck in the snow bank, Beatty would try his hardest to get free. He had almost got himself out, when another vehicle spun, making contact and getting him stuck back in. He then went back to work, trying hard to get free once again, and was able to, returning to the racing surface. He would then begin to make up time, laying down steady laps as he went around the quarter mile.
About halfway through the segment, a silver car would get spun on the outside of turn one and two. Beatty would go beneath to avoid, however would get hit in the driver’s door by another competitor. The contact forced Beatty up into the spun car, causing heavy damage to the right front of his car. Beatty would limp his way to the pits, with the right tire falling off. The Robert James Racing quickly went to work in changing the tire and getting Beatty returned to the track. However, his return was short lived as it was determined a spindle was broken in the right front.
Beatty would bring the car back in, parking it and sadly, done for the afternoon. If the spindle had not broken, it should be noted that Beatty still would’ve qualified for the 20 lap shootout based on the laps that he had completed.
With their first event of the season under their belts, Donny Beatty and Robert James Racing are set to switch their focus towards preparing for the Ontario Modified Racing Series season. Beatty will be running the full schedule as a rookie in an entry prepared in a joint effort between Beatty and Robert James Racing. The full OMRS schedule can be viewed at http://ontariomodifiedsracing.com/schedule-2/.
Press Release and Photo By: Ashley McCubbin
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