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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 27, 2009 9:54:20 GMT 12
On Saturday MP drove the 54a Little Rippers/Metal Man car to his 9th undeffeted victory in a Main Event at the opening of the Kihikihi Speedway for their round of the National Midget Car Series. With the Internationals arriving and Western Springs set to explode into action this Wednesday and Saturday, Can anyone stop MP from taking another Main Event Win?
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suzuki
Junior Member
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Post by suzuki on Jan 27, 2009 10:09:49 GMT 12
A very impressive drive on a very testing track.
The next 4 nights at Western Springs should be the best open wheel racing you will see this season.
The track will be deciding factor, the last 2 meetings track not flash....
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xman
New Member
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Post by xman on Jan 27, 2009 14:37:36 GMT 12
Weather and tide looking good for a racey track. Yanks will be tough, especially Kuhn with a car and team he knows well, but MP's been on a tear...be good to see it continue.
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Post by blown on Jan 28, 2009 6:05:28 GMT 12
the person most likely to give pickens a run will be cory kruseman, bringing his own car gives him a huge advantage over the rest of the americans, although davey ray could still surprize,
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Post by conrod on Jan 28, 2009 9:48:32 GMT 12
hey aaron what is the record for feature wins in a row? would anyone have that information?
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xman
New Member
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Post by xman on Jan 28, 2009 10:43:57 GMT 12
Think it might be the boy himself...Pickens, with his current run of 9 in a row. Heard talk of someome doing 8 a ways back, cant remember the name...a Goonan...Crowther...someone of that era.
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Post by blown on Jan 28, 2009 10:48:49 GMT 12
barry butterworth and micharl pickens share the record at 17 straight each, the main difference being butterworths where all from the back of the grid
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Post by BarryB on Jan 28, 2009 11:27:39 GMT 12
Is that 17 consecutive race wins? Or 17 features?
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Post by DTM1 on Jan 28, 2009 11:47:17 GMT 12
Consecutive race wins Barry,although i thought it was 14.
Im unsure as to what the mark is for consecutive feature wins at the Springs,but Michael must be close to whatever the mark is with 5 on the trot....Trevor Morris had 4.
What makes the 8 in a row really impressive,is the fact 3 have been won on the road,which highlights not only MPs skills on the wheel,but also the skill of the team turning the spanners in being able to provide him with a car thats on the mark come race time.
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Post by BarryB on Jan 28, 2009 15:31:38 GMT 12
Yes, it certainly shows their ability to adapt, and not just to fine tune a car to one surface and one shaped track. I've seen a few drivers that are virtually unbeatable at home, but who often struggle away from home. MP certainly isn't one of those......
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Post by TQCrew on Jan 28, 2009 22:26:42 GMT 12
No he cant.
Defeted by Brad Mosen and about 3 other cars in the 25 lap feature.
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Post by BarryB on Jan 29, 2009 8:03:58 GMT 12
He was never really competitive all night. Track was both rutty and dusty, very unusual, with really only one racing line that seemed to keep moving. Passing was limited in the Midget division, and basically non-existant in the Sprintcars unless the car in front made a mistake. When Ricky Logan can only move from 10th to 8th in 10 laps, and only then when those in front of him make a error, you know you've got a junk track. Both the 1nz and 27a completely distanced the field off the front in their heats, but could also only pass 1 or 2 cars when starting from the back.
The Midget test was also a procession, as were most of the races all night. Without the excitement of passing, non-contact racing doesn't have a lot to offer. I think there was less passing tonight than I've ever seen at the Springs. I guess some of that was due to the competitive nature of the fields with the 6 Americans present, the top guys all being very equal, but the racing seemed to lack the usual excitement level somehow.....
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Post by doctor46 on Jan 29, 2009 8:54:11 GMT 12
I don't believe it was a pressession at all Barry. You only have to look at certain cars in the features and how they drove the track.
TQ Feature for instance 3nz Shane O'Connor came from grid 21 and finished on the podium (3rd) and that is only a 15 lap race.
Yes the track wasnt quite wide enough for two lines for the sprintcars and only just in the midgets but I remember seeing Davey Ray come from about 4 from the back after one caution to being charging and hot on the heels of Pickens by the next caution.
There was a good line around the cushion for all classes and you could race on the pole line or on the cushion and Mosen and Coons Jnr did for many laps leading up to the first caution.
As I said track would have been a bit better if cushion was pushed a little higher up but still not a bad track at all.
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Post by BarryB on Jan 29, 2009 11:25:03 GMT 12
One good example in the TQ section, yes, but you'll also see I was really only referring to the Midget and the Sprintcar sections in my comments. It wasn't a bad night, for sure, but it just didn't really provide what this particular spectator was looking for and hoping for. Just didn't hit the spot...........
That's not to say I'm not looking forward to next Thursday night however, as the one thing you get with these clay tracks is, they're never the same two weeks in a row.
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Post by doctor46 on Jan 29, 2009 11:58:12 GMT 12
No that is exactly right Barry, it will be very interesting what happens to this track when they try and run 4 meetings in 10 days.
They haven't had much luck with getting two good tracks when they run back to back weekends let alone the workload over the next 10 days.
We will just wait and see ....
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suzuki
Junior Member
Posts: 90
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Post by suzuki on Jan 29, 2009 15:37:20 GMT 12
Got to agree a bit with Barry. Track didnt quite make the exciting racing that we have seen.
Sprintcar Feature was boring.........hey nice drive by Carl Wilson but talk about procession. Got to feel sorry for Tommy, he has a magnetic attraction to the wall...........
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Post by BarryB on Jan 30, 2009 1:30:50 GMT 12
Maybe my expectations were a little high? Looking for some old Springs Magic? But when you think of Western Springs, and line up Pickens, Mosen, Alach & Co against the likes of Darland, Kuhn, Kruseman and Coons Jnr, you attend expecting a little magic really............well I did anyway.
Like I said earlier, it just didn't exactly hit the spot.......
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Post by rebel1 on Jan 30, 2009 20:30:11 GMT 12
I know what you mean Barry. We went once last season and then on Wednesday nite. The racing is good but I was expecting more and although it was good it didnt quite hit the spot with us either. Not sure if we will go back again this season as at $25 each plus $5 for parking the expectations of value for money are high.
One question. Why do they not water the track other than prior to racing to keep the moisture in ?
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Post by Aaron Drever on Jan 30, 2009 22:30:13 GMT 12
I guess its all about set up...... they set the track and as it changes during the night the drivers skills and skills of the crew to set the car up for what they anticiapte is all part of the fun.....
Great Show on Wednesday 8/10 for Bill Buckley and his team.... bring on Saturday!
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