 Team MGR - California Speedway Race Summary
Fontana, CA, March 15, 2010. ASC Racing kicked off its 2010 season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA during NASA SoCal event this weekend. After almost six months off, most teams opted to use Friday’s practice day to “test & tune” their racecars before the weekend’s competition.
A few teams had mechanical issues, not uncommon the first time the new racecars hit the track. O’Connell Racing’s #28 K&N Racing Series car suffered intermittent overheating problems on Friday, although the experienced Nationwide/Rolex team was able to work around it and get the car ready for Saturday’s race. Robert Davis’ #26 ASC car had gearbox problems on Friday and was unable to complete the test session.
Kyle Kelley, winner of the ASC-Unlimited class at the 2009 NASA Championships, couldn’t attend on Friday, however, his #66 former SWT Chevy was ready to race on Saturday morning.
Manuel Gil del Real in the #27 Ford Fusion was the fastest of the ASC cars on Saturday morning qualifying with a 1:44.0 lap time, followed by Kevin O’Connell and Kyle Kelley. At the drop of the green flag, O’Connell used his extra horsepower to get by Gil del Real. While O’Connell tried his best to handle his 3,500 lb car and keep his car ahead of Gil del Real’s Ford Fusion, it was clear that the less powerful but also considerably lighter Ford Fusion was the quicker car of the two in the early stages of the race. Unfortunately for Gil del Real, his shifter got jammed and stuck in third gear half way through the race, which caused him the first DNF of the season. Kelley’s car didn’t fare much better as a left rear shock mount broke, ending his chances to catch up with the leaders. O’Connell went on to take the ASC win on Saturday’s race.
On Sunday morning, Kyle Kelley brought his Trans-AM racecar to test it in preparation for his upcoming race at Road America. Two spots down in the garage, Ralph Byers, Gil del Real’s crew chief, found out that the Ford Fusion had a dead cylinder with a bent pushrod. WOT Performance provided the Arizona team with the replacement pushrod and shims to have the engine running again just in time for qualifying.
Kelley took the top qualifying spot and let from green flag to checkered flag uncontested. Gil del Real fought his way from fourth place to third place after passing Terry Free’s Corvette but still finishing behind Kyle Kelley and Evan Gardner.
ASC Racing would like to thank GoodYear, SUNOCO Fuels, Pro-Shocks and MGR Consulting Group for their continuous support of the series. For more information about ASC Racing as well as for the latest race schedule information, please visit www.ASCRacing.com.
For more information about Team MGR Racing, please visit www.MGRRacing.net
© 2010 MGR Racing. MGR Racing and the MGR Racing logo are trademarks of MGR Racing. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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