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6/6/2009
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JON McKENNEDY MAKES A TRUE VALUE MOVE TO WIN
Young Racer Beats Veteran Drivers
for First 2009 TVMRS Win at Twin State
by
Denise DuPont |
It was raining all over New England on Friday June 5th, but the only “Power
Mist” at Twin State Speedway occurred when Jon McKennedy made a surge on lap
seventy-one for the lead. McKennedy made a power move during a race restart
jumping from third to first spot. After taking the lead, McKennedy continued
to be a dominant force going forward to win the Granite State Harley-
Davidson 100 TVMRS race. “First I want to thank all the guys they worked
real hard. Thunder Road was a disappointment. The car over heated and we did
not get to finish.”
“It was a great race car tonight,” said McKennedy after his first
TVMRS victory in 2009.
“I really believe that the new car came in at the beginning of the year. I
think it showed in our early runs particularly at Thunder Road. We had that
race. It was ours but that the car overheated and we didn't quite get the
finish we wanted.”
But on Friday the Power Mist sponsored #73 team recovered and took
down the checkers at Twin State Speedway. There was a lot of hard racing in
the front as McKennedy competed for the lead with local Modified Legends and
True Value Champions. “I want to say thanks to Dwight and Kirk for running
me clean. They are real awesome competitors. We ran side by side for many
laps and never touched wheels and that's how it should be. It was a fun
race.”
Dwight Jarvis started at the tail end of the pack but that did not
hold him back. He did a hard charge to the front and once there fought for
the lead. In the end though, he came up just one spot short of his goal. “I
love racing here. The car felt real good but I had to use up a lot of tire
to get back up front. I had the lead for a while but I lost it. I did try to
get it back with no luck.”
Jarvis is always a top contender when he competes in the TVMRS and
it is very rare that you see him out of the top five. “We had a good run and
it was real fun racing these guys,” said Jarvis about his run at Twin State.
“It was good clean racing, but the tires got loose at the end.”
Jarvis came to Twin State after being another one of the Thunder
Road race victims. His crew worked hard to get ready for Twin State racing.
“I really want to thank the guys (the #28 crew) for putting this car back
together. It was in pretty bad shape after Thunder Road.”
Front runner Kirk Alexander scored his second podium finish in a
row. He led the race for many laps, but on lap seventy-one Jon McKennedy
passed him to take over the lead. Alexander then slipped backed to third
spot never to regain his momentum. “It was awesome racing. We came in third
but it was a great run for us.
Alexander may have not won the race, but he had a lot of fun racing
and competing for the lead. “I like driving with the old veteran, Dwight
Jarvis. He taught me a lot when I started racing modified cars. I just love
racing wheel to wheel with this guy (Dwight Jarvis). Jon is also a great guy
to race with.”
Before leaving, each of the top three drivers took the time to
thank the main sponsor of the Twin State race. “We want to that the sponsor
of Granite State Harley Davidson. Without them we probably would not have
been here tonight. “
As the end of the night, the TVMRS teams left the 1/3 mile
semi-banked asphalt oval rack high in the hills of New Hampshire and headed
back to their race shops. The next TVMRS race will be Saturday night, June
13, at Seekonk, MA. Starting time is 6:00 PM
Twin State Race Notes:
Jon McKennedy
Did the #73 team do anything special to prepare for the Twin State
race?
“Tonight the new car ran good. We just made the regular basic
changes for the race. We tightened up the car a little bit more to start.
The first half of the race I tried to conserve the car and save everything
as much as I could. The car was real good for the first 60 laps and then it
started to get loose and a little out of control. So during the race the car
tightened up a little bit and then at the end it got loose. Everyone did the
last 30 laps. The last few laps everyone was hanging on.”
Dwight Jarvis
There was some controversy going into the Twin State race with the
driver of the #28 Modified car, Dwight Jarvis. The issue centered around
where in the field he was going to start the race. Jarvis qualified third in
the first heat race, but was later informed by TVMRS officials that he was
going to have to start the race from the back of the pack. This call was
based on his cars presence on the Twin State track within the prior two week
race window.
Following is Dwight’s take on the incident.
“A little over two weeks ago I came over here. I had to pull out of
Waterford because I was skipping. The track owner asked me to come over to
see if I could figure out why the car was skipping. I came over here looking
for a skip not to practice. I was just trying to find the skip in the
engine. Jack called me up last week and told me that guys were calling him
that I was over here practicing. I weren’t practicing I was looking for the
skip. Jack told me that they were going to let that go and you can explain
to the people at the pit meeting if anyone complains. So after the heat
races one of the officials came over and said to me you know your penalty
don’t you? I said what penalty. I told him that Jack said that everything
was OK. And they said no, we sent you a registered letter, which I never
got. I would have had to sign for it if I received it. I went down to talk
to Jack and he said that the officials decided to make me start in the rear.
I did not know that. If I had known it, I would have taken it easy in the
heat race and saved my tires. It was kind of a low blow, but I will roll
with it. I thought I was legit. Rule book says that you cannot have a
private practice or rent the track. I did not have a practice session or
rent the track. As a matter of fact Dennis (Fleury) asked me on that Friday
night if I had the skip cured. He said why don’t you come over tonight. I
said I can’t because it is two weeks so I guess I screwed up. But I still
feel that Jack shafted me by telling me one thing and doing another.”
Some driver’s had complained about Dwight Jarvis being on the Twin
State track within the two weeks prior to the scheduled race there. For
whatever the reason, they felt that he (Dwight Jarvis) was on the track and
violated the series rule about practicing or renting the track within the
two week timeframe prior to a race. Series founder, Jack Bateman, and TVMRS
officials after several team’s complaints made the call to start Jarvis at
the rear of the pack.
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Source: Denise
DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: June
6, 2009 |
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