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10/26/2009
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KEN BARRY
FINISHES OFF '09 TVMRS SEASON WITH A VICTORY
Jon McKennedy Crowned
2009 Champion at Oktoberfest
by
Denise DuPont |
On October 25th, the True Value Modified Racing Series returned to Lee USA
Speedway for their season finale, the Oktoberfest 100. As the series came to
the end of their sixth season it also found itself with another battle for
the championship. Going into the race there was a three way battle brewing
out of which only one would be the victor. Jon McKennedy, Rob Goodenough and
Steve Masse all came to Lee with the dream of being the 2009 TVMRS Champion.
In total there were twenty-seven drivers that came to the speedway to
compete and at race end be the first across the finish line to take the
checkered flags. In the end, there was to be new and the fifth Oktoberfest
100 race winner. Ken Barry drove the #16
SPAFCO car to win the last stop on the 2009 TVMRS season. This was the first
ever win for Barry with the True Value Modified Series. Barry had made his
debut in the #16 car earlier in July at Oxford Plains Speedway. The team
knew then that they wanted to race again with the TVMRS and score a win.
The KB Motorsports team came to Lee with the plan to win. “We had a
plan right from the get go,” said Barry about the team’s victory. “We
unloaded the car the other night in the shop. We decided we were going to
kind of just ride around and try to be easy on the tires. This place is
notorious for loosening the car up. After the heat race we through a lot
more at it and everything worked to a tee. The car was awesome.”
Because of heavy rains earlier in the weekend, the decision was
made to go right into TVMRS heat races without any practice time to shake
out setups. Lack of practice did not hurt #16 Ken Barry race team though.
“We joked about it last night. We said we would be better without practice
because that way we would not screw it up.”
Jon McKennedy, and his team though did
not find the team’s race performance as lucky for their team without
practice. “Today was a little bit of a struggle. No practice, we just got
our heat race in. In the heat race the car was good, but a little loose. We
pretty much raced with 100 laps on the tires.”
But even though the team struggled all day, there was a rainbow at
the end of the day for the team. They managed to stay fifteen points ahead
of the second place contender, Rob Goodenough, which gave them the finish
needed to win the 2009 TVMRS Championship, “As far as the race goes, we just
got too loose the last 40 laps of the race. We did what we had to do to keep
from spinning out and keep ahead of the #1nh (Rob Goodenough) and #13 (Steve
Masse). We were able to do that and we won the Championship (True Value
Modified Racing Series)”.
“It has not really sunk in yet that I have won the Championship,
said McKennedy about the new accomplishment he had just added to his list.
“I am a little disappointed that the car ran crappy. Today we missed the
setup that is all. It feels good to get the championship (TVMRS). It was a
good effort by all the guys. They worked hard and there was a good crowd.”
Reflecting on his TVMRS goal that he reached,
McKennedy expressed what it meant to him. “The Championship means
a lot. It is a good accomplishment. You are running with a great group of
guys, competitors. It is an awesome division and hopefully it opens up some
doors (opportunities) in the future.”
Second in points going into Lee, the #1nh team did not quite have
enough to make the championship theirs. “We did not quite have it today. We
burnt the rear tires right off of the car which is an on-going problem here.
We just got very loose. I tried to just ride around the first half of the
race. We were snug in the beginning. That thing (car) just was really free
on me and we just do not have it today.”
The team struggled with the car and the track. In the end they finished
their season with a 9th pace finish, one spot behind McKennedy. Was lack of
practice the issue? “No it is just Lee Speedway. It is just a very
aggressive track and it just wore the rear tires right off. I think that we
just have to find something different in the setup.”
Lee’s track surface is a challenge for most teams and they will all
say that it is has control of your destiny when it comes to eating tires.
Rob Goodenough and the #1nh team left
Lee Speedway earlier this year thinking they had found out the secrets of
the track but left today knowing that the track still has a lot of hidden
secrets. “We hit it really good here the last time and had a second place
run and almost won it but that much of a car left that day either. Then it
was with only ten to go instead of sixty laps or forty laps to go this week.
I think that we did not quite have it right. But that is nothing to be
ashamed of. We got second for the whole year. Not bad for a low budget car
with very little money. Jon has run us clean all year long and we are very
happy for the crew, family and sponsors. It has been one heck of a year.”
Yes for a low budget team, the 1nh crew showed that there is a “True Value”.
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Source: Denise DuPont
/ TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: October
26, 2009 |
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