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8/16/2010 |
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STEVE MASSE HAS
THE RIGHT NUMBER AND WINS THE WINGS 'N WHEELS 100
Masse wins MRS
race at Waterford Speedbowl
by
Denise DuPont |
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 With
summer in full swing “Wings ‘n Wheels” night took flight at the Waterford
Speedbowl on Saturday August 14th. There was a good field of cars that
showed up for the four open wheel divisions competing. The grandstands were
packed and Mother Nature set the stage for a picture perfect night of
racing.
As part of the “Wings ‘n Wheels” event the Modified Racing Series returned
to “The Bowl” for the second time this year with thirty-one Modified Race
Series (MRS) teams ready to race. After qualifying six of the MRS regular
competitors went to the pits to pack up their equipment after failing to
make the starting field.
When the event was over, young Steve Masse scored the win at the fast 3/8th
oval track when he crossed the finish line first. He had led the race from
the start to finish. After three cautions during the first twenty laps of
the race, it was clear sailing from there forward for the #13 Masse Race
Team.
 Each race seems to start with just one lucky number. And from the beginning
having the right number helps for the plan for a good finish. So just like
Foxwoods having the right number helps you be at the right place at the
right time. It also brings you to where you want to be in the end. “In these
series drawing a number is one of the key factors to starting up front,”
said Masse about the MRS process. “And then there is saving tires to be
there at the end is definitely a real big help.”
Also part of the big picture are the most important components of it all,
the race car. And a good race car Masse did have. “I had an awesome race
car. I had the best car here tonight. I cannot say enough about it.” Second
to the race car is a good crew. “I have to thank my crew. They gave me an
awesome car to work with. It was a team effort. We are a small team and I am
just happy to be in the winner circle right now.”
It is unusual for any race, let alone an MRS race to go for eighty green
laps of racing. But at Waterford and the 100 lap MRS “Wings ‘n Wheels” it
happened. Every one, including the winner, thought as each and every lap
clicked off that the next one may be a caution. “I really thought that there
was going to be a caution in the last ten laps,” said Masse reflecting on
the race.
 At the end of the race the track got slick and cars started to slide, but
there was still no caution. “I do not know if there was fluid down in turn
two but I was getting loose over there and on the straight way almost. It
was a little loose on entry but it was nothing that I could not drive. I had
a straight way lead my spotter told me so I was just taking it easy at the
end.”
Masse had a good race car and was able to stay ahead of second place
finisher. Ted Christopher but his eyes were always son his rear view mirror.
“I thought about it (who was behind me) on the restart but I am happy to
beat someone like that (Teddy) in a modified at his own game and I am just
happy that I did it to be honest. It (the win) means a lot to me and it
really has not settled in yet but it awesome. Hopefully I will get another
one this year”.
Having a slight edge over Christopher meant that Masse received the famous
Christopher warning that he was there and coming to get him and he heeded
the warning. “I knew I had TC back there. He was giving me the bumper. Even
going around on the pace lap he wanted to let me know he was there. But he
got strung out and we were just hoping that there were no cautions because
there because I knew I had a big lead on everybody. It just all worked out
for the best.”
 Ted Christopher crossed the finish line second but he did not make it to
victory lane. His car spewed smoke at race end and TC headed to the pits.
“The car was smoking a little bit on the track.”
“I did not think that it (the race) would go from green to checker basically
from about lap 20 to the end like that. You sit there and you wait and wait
and the next thing you know is that you have to go a little bit. We were a
little bit loose and we tried to save our tires as much as possible. We were
a little bit free in but we did a bunch of changes before the feature so we
probably got it about 80% where it needed to be. But I did not have anything
for Steven. He was real good. But in the end we had a good run.”
Doug Coby made a hard charge at the end of the race and made it from fifth
to third but he ran out of time. Without the late race caution he was
banking on, a podium finish was all that he got. “I was confident that there
was going to be a caution the last ten laps. I hit full throttle for the
first time on lap 84 when I realized that we were not going to get a caution
and I better start moving. That was when I got the #73 and #25 (cars). The
#20 car is just a great car there (Waterford Speedbowl).”
So what goes through the minds of a driver when the laps are clicking off,
the track is getting slicking and you really want a caution? “You are
sitting there and you still do not want to use the car up, said Coby. “What
was going through my mind was just get going and get that caution out. I
want to go out there and mix it up with them. I had more car then them but
it just did not happen. It was a fun time tonight”
“I kept thinking that if we had just one caution. I wanted to make sure that
I was in third. That was why I pressure Jon and Rowan so much. I wanted to
be third and hopefully mix things up with these guys. Good job for the #13
guys and Teddy. Both made it interesting up there. We were coming and we had
a good car but we just did not have enough time tonight.”
 Rowan Pennink and the #25 team also continued to drive but thought that a
caution was just waiting for the series around the next corner but it never
came. They held on and drove to the end for a fourth place finish. “We were
definitely expecting a caution near the end. It is not that normal for a
race to go like that without a caution for that long. We had a good car. It
just got a little free at the end. I do not think that we would have had
anything for the #13 (Steve Masse).”
“The #00 was leaking oil bad and I did not realize it and I almost spun
coming off of turn two. Brian (Crowley) had said that the #00 was smoking
but I did not realize that it was putting down that much oil. The thing
(car) just jumped right out on me and it allowed Coby to just get the big
run off of turn two. It took me half way down the straight away to save it.
I just brought it home after that.”
“I knew that Doug Coby was right on me and he just had a big run off of two
on me. There was not much that I could do. I just got messed up running
through the oil there.” But Pennink saved the car and went forward ensuring
the team finished with a top five. “The #13 just had a dominant car tonight
and I do not think that anyone had anything for him.”
 2009 MRS Champion Jon McKennedy struggled all night at Waterford. It is a
tough track and it is one of the tracks that just has not been kind to him.
“We always seem to struggle here for some reason. The whole field is only a
few tenths apart so when you are off a little bit it really makes you look
bad.”
Unlike others in the top five, McKennedy was not sure he wanted to see a
caution at the end of the race. He knew he had a top five finish and he
wanted to end there. “Everyone was strung out. It was a long race with long
green flag laps. The car was just too free the last half of the race. And I
was just kind of hanging on at that point. If we had a caution who would
have know what would have happened. We were off all day. Basically we had a
fifth place car and it showed that in the race.”
The Modified Race Team heads back to the “Cement Palace” and the tight fast
grooves of Seekonk Speedway on Saturday, August 21st for more close racing
at high speeds. |
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Source: Denise DuPont / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: August
16, 2010 |
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