|
|
|
10/11/2011 |
|
MIKE HOLDRIDGE CONQUERS THE CEMENT PALACE
AND ALL ITS GLORY
It is Win #2 for Holdridge in the Valenti Modified Racing
Series
by
Denise DuPont |
|
 On
Sunday, October 9th, Valenti Modified Racing Series (VMRS) drivers strapped
in their cars and raced across the start line at Seekonk Speedway all hoping
for a win in the D. Anthony Vendetti Memorial When the checker flag falls
there is one and only one winner in the field of starters. With the 2011
race season quickly winding down it was every driver’s wish to be the first
under the checker. In the end Mike Holdridge beat the odds and won his
second VMRS race this year. Even though the race was over, Holdridge was
still not sure if it was dream or not. “It is exciting but really has not
set in yet. I will see what happens when I get home. It has been a long
day,” Holdridge said after victory lane ceremonies. “The car was just good
all day. The car never went away again just like Beech Ridge. It was the
same thing – save your tires until the end. In the beginning I was waiting
for the right rear to go away – which is typical here. And it did not happen
which is pretty cool.”
Seekonk is a small fast slick track that you are either good or bad at. Once
a driver crosses the line from bad to good they are both surprised and
delighted. “I never would have guessed that I would win here in a million
years. I would happen been happy with a top ten here to be honest with you.
So I am pretty surprised about it.”
“Until today I had not got the hang of it (the track). You have to go slow
to go fast. It is kind of a momentum. Easy on the gas and easy off the gas.
It helps it was day time so the car did not change for me as much as it did
at night. So that was helpful for me. It might have been a whole different
outcome at night. Then again you never know. That big wreck took out a lot
of fast cars. That may have been a game changer too. Who knows, anyways we
will take it.”
 Ken
Barry qualified and started the race third. Barry passed for the lead on lap
7 and from there dominated a good chunk of the race. Barry fought off the
challenges of several drivers through the race. But when Holdridge made his
move for the lead on lap 65, Barry had not saved enough to hold him off. He
followed Holdridge the rest of the race crossing the finish line second. “We
were good but Mike was just better. I think that I burnt it up just a little
bit trying to stay ahead of him. I probably should have saved a little
more.”
A lot of drivers struggled all weekend with their car setups. It was October
but the weather was summer like. Teams were not sure if they should prepare
for a summer or fall race when it would be their time to race. Barry’s team
was one of those that continued to tweak their car before the main event.
“We were struggling a little all weekend. We were trying all kinds of stuff
on the car and we just were not getting it right. We made some pretty big
swings at it this morning. We got it really close. We just missed by a
little tiny bit so we were fighting it a bit that we need to make better for
the next time.”
2010 defending champion Jon McKennedy returned to the VMRS competition at
Seekonk after taking some time off. It has been an off year for the team
after they were so strong two years in a row. McKennedy was back with a good
car though and a podium finish was a
 reward
for the team’s hard efforts. “It has been an up and down season. We ran some
races and then we had some issues with the engine. It was no ones fault. We
have worked hard and we have it all resolved. It is good to be back with the
touring series. It is our first time back in a month or two. It was a tough
race for us with a lot of restarts where we were stuck on the outside. Most
of the race we fought a tight condition and we were not able to get most of
that out. We were just not too far off. The car was way too tight on the
bottom. Overall we cannot complain. We had a solid third.”
Jimmy Kuhn runs part time with the modified series when he can. When he does
show to run he has a good car and is usually right there at the end with the
leaders. At Seekonk Kuhn crossed the finish line fourth with a real solid
race finish. “We are happy with a fourth place finish. The car is in one
piece. We did not get banged up which is always a good thing. We are happy
with our finish. The car was good, but not as good as the last race we raced
here. That race we kept getting into melees and had to keep coming to the
front. Today we had a little bit more stagger than we wanted so we were a
little bit freer that we wanted to be. So it was not as good as that day but
it was still good. But the car is in one piece and we are happy.”
 Veteran
racer Dwight Jarvis rounded up the top five with a solid fifth place finish.
“It was a good race. I am tired. We tightened the car up way too much. We
came in and pitted and freed it up some but we should have gone more. But
you can never tell here. So we had a good car but it was too tight.”
Jarvis had one of the cars that was able to pass cars on the outside. He
managed to move into the top five after a late race caution (Lap 95) and in
the end he got the job done. “The track was slippery on the outside. The car
did not want to turn good up there so I just kind of held on. I knew that
was the only place that I was going to be able to pass. I put it out there
and it was good enough to get the job done.”
Teams will now regroup and get the cars ready for their season finale at Lee
USA Speedway on Octoberfest weekend (October 22nd and 23rd).The track is a
series favorite so it will be an exciting finish for the race season.
The point chase is close right to the end this year. So we will have to wait
to see if Chris Pasteryak gets his second Championship or if Les Hinckley
finally gets his first Championship for the Chuck Montville Race Team.
Notes From Seekonk Speedway October 9,
2011
Normally in October racers find themselves
competing in the gentler weather of fall. But at Seekonk temperatures soared
and it felt more like summer than fall. Did the heat affect the leaders car
or race?
Mike Holdridge
“No it was a nice day. I love summer. So I will take it.”
Ken Barry
“The heat definitely did affect the car. We are use to racing here in the
fall and this is like racing in the middle of July. So you had to kind of
change your game plan a little bit.”
Jimmy Kuhn
“The heat may have possibly affected our race. The track was a little greasy
up top. But for me that was just the way that my car was.”
Dwight Jarvis
“The warm weather made a hard call for us. We did not know what the car was
going to do, or if it was going to cool down quick or not. So we tightened
the car up like we usually would and it was just too tight. The track did
not cool off enough.”
The VMRS event was the last feature of the day
and as the driver raced on the track the sun was setting on the horizon
behind the track’s third turn. Did the sun going down affect the lead
driver’s race?
Mike Holdridge
“No, I had sun glasses on so we were good to go.”
Ken Barry
“Right down there at the end it did. The last fifteen laps or so you were
kind of blind for a couple of car lengths going in, but it was not as bad as
last year. Last year it was really brutal”.
Jimmy Kuhn
“There was one stage there where it did get real bright. But you still could
make things out. There have been times here in the past where it was worst
where you could not see things at all. It was not quit that bad so it was
not too bad.”
Dwight Jarvis
“No I had the colored shield on. I was ready for it (the sun setting).
Mike Holdridge drives for a very small race team
owned by his dad. The second generation driver is very humble and grateful
for everything that he has.
Mike Holdridge
“I cannot believe it. I have to thank everybody – my spotter, my crew, my
wife and my dad. My dad spends everything that he has on this. We have no
sponsors. The car was just perfect from the time that we practiced today. We
got here late so we started twenty-second in practice.” |
|
|
Source: Denise DuPont
/ TheChromeHorn.com
Posted: October
11, 2011 |
|
|
