On Saturday, July 27th, we went to battle at Anderson Speedway for 200 laps. The Madison County 200 is considered to be the crown jewel event for the CRA Late Model Sportsman.
Our team was coming off a very strong 2nd place finish from our previous outing at Anderson Speedway. With the adjustments we were able to make from that race, we felt extremely confident coming into the Madison County 200 with race-winning speed.
Practice
And race-winning speed we had. Fresh off of the trailer we landed p5 in first practice with 23 cars making time. The driver was happy and requested no adjustments (a miracle really). The car was so good that the team decided to save some rubber and opt out of practice #2.
Qualifying
The team found the qualifying pace that we were expecting. By putting down a lap of 12.639, Cassten found himself P3 on the board. Everything was looking bright heading out to feature time.
Race
The race started great. Cassten was very happy with the car and he was able to quickly move up through the field and take the lead on lap 13 in the race. Cassten was pulling away from the field by lap 30 and even had the 8th place car in his windshield that he could soon put a lap down if the race could stay green. Unfortunately the beginning of the end started here when a car that was soon to be a lap down began leaking rear end grease. Cassten, as the leader, was the first to hit it and spun the car around in turn 2.
Due to how quick the car had spun around, and not yet receiving word of the rear end grease leak, Cassten thought that the LR tire had been punctured. Due to this, he headed to the pits to change a LR tire. He would have to rejoin the field at the tail. In just a few laps after going back green, Cassten was able to make quick work of the back of the field and got back up to the 8th position. Nearing lap 100, Cassten was back up to 5th and contending with the leaders once again. This was when the ignition issue began. Cassten sent a radio message to the crew telling them that he was at reduced power due to an ignition issue and told them to get some tools ready for the lap 100 break to diagnose. Cassten assumed spark plug wire, but wanted them to check all of the grounds as well. At lap 100, the crew scoured every inch of the car, finding nothing that could be the cause of the ignition issue. With this diagnosis, Cassten had no choice but to continue to fight on track with reduced power. The second 100 laps would be uneventful for Cassten and the crew. Unfortunately, the team would have to settle for an 8th place finish and wonder what could have been.