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2nd
Place Equals Another Top-5 Did somebody turn back the clock on Saturday night or what? Because I could have sworn the top-2 finishers in Saturday night's Modified race were the same two battling it out for a championship 4 years ago. Hale Racing took home another top-5 finish on Saturday night when Michael Hale worked his way into second place. This finish moves the team back into the second place position in the points standings, and gives the team more confidence for the double-main coming up next Saturday. Michael began the night quite well by qualifying in the 6th place position. This proved to be critical as he was able to earn a few more passing points than if he were to qualify in say 8th or 9th. "The car felt pretty good, we made a few minor changes after qualifying, but all-in-all, the car was pretty awesome tonight," said Michael after his night of racing came to a close. Michael struggled a little in the heat race, getting caught behind some slightly slower traffic and losing positions in the early going. He was still able to get by a few cars and move himself into 7th. Although things looked a little dim after the heat race, the team was focused on improving for the main... and improve they did. The main event started with an amazing field of more than 20 modifieds. Michael started in 14th due to the inverted start rule, and had some slight troubles during the early laps of the race. "I wasn't sure how the race was going to go, I was getting passed high and low, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the faster guys behind me just went around," said Michael concerning the early going of the main event. Suddenly a slight gap between faster cars opened up, and Michael hit it... moving himself behind the #4 car of Lynn Hardy. That's when the "train," as some might call it, began it's journey. In perhaps the most tense race of the year, Michael's patience, experience and intelligence all paid off in this one. Michael patiently followed the #4 car through almost the entire field. Using the low line on 99% of the passes made, the two really did look like a train of two... a train of talent and speed moving flawlessly through a field of cars. It was a thing of beauty. Hardy would get by one car, Michael was right there to follow suit. Michael tried the high side about half-way through the event to get by the #4 car, but a car ahead of the two kept that pass from happening. Michael, using his intelligence and experience, smartly moved back into line, following the #4 car by more opponents. Before long, the two were in 4th and 5th. With just over 10 laps left, a caution came out involving the two lead cars. One of the lead cars happened to be the #30 car of Nick Parker, whom was currently sitting in 2nd in the point standings coming into the night. This incident moved Michael up to the 5th position, and within 3 laps, he had followed the #4 car pass the #74 car of Kurt Lindeman and moved himself into 2nd. "I knew if I just followed Hardy we could get up to the front, I think my car was probably just as good as his, and it showed." Michael stayed close to Hardy, but was unable to pass him. The event looked like a race from the past, and it was about as exciting of a race as you could imagine. "Lynn hasn't ran the season full-time, so there was no real reason to battle with him. I don't know if I could have got by him, Lynn's a very smooth driver. It was a blast racing with him again though, at one point I thought to myself, 'Gosh, this looks familiar.' We scored well in the points race tonight, and that's what we wanted to do," said Michael. "The team did a great job and my dad (car owner, Red Hale) set the car up really well, I'm proud of all of us tonight." With the #30 car of Nick Parker finishing poorly due to his incident, Michael and the team's second place finish moves them into the 2nd place position in the points standings. The margin isn't much, but it gives the team more and more confidence heading into next Saturday. Michael currently holds a 29 point lead over the 3rd place driver of Nick Parker, and it would appear that 1st place is out of reach for everyone. The deficit between Michael and the 1st place driver of Gary Madsen is currently 286 points. As always, Hale Racing would like to thank all of our great sponsors and fans for your continued support this season. Saturday was no exception. Fans were surrounding the trailer and racecar after the event, and that's nothing to complain about. Thanks to all those that came out and watched us on Saturday, and thanks to our sponsors who are there week-in and week-out to help this team be as competitive as we are. We hope all of you will come out this upcoming Saturday, August the 21st, to cheer us on as we compete in another night of two main events. Mark it on your calendar as it should be an excellent night of racing. Thanks again to all our fans and sponsors, and we hope to see you all again this Saturday!
Story by
Brad Edwards |