Fast Racecar, "Full-Moon" Luck

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     Wow, what a night of racing we saw on the 28th of July under a full moon night.  Just to give you an idea of how big a mess this race was, think about this... Hale Racing's onboard camera is capable of recording just over 50 minutes of footage with fresh batteries before they finally die.  The onboard camera was in full use, and after 24, yes, TWENTY FOUR laps of racing... 52 minutes had passed, and the batteries went dead.  For those of you that don't know, a Main Event for a Modified race is 50 laps long.  This race wasn't even half over before 50 minutes had passed.  Long story short, it was a crazy main event, and our posted video footage from the onboard camera only records 24 laps of actual racing.  Oh, and on a side note, the total amount of laps run, including caution laps, was somewhere in the 105 range... and a few drivers experienced something you rarely ever see at a Rocky Mountain Raceways event... shortage of fuel.

     Qualifying went well for Michael Hale and team Hale Racing.  8th place was the official spot with a lap time of 15.85 seconds.  I have to be honest, this article isn't going to be peaches and cream like some of the previous updates here at HaleRacing.com, but there are some positives.  The first came in Michael's heat race when he was able to find his way to the front and pick up his first heat race win of the season.  A much needed occurrence in the race for points as the season approaches the finish.  Other positives included an extremely fast, and well-prepped race car for the Main Event.

     Michael started 16th based on his qualifying spot, and right as things got going; got stuck in some heavy 2nd groove traffic.  It didn't take long before the yellow flag waved and the group was set into a single file line.  If any of you fans out there attended this event, you know the words "Caution" and "Yellow Flag" were words of the night.  Witnesses from the pit area were even quoted saying that each time the yellow flag flew, more people would leave the track.  It was definitely the latest night of the season.  9 laps into the event, Michael was in a tight race with the #44 of Randy Celia.  Michael had worked his way up to 11th as the two raced into turn 3.  Two cars got together just ahead, and it's still unsure what exactly happened, but Michael bumped Celia, and caused him to spin.  The yellow was already out for the two cars that got together just ahead of Michael and Randy, but both Randy and Michael were sent to the back of the pack.

     So once again the march forward began.  Some would have believed the site they were seeing was a scene from the "Big Motor" days at RMR, except this time Michael was picking off cars with a Crate Motor'd Lefthander.  Crew chief and car owner Red Hale had the car prepped great under the full moon sky, and it showed.  Michael, after being sent to the back of the field, moved his way back through the field and found his way into 7th.  Caution flew for the... wait I think I lost count at like the 7th or 8th caution that occurred... anyways, caution came out and the group began circling through the infield of the track to allow the emergency crew and safety team to clean up the accident.  This caution, based on the time recorded from our onboard camera, lasted more than 10 minutes, and is where our camera lost power.  So at this point, 24 laps had gone by, and more than 50 minutes had clicked off the clock since the green flag waved.

     When the green flag waved again, it was obvious that there was a problem with Michael's racecar.  What was that problem?  Nobody knew at this point.  Could it have been a fluke?  We'd find out right away as the race went caution again 1 lap later.  So after the millionth caution, the race went back to green and the problem was still apparent with Michael's modified.  He stayed out as long as possible before there was really no chance of continuing and then pulled off the track.  The crew determined the right rear tire going flat was the cause of the problem and quickly replaced it.  Michael lost 7 laps and returned to the track at the back of the field once again.  It seemed obvious that either Michael or the car itself just didn't like the view from the back of the field, and the two made their way back through it.  It was unfortunate Michael lost the amount of laps that he did, because by the time the checkered flag finally waved, Michael was the 3rd car to cross the stripe.  He had made his way back through most of the field in 20 laps after the cut tire and the team definitely made a statement.

     Numerous heavy hitters all had "full moon" type of luck.  Michael remained in second place overall in the point standings after the 3rd place car of Mark Ith was running 2nd in the feature race, and ran out of fuel near the end and fell back to finish 11th.  Michael lost some points to the current points leader, but after falling to the back because of a mistaken bump to another car, then losing 7 laps because of a cut tire... the team did a great job at keeping the car fast and holding their spot in 2nd overall in the points race.

     Hale Racing had sponsors on hand for the 28th of July race and would like to give special thanks to Arnold Machinery and Barlow's Landscaping for coming out to the track and supporting the team.  Although the luck was bad, the car was exceptional and the team proved to be competitive and showed that they just won't give up.  Hale Racing would also like to thank the many other sponsors that have continued to support this team throughout the year.  Thanks to the fans and all their support as well.  Without any of you guys, Hale Racing would not be having the success of what could be another top 5 overall finish in the point standings.

     Stay tuned to HaleRacing.com for updates on the upcoming events, and news on some dirt track races that Michael plans to compete in.  Hale Racing plans to race this Saturday, August 11th at Rocky Mountain Raceways so get your tickets now and come support the team this weekend.  Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you at the next event!

Short article written by Brad Edwards

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