Wrap it up, put it in the bag, and close the books.  The points season for 2008 is officially over and Hale Racing once again showed consistency with their second straight season of finishing 2nd in the overall points standings.  Although it was somewhat disappointing, and not quite a championship finish, the team is happy about the continued consistency.  The final race of the season wasn't a perfect one, and by the end the car wasn't quite as straight as it was at the beginning of the day, but second place was wrapped up so all was well at the end of the night.  Even though the event wasn't perfect, it sure was exciting.

     Qualifying wasn't quite as successful as it had been in recent events, but the team was still able to put the car in the top 5 with a 4th place qualifying position.  The heat race wasn't much to talk about, but the main event was definitely a wild one.  So wild that I actually wish I had recorded what took place on the CAUTION laps.  Lesson learnt, and after Michael instructing me to do so after the race, from here on out I will record EVERYTHING... if the car is running, so is the camera.

     It's hard to describe exactly what took place on Saturday, but the video should give you a good idea.  I WILL have the video up Thursday afternoon as encoding time will run throughout Wednesday evening and it should be ready for upload, like I said, on Thursday afternoon when I get home from work.   Anyways, Saturday's race was definitely a thriller.  Michael did as he always does and stayed patient as the race began.  Slowly but surely he was making his way forward.  Things looked good in the early going... really good.  Unfortunately, right around the 10 lap mark, things changed.  As Michael was making his way into turn 3, multiple drivers ahead of him locked up the brakes and cars were sliding all over the place.  Michael was one of them.  Michael used all the brake he could find, and checked up but the #7 car of Bryan Wordelman who was following closely behind Michael had no where to go and caught some of Michael's rear-end; sending Michael way up the racetrack.  As more cars were still locking up their brakes behind Michael, the #50 car of Roger Wilson slid into Michael's front end... this toe'd out Michael's racecar and sent him to the pits.  The team did all they could to get it the toe set right, or as close as possible, in the allotted time that was available during the caution, and Michael returned to the track without losing a lap.  Things definitely didn't look too good.  Michael went all the way to the back as everyone has to do when pulling off the track, but with the race far from over, Michael still had time to try and use the car as best as possible to gain some positions.  It was pretty clear that getting all the way to the front wasn't likely, but a top 10 wouldn't be bad... and it wasn't.

     Michael did everything he could behind the wheel of his slightly banged up racecar, and finished up the evening with a 7th place finish.  It's what happened just after the halfway point that really had people talking.  Just before the 30 lap mark, Michael was racing with the #6 of Michael Holder.  Holder has been one of the toughest drivers to overtake all season long, and he wasn't about to give up his position; at least not without a fight.  It was obvious he wasn't ready to give Michael any room as he was holding on tight to that 9th spot.  I'm not exactly sure what lap it was, but I would guess that right around lap 26, Michael made a run on Holder as the two exited turn 4 and raced down the front stretch.  Holder moved up as Michael was right up near the wall and the two touched tires.  Holder was making it very clear he didn't want to lose that position.  Michael moved in behind Holder and raced him like he does everybody else.  Michael stayed as patient as possible and then... well I don't even know the words to use in order to explain what took place, but I'll try anyways.  Just before lap 30, Michael made a move to the low side of the racetrack as he and Holder exited turn 2.  Holder was up high and the two got together once again as they began racing down turn 2.  Only one car made it through this incident.  Holder's car spun into the infield and Michael kept racing.  Holder parked his car, waiting for a caution, but it didn't seem like track officials felt like he was in harm's way, so no yellow came out.  Track officials called it a "racing deal" and things got heated.  1 lap later a caution flew for another incident that involved two cars spinning.  These cars were indeed in harms way so out came the yellow.  Michael made his way around the track, and Holder resumed the race during the caution and pulled back out onto the track as well.  As Michael came around the #6 of Holder, Holder made an obvious right hand turn into Michael's racecar forcing him way up the track.  Michael was HOT, hell, everybody was.  Michael carried on pacing with the rest of the field, and then Holder hit him some more... this time slamming into Michael's bumper with very noticeable force.  Well Holder managed to make it a little too noticeable and track officials will not put up with such driving.  The black flag was shown to Holder and he was demanded to exit the track.  The best part of the whole ordeal is that if Holder had kept his cool and not done what he did, he would have got his spot back as the field reverts to the position they were in on the lap prior to the caution.  Unfortunately for him, he wasn't able to keep his cool and his night ended early.  Michael was able to keep calm and remained in 9th position after all was said & done.

     So when the race went back to green, Michael found himself behind the #50 of Roger Wilson.  Roger is another extremely difficult driver to overtake.  With years of experience and a good racecar, Roger drove his line and Michael did all he could to try and get by him, but with the car's setup being a bit out of whack, and the tires pretty hot from having to compensate for the setup, Michael was unable to get by Roger.  That is until Roger and the #48 of Rob Davis got together and spun out.  This took place exiting turn 4 on lap 49 of 50, just as the white flag was being waved.  Michael kept on driving, bringing home 7th place and closing out 2008 with another top 10.  All things considered, the night wasn't too bad.

     Sponsors were once again on hand for Saturday's event and we can't say thanks enough to each and every one of them for supporting Hale Racing throughout the entire 2008 season.  Racing at Rocky Mountain Raceways wraps up on the 13th of September with a 100 lap race for money.  It's unclear whether or not Hale Racing will return to RMR for the 2009 season, but the team certainly hopes things work out and that we are able to compete.  More on that will be available next week after the 100 lap event.  Hale Racing would like to thank all of the fans that supported us throughout the 2008 points season as well.  Even on the tough nights, both fans and sponsors showed their support and stuck by us week after week.  We greatly appreciate it and hope to see you on the 13th as we close out racing at Rocky Mountain Raceways for 2008.  Keep a close eye on HaleRacing.com for some updated information on plans for 2009, upcoming dirt race results and the infamous "Fall Classic" at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October.  Thanks for stopping by.

Short article written by Brad Edwards

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