Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – GAFFNEY, SC – The inaugural “Elite” Series race for the Short Track Super Series kicked off on Friday night at Cherokee Speedway.
Several drivers were happy with how qualifying night went, while others were left scratching their heads.
Bobby Hackel was smiling from ear-to-ear after his 20-lap heat race. The driver from East Greenbush, NY led a fair amount of laps in the first qualifier. If not for a timely caution with a handful of circuits left, Hackel might have been the one sitting in victory lane.
“Without that yellow, I don’t think Larry (Wight) would have gotten us,” Hackel said. “I had my momentum built up. With the Big Block, and the weight I’m giving up, it takes a lap or so to get it wound up compared to those big Small Blocks.”
Nonetheless, Hackel qualified for the big $25,000-to-win show on Saturday. In fact, he made it into the redraw. What’s it going to take for him to make his way to victory lane?
“I’ve talked with some of the people I’ve got in my corner,” he said. “I talked to Joe Matthews at JAM Performance, Dave schilling (fellow PMC racer) and Pete Chuckta at PMC. We got a game plan together to see what I’ve got to do to keep the car a little straighter while keeping the right rear tire under me for 50 laps.”
Does he think the track will get as hard as it was late in the night on Friday? Does he think Saturday’s track will become one lane and locked down?
“I don’t think so,” he said. “There were some cars that were real good tonight who showed you could venture to the middle or top and were solid. I believe, with more cars on track for the main event, that higher grooves will blow off more and the track will get wider.”
For Jack Lehner, however, who Hackel was battling for most of that first qualifier, he’s happy to be locked into the feature event, but wishes he’d been able to make it into the redraw.
“It definitely didn’t help missing the draw,” Lehner said. “However, it sounds like they will do some track prep before our feature so it should be racy early on. As long as we are good enough, I think we can get to the front.”
Early on in his qualifier, it looked like Lehner had a car that could visit victory lane. Unfortunately, the first feature was mired with cautions and then subsequent restarts which didn’t work in his favor.
“Our car was really good early,” he said. “We just got jammed up with Hackel on those restarts and, towards the end, the track funneled to the bottom one lane and that was it.”
Is the Cherokee Speedway quick? Early on in the first qualifier, several drivers made moves that got them towards the front quickly. That included Lehner who started in seventh and was battling for the lead within a handful of laps.
“When there’s bite, you’re just about wide open around this place,” he said. “The track is fairly narrow as well, so that made for some aggressive racing on top of the high stakes in qualifying.”
Does Lehner think the 50-lap main will be the same way?
“If they can keep moisture in the track it should be a really exciting race,” he said. “However, if it dries out and gets hard, it’ll become a freight train tire game.”
Anthony Perrego was another driver in that first qualifier. He was able to see every single driver in that 20-lap event when the green flag dropped because he fired from the final starting spot.
That didn’t phase the Middletown, NY driver who drive through the field and was sitting in a qualifying position (five were locked in through each heat), when a mistake dropped him back.
“I caught a little bit of water on the inside of one and two with my right front and the car pushed up,” Perrego said. “The car got tight from then on and that’s where we finished.”
Perrego wound up sixth and will now have to try and qualify through a last chance event. He is up for the challenge and thinks not only does he have a chance to make the 50-lap feature, but also could be in contention to win it.
“We were good in the heat race,” he said. I burned up my right rear tire. Now, we need to get through the consi and then see if we can survive to be around at the end of the main.”
Does he believe that track conditions and tire conservation will be name of the game Saturday night?
“We’ll see I guess,” he said. “It’s either going to be who ever gets a flat tire first and comes back through or whoever can manage for 50 laps. I think there will be some movement early on in the race, but then, you’ll just need to survive.”
One driver who’s not necessarily a fan of how racing was Friday at Cherokee was Max McLaughlin. However, he and his new HBR team are in attendance this weekend chasing the big $25,000 payday.
‘Mad Max’ started the fourth 20-lap qualifier in sixth and came home with a fifth place finish.
Is he glad to be locked in?
“Yea I am, but tonight, in our race, there just wasn’t any passing,” McLaughlin said. “I’m not sure if it’s normal Cherokee or if it’s just our cars, but like tonight and in recent shows, the Big Blocks just seem to be one groove here.”
Even with that though, Max is hopeful that things will be different come feature time.
“I really hope something changes tomorrow,” he said. “It’s a shame that’s what we have to work with for such a big pay day, but hats off to Brett Deyo and his team for putting a incredible purse together. I think we should try to go to Carolina Speedway next year. That’s always one of my favorites in the area.”
Another driver in the PMC camp, David Schilling, struggled on Friday night in his qualifier. He was another driver who got to see all of the starters in front of him as he started 14th but could only get up to tenth at the finish.
“The surface here at Cherokee is just not something we see in the northeast,” Schilling said. “Red clay is different than what we race on. We need to be better on it to keep up with the tops guys in this sport.”
Schilling and his team are running the new Wegner LS427 Short Track Super Series engine, and he’s enjoyed some success early on in the 2022 season with it. However, Friday night, he wasn’t able to move forward as he had hoped.
“I have a great opportunity with the cards I’ve been dealt,” he said. “Drawing last in the last heat is just part of this game. We’ll make the best out of it and move forward.”
In the Sportsman events, Jeff Watson and Brock Pinkerous, both part of the new Dryzone Racing Development team, were able to take home 15-lap qualifying wins.
For Watson, he was happy with the result but knows track position will probably be the key factor to who wins the main event on Saturday.
“A good draw will help,” Watson said. “However, whoever gets their car turning the best and can keep the drive off the corner will win.”
One driver he’ll have to compete with is Pinkerous, his teammate for the week. Both drivers have good PMC Race Cars under them and both could be in victory lane when all is said and done.
“Is it the chassis that has them so good or is it the preparation of the team, which is led by Big Block Modified racer LJ Lombardo, which is leading to their success?
“These PMC’s are fast,” he said. “They were quick for everyone tonight. We’re all working together and Pete (Chuckta) has put in the time like he always has to design a car that’s very fast. These things are fun to drive right now.”
Now focus moves to Saturday night. Who will take home the big paydays when the night is over? We shall see.