Different Week, Same Result as CBR Team Extends Points Lead

Troutman, NC (July 26, 2009)

The Crud Brother's Racing team traveled to Gastonia, NC's Carolina Speedway on Friday night, July 24^th, looking to build upon their momentum with another great finish.  Coming into the evening, the CBR team held a slim 5 point advantage in the Carolina Speedway Point Standings.  Another strong run was a must if the team wanted to remain atop the standings at the end of the night.

For the second week in a row, Falcon Smith would lead the field to the line to start the Heat Race.  On the drop of the green, Smith fought on the bottom in Turns 1 and 2, but had to fall in line in second place coming off the corner.  From there, the #34 would mount a strong charge for the lead as the leaders ran three wide in the opening laps.  Falcon would find himself in a side by side battle that lasted the entire race and would eventually cross the line with a 2^nd place finish.  With the Heat Race in the books, the starting positions were locked in for the A-Main later in the evening.

The CBR team would roll off 3^rd to start the A-Main.  However, on the drop of the green, Falcon found himself going in the wrong direction.  The #34 machine was pinned on the bottom of the track and could not get back in line.  Finally, coming off of Turn 2, Falcon was able to slide back in line, but had already fallen back to the 7^th position.  The Oak Hill, OH driver would then get up on the wheel and up on the cushion and began slicing his way through the field.  Smith had worked his way back to 5^th before near disaster struck.  Two of the leaders came together on the bottom of the track with the contact shooting one car back across the track.  Smith was barely able to squeeze between the spinning car and the outside retaining wall to narrowly avoid being collected in the crash.  On the ensuing restart, Falcon was able to pick off another spot and set his sights on the battle for the lead until another caution slowed the field, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.  On the final restart, Smith mounted one last charge before crossing the finish line with a 3^rd place finish for the third week in a row.

"I didn't know how that one was going to turn out," Smith said after the race.  "I got a terrible start, and then just missed a great chance to destroy a race car.  We had to fight back from that to get to the front just to have a chance.  For as bad as it looked, we still were able to keep plugging away and get another great finish."

With the 3^rd place finish, the CBR team now has six consecutive Top 5 finishes.  Falcon remains atop the Carolina Speedway Point Standings and now has a little breathing room with a 34 point edge.  However, the standings are so tight at the top, only 37 markers seperate the top four competitors.  Smith extended an already commanding lead in the Ohio State Pro Division Standings and now has a 1256 point advantage.  Falcon is waiting for 600 Racing to update the National Pro Dirt Point Standings.

Troutman, NC (July 22, 2009)

So far during the 2009 racing season, the East Lincoln Speedway has seen many big names roll through the gates.  Last winter, former NASCAR Owner and Crew Chief Ray Evernham, along with Bob Mack, purchased the 3/8^th mile dirt track in Stanley, NC.  Last Saturday was no different when the SPEED Channel crew joined the packed house to take in all the local racing action.

Dave Despain, host of the SPEED Channel show "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain", sat down with Evernham to discuss his new life as a track owner.  Despain also took a ride around the speedway in a two-seater sprint car and took in all the the great racing action.

The episode of "Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain" featuring the profile of ELS will air nationally on the SPEED Channel Sunday night, July 26^th, at 9:00 pm ET.  It will reair on Monday night, July 27^th, at 9:00 pm ET.  Be sure to tune in and look for Falcon and the Crud Brother's Racing #34.

Troutman, NC (July 19, 2009)

The Crud Brother's Racing team rolled into the East Lincoln Speedway on Saturday night riding a long streak of Top 5 finishes at the 3/8^th mile track.  Coming into the evening, the CBR #34 had not finished outside of the Top 5 at ELS since April 11^th when a parts failure forced an early exit in the A-Main.  Track officials put over 60 loads of new clay on the track during the week, but it would not take long for the CBR team to get a handle on the new racing surface. 

With fans once again packing the stands, Falcon Smith would lead the field to the green to start the Heat Race.  At the drop of the green, Smith had to give up the lead and fall in line in second place coming off of Turn 2.  Falcon would make several attempts to snag the lead, but could not make any of the moves stick in the quick six lap Heat.  The CBR #34 would cross the finish line in 2^nd, setting the stage for the A-Main later in the evening.

The CBR team would roll off in the 4^th position to start the A-Main.  From the drop of the green, there was an intense battle up front.  Falcon would work the top of the track to move into second in the opening laps.  The Oak Hill, OH native would throw his helmet in the ring and look to move foward.  Riding the momentum of the top shelf, Smith would take on many challengers looking to get by on the bottom.  Falcon slipped back to third and would hold that spot until a caution flag slowed the field in the closing laps, setting up a two lap shootout.  On the restart, the #34 mount went back to work on the cushion.  Falcon was unable to make a move for the lead, and crossed the line with another solid 3^rd place finish.

"That was another strong run," Smith commented after the race.  "The track was a lot different tonight.  When new clay is put down, it has a tendency to come apart and get rough.  It was pretty dry also, we haven't seen a lot of that here this year.  We were struggling with foward drive a little, but were pretty good otherwise."

The CBR team now has five consecutive Top 5 finishes overall and has not finished outside of the Top 5 in their last six visits to ELS.  The consistency has extended Falcon's lead in the East Lincoln Speedway Point Standings to 66 markers.  Smith also has a commanding 1168 point advantage in the Ohio State Pro Division Point Standings.  Falcon is waiting on 600 Racing to update the National Pro Dirt Point Standings. 

Troutman, NC (July 12, 2009) 

The Crud Brother's Racing team headed to the Carolina's Action Track, Carolina Speedway, on Friday night, July 10^th, looking for a little good luck to go along with their strong performance.  The previous week, a bad fuel pump took the team out of contention for a possible win at the East Lincoln Speedway.  With the problem fixed, the team would still have to work hard to earn a solid finish and stay on top of a tight points battle.

A bad draw would force the CBR team to pass a lot of cars to get to the front.  Falcon Smith took the green flag for the Heat Race starting in the very back of the pack.  Smith began to charge early, picking off cars one by one.  Working the cushion on the top of the track, Falcon was able to get up to 3^rd place at the finish.  The solid finish would set the stage for the A-Main later in the evening. 

Smith would line up 6^th to start the A-Main.  On the start of the race, Falcon put the hammer down and quickly began to move to the front.  The Oak Hill, OH driver would find himself in a fierce five car battle for the rest of the race.  The #34 mount rode the top shelf looking for a way to get to the lead, but with only a handful of laps remaining one of the cars in the lead pack spun.  Falcon was able to squeeze between the spinning car and the outside retaining wall to narrowly avoid disaster.  With the laps winding down, Smith was able to put together one last charge.  The CBR team would come across the line with a 3^rd place finish overall.  However, Falcon was the top driver in the Pro Division, earning his second division win of 2009.

"That was a fun race," Smith offered after the race.  "The track was really wet and slick off of Turn 2, and that made everyone pedal a little through there.  With everyone running side by side it was tough to get the person in front of you set up for a pass.  It was just a clean, exciting race at the front.  We worked hard all week and found the problem we had last time out.  It was a good feeling to be hitting on all cylinders again."

With the strong run, the CBR team picked up their fourth consecutive Top 5 finish.  Falcon has been very consistent in 2009, notching 11 Top 5's in 14 races, with only one finish outside of the Top 10.  Smith holds a slim 5 point edge on the top of the very tight Carolina Speedway Point Standings.  Falcon continues to lead the Ohio State Pro Division Piont Standings by 1080 markers.  Also, Smith remains in the Top 10 in the National Pro Division Dirt Point Standings. 

Falcon and the CBR team will be back in action Saturday night, July 18^th, at Ray Evernham and Bob Mack's East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, NC.

 Independence Day Goes a 'Miss' for CBR

Troutman, NC (July 5, 2009)

In celebration of Independence Day, the Crud Brother's Racing team made the trip across Lake Norman to the East Lincoln Speedway on Saturday night July 4^th.  Coming into the Independence Day Blastoff, the team had only suffered one finish outside of the Top 5 at ELS in the first half of the 2009 racing season.  The night would prove to be filled with fireworks in the sky and on the track. 

Falcon Smith would begin the night by starting on the outside of the front row for his Heat Race.  Smith got the jump at the drop of the green and paced the field into the first turn.  For the first half of the race it looked like the #34 machine was going to pull away for another Heat Race win.  However, at the half way point, a miss develpoed under the hood and Smith would be forced to fall off the pace, dropping to 4^th place at the finish.  

With very little time to diagnose the problem, the CBR team went to work.  "We went through all the wiring and found a bad connection," Falcon commented on the trouble.  "I'm not too sure that was the problem, but we didn't really have time to try anything else."

With the A-Main ready to roll, the #34 would line up 8^th for the start.  When the green flag flew, Falcon put the hammer down and made an impressive move to the top shelf.  On the opening lap, Smith picked up five spots moving into the 3^rd position.  From there, the Oak Hill, OH native would set his sights on the leaders.  After tracking them down, Smith made a move, only to have the problem from the Heat Race return.  The miss caused the the CBR car to fall off the pace and loose several positions.  Luckily a caution flag slowed the field with just a handful of laps remaining.  On the restart the problem seemed to go away, and Falcon was on the charge again.  Smith was able to work his way back to the 4^th position before the problem returned again.  This time, Falcon was able to hold his ground and come across the finish line with a 4^th place finish.     

"We had the best car here tonight, it was just for a few laps at a time," Falcon said after the frustrating race.  "Those intermittent electrical problems are tough to find.  We didn't have time to go through it like we needed to.  I thought we had found something, but that wasn't the problem.  Other than that, the car was great.  Matt made a nice change on the car after practice and it was really hooked up.  We'll eventually get a whole night put together with no problems."

Despite the off and on electrical problems, the CBR team recorded their fifth consecutive Top 5 at ELS.   Still on top of the East Lincoln Speedway Point Standings, Falcon extended his lead to 61 markers.  Also, Smith continues to lead the Ohio State Pro Division Point Standings by 986 points.  Falcon still finds himself in the Top 10 in the National Pro Dirt Points. 

Falcon and the CBR team will be back in action on Friday night, July 10^th, at the Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, NC.