CBR Ends 2009 With a 'Rough' Weekend at the Nationals  

Troutman, NC (October 27, 2009)

The Crud Brother's Racing team convoy rolled into a soggy East Lincoln Speedway on October 15-17^th for the final event of 2009.  After winning the 2009 East Lincoln Speedway Track Championship, Falcon Smith was a favorite heading into the 13^th Annual Legends Car Dirt Nationals.  However, it would not be a memorable weekend for the CBR team.

On Thursday, about 70 cars from 17 different states packed a water logged pit area.  Rain began to fall the night before and continued throughout the day.  Teams anxious to get on the track would have to wait another day as the rain washed out the three hours of practice on Thursday.

When teams finally took to the track Friday morning, it was obvious that the track was not ready to race on.  As soon as cars took to the track, it started to come apart, leaving big holes in the racing surface.  The more the cars ran, the worse the track became.  Although ELS officials tried to work the track as much as possible, it was just too wet to have a good track surface.  After two rounds of practice, INEX, the sanctioning body for the Legends Cars, lined the cars up for Qualifying.  Drivers would earn points through Qualifying and Heat Races to determine the starting line-up for Saturday's A-Main.  In Qualifying, the cars that went out first set the fastest times of the day.  As luck would have it, Falcon would draw to go in the final group.  It appeared Smith got a solid lap in, but the scoring monitor did not agree as Smith clocked in a 19.32 second lap, a disappointing 18^th place.   The only good thing about the bad Qualifying time was that it would give Smith a front row starting spot for the Heat Race later in the afternoon.

Falcon would start from the pole position for his Heat Race.  On the drop of the green, the Oak Hill, OH native jumped to the front of the pack.  Smith found his way to the cushion, usually the fastest way around ELS, and it looked like he would not face a challenge.  A caution flag flew, however, and bunched the field up for a restart.  Falcon got the jump again, but had to lift in Turn 3 for one of the big holes.  Another car took the bottom line and slid up coming off of Turn 4, making contact with the left front of the #34 machine and forcing Falcon into the outside retaining wall.  The contact would break a suspension pick-up point on the left front corner of the chassis, and put the CBR machine on the sidelines for the rest of the race. 

The CBR team went hard to work making repairs.  Several other teams pitched in, including Tilley Harley Davidson Racing and Hurricane Racing, to get the #34 mount ready to race in the Race of Champions later in the evening. With the repairs finished, Smith lined up 7^th to start the 20 lap race that included all the 2009 Dirt and Asphalt State Champions that were on hand.  When the green flag flew, Smith picked up a few spots, moving into 4^th.  Falcon would look for more until a car dove under him and made contact.  The CBR machine would loose a few spots before Falcon parked the car for the rest of the race.  Smith would be the 4^th place finisher in the Pro Division.

"That was a tough day," Smith commented.  "Coming in, I thought we would have an advantage, but the weather didn't cooperate with us.  The track was so wet, we shouldn't have been on it today.  The track crews did all they could to make it good for us.  INEX made the call to go ahead and run.  I suppose they're pretty happy, there's been a line at their parts trailer about all day.  It was really crazy on the track for the Race of Champions.  I didn't want to take a chance on tearing up the car agian before the big one tomorrow.  I know Clint (Elkins) and the guys will work hard on the track tonight, and hopefully it will be better tomorrow."

Track crews would work on the track throughout the night to make a better surface for Saturday's A-Mains.  However, mother nature would stop their progress.  Rain again soaked the East Lincoln Speedway overnight.  It looked like there was no way that there would be any racing Saturday and teams started to make plans for the evening.  However, INEX again forced the ELS crew to prep the track to race on.  It was obvious that conditions would be worse than the previous day.  Instead of waiting until Sunday, INEX put cars on the track.  Once again, there were huge holes in the racing surface from top to bottom. 

The Pro Division A-Main was the final race of the evening.  Eventhough ELS workers graded and packed the track before every race, it was only a couple of laps before the track would competly come apart.  After the miserable day on Friday, Falcon would roll the #34 off in 19^th position to start the 30 lap A-Main.  On the drop on the green, Smith began to move his way foward.  The smoothest part of the track was right along the inside gaurdrail.  Falcon would use that line to his advantage as he moved through the field quickly.  Smith slid into 8^th position on lap number 11 and looked poised to continue his march through the field.  However, another car tried to dive to the bottom under the #34 machine getting into the corner  and made contact.  Smith made a nice save, but had to move up the track to gather the car.  Falcon would loose several positions and never be able to regain his groove.  The car lost the handling after the contact and Falcon was forced into the pits at the half way point, resulting in a 14^th place finish.

Troutman, NC (October 7, 2009)

After a long season, Falcon Smith and the Crud Brother's Racing team is preparing for their biggest race of 2009.  Thus far, the 2009 campaign has included a 2^nd Place finish in the Carolina Speedway Point Standings, an East Lincoln Speedway Track Championship, the team's 9^th Ohio State Dirt Championship, and an average finish of 4.9.  The CBR team will be looking to add yet another accomplishment to the list next weekend: 2009 Dirt Nationals Champion.

The 13^th Annual Legends Car Dirt Nationals will be held at the East Lincoln Speedway.  This event should draw the top dirt Legends Car drivers from throughout the country.  The unique three day format will feature Practice on Thursday, Qualifying, Heat Races and the Race of State Champions on Friday, and the Championship A-Mains on Saturday.

"I'm really looking foward to the Nationals," Smith commented.  "I've had a lot of up and down runs on Championship weekend in the past.  We've had some Top 5 runs and some that should have been better than that.  It takes a lot to win one of these big races.  We've been working hard on the car making sure everything is as good as it can be.  You need to have things go your way for the entire weekend and stay out of trouble early on.  I've had a ton of laps around ELS this season, so that could be an advantage.  I don't know how it will play out, but we will be in contention.  The only thing that's for sure is that someone will come out of there with a National Championship Trophy and their name in the record books as the 2009 Nationals Champion.  There's no reason that can't be us."