The 2008 season kicked off last night May 4, 2008 at the Seymour Speedway in Seymour Wisconsin and the #65 Kelsey Racing team was excited to get the season started.
With a massive car count of 189 race cars in the pits the team knew from the start it was not going to be easy to make it the feature race.
Bill Kelsey and the #65 car would start in the 3rd heat in the 5th position which started on the inside of the track. At the drop of the green flag the #88 car went spinning into turn #1 off the bumper of the #76 machine but no caution would fly. At this time Bill was in the 4th position and that’s what he needed to transfer into the feature event.
Running in the 3rd position was the #27 machine and coming out of turn #4, it lost a drive shaft. With Bill following close behind, he had little chance of missing it while it hit the track and collected it with the left rear tire. A slow leak would start on lap 3 and continue until lap 7 until the tire finally blew. With the slow leak, the car had a lack of power and would push really bad in the corners. Bill would cross the line 5th and have to run "the dog show".
Back in the pits, the pit crew replaced the blown tire and also noticed 2 or even 4 spark plugs had become loose as well. After the quick repairs it was back to the track for race number 2. With a much better starting spot, Bill started on the outside pole position. From the green flag, Bill never looked back and the #65 machine took the checkered flag by a large sum. This time the car ran perfect and Bill drove it great to see the first checkered flag of the year and would put the #65 machine into the feature race.
Going threw the "dog show" would mean Bill would miss the redraw for starting positions, so the #65 machine would start deep in the feild at 18th. With a dry track and no cautions, Bill was able to work past a pack of cars within the first 5 laps of the 15 lap event. Once in the tenth position, it became a large train and Bill would cross the checkered flag in 10th.
The race car had little damage and the race team learned some important things for next week. With losing a motor in practice the week before and little data about set ups, the Kelsey Racing team was pleased with a top 10 on opening night for the 2008 race season.
The next race will be Sunday May 11, 2008 (Mothers Day) at 6PM. We all hope to see you there and hope you stop down in the pits after the race to say HI, check out the race car and have a beer.
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