A very eventful night for the Kelsey Racing Team this week!

Fighting for the lead in the heat race, Bill was riding the rim of the track ready to go for the lead when a load POP came from the car. At first it sounded like a tire blew, but Bill passed by the crew in a silent car. At first, the crew had thought the motor expired but after deeper looking the distribuitor had expired.

With a spare distribuitor on hand, a quick change brought life back to the motor! This would force the #65 machine to run a last chance qualifier to make the feature event. Starting 10th, Bill wasted no time and was the "meat in the sandwhich" going 4 wide for a full lap. This sent Bill into 5 place at the time and by the time the 11 laps were complete, a 3rd place finish would send the car to the feature event.

A good deal of damage was done to the car in the last race and the feature event brought even more damage. Starting near dead last (19th) Bill would take his time and work all the to 8th by the time the checked flew!

It was a hard battle to fight to 8th, but Bill drove smart and had several great saves during all 3 races.

We hope to see you out at the races on July 20th at 6PM sharp. Kid’s, bring your Big Wheels, for the Big Wheel Races during half time! There is also a bike give away. Stop by in the pits after the race to say Hi and have an ice cold drink as well.

After a 4th place finish in the heat race would set up the #65 machine to start in the 8th starting spot in the feature.

After picking up a couple spots, the car started to fade after a large flash came out the pipes and the motor was down on power. Bill was able to manage a top 15 finish and the motor held together.

We think a spark plug or either a valve let go. Expect the #65 machine to be full song next week at the Seymour Speedway on July 13, 2008 at 6 PM sharp!

A nice night welcomed the Kelsey Racing Team to the Seymour raceway! A tacky track with all the wet weather and coming off a strong second place finish last week, the team was excited to hit the track.

After a 6th place finish in the heat race, the 65 machine would start 18th in the feature.

On lap one, corner #2 would end the night for Bill. The #8 machine of T.J. White which started on the poll did not come up to speed on the green flag lap. The #17 turned hard left to miss the 8 car, the 22 took a hard left to miss the 17 and the rest of the field paid for it! With the #65 Kelsey Racing Machine getting the short end of the deal with massive damage!

The whole rear end was ripped out of the car just hanging by the twisted lone right rear control arm. All other control arms,  shocks/springs, drive shaft etc where ripped out. The rear end damage was not the only damage either. The whole rear bumper cover was ripped off. The left front fender, door and side panels were smashed in. The front left upper control arm, spindle and tierod end all smashed. Another rim and tire will not see another race as well.

This week was not only a big hit in the points, but also to the pocket book. I will be out at the race shop tonight and I will try and take some pictures of the car to post.

Justin Jacobson led the opening circuit of the Street Stock main with Mert Summers taking control one lap later. Bill Kelsey, Phil Hiles, Andy Paluck, Jeremy Wiitala and Todd Everard were bunched behind. Kelsey made a quick move on lap 5 to the inside of Summers entering turn 3 to take the lead, only to lose the handle and spin to the infield in turn 4. Kelsey gathered the car and pulled back into line in 7th, with Summers maintaining the lead. Everard was streaking to the front and by lap 8 moved into the top spot. By half way, Everard was pulling away from the field with Summers still holding second with Wiitala, David Hoerning, Hiles and Kelsey behind.

A couple cautions over the final half of the race bunched the field but Everard was able to pull away each time to run to his third feature win of the season. The battle fore second stayed tight to the end. On lap 16, Summers got lose out of turn 2 while running second. In the scramble, Hoerning tried to sneak by on the inside, but collected Summers, taking both out of the race. Kelsey had moved back into second with Wiitala, Paul White, Hiles and Jerry Kope following Everard to the finish.
 

The Kelsey Racing Team was ready to go after a week off due to weather and was welcomed with bright skies, mild temps, but an already dry looking track before racing even started.

Bill would start in the 6th starting spot for the heat race. After several great passes, Bill managed to cross the finish line in the 2nd spot to secure the best starting spot in the feature event all year.

The track was dry-slick most of the night with little to no bite, so just before feature events the grader and water truck hit to the track. After about a 30-45 minute wait, the track was ready to go. I think the grading and water hurt the track other then helping it.

Starting in the 8th position the #65 car did not like the set-up and slowly faded through out the race. Bill did his best on the very slick track but could not proceed to pick up postions and crossed the finish line 12th.

The next race is June 22, 2008 and will bring back the exciting IMCA sportmod’s as well as the Bump & Run which is always fun to watch.

With all the wet weather this weekend and raining again today, the races have been called off for this week!

We hope to see you next week, June 15th at 6pm sharp for the Baylake Bank  Weekly Program + Fastrak Late Models * 25^th Anniversary Celebration, Seymour American Legion Auxiliary Flag Day Salute.

Another perfect night for racing welcomed the Kelsey Racing team to the track along with the other 147 cars. With being in the top 5 in points, the starting spots in the heat races means you always start in the back and have to pass several cars to get into the feature event.

This did happen and Bill was able to cross the line 5th with an ill race car. The cap for the radiator came loose at somepoint during the race which made the car run about 230 degrees and boiled out the majority of the water. With high temp’s that slows down the motor and the power plant for Bill was lacking a bit.

The crew was busy in the pits fixing the radiator, as well as changing spark plugs, tires and pulling all the clay from the car to get ready for the feature event.

Bill would start 20th in the feature, with a very long way to go to get to the front. The track was not in perfect shape, so racing lines had to be used and made it very hard to pass without hitting a rut. Bill was working his way threw the field until he got tagged in the rear-end causing a flat tire. After a quick fix from the pit crew, all 4 tires were good and the team cought a break as the caution flew while Bill was heading for the pits. This kept the #65 machine on the lead lap, but again, way in the back.

The #51 machine of Jeremy W had a very hard crash and caused the next caution. The damage was endless on Jeremy’s car and the Kelsey Racing Team assisted in fixing the car enough, just to get the car on the trailer. Jeremy was fine, but the car has seen better days.

In another time shortened race, Bill took his time and worked his way up to 8th place as the checkered flag flew. If the race wasn’t shortened due to time,  I think we would of had another top 5 finish. All in all, it was another good points night for Kelsey Racing.

The next race will be Sunday June 8 at 6PM sharp. Bumper to Bumper is the sponsor for the night. The Fast Track late models will return the following week June 15th.

I have been busy, so posting updates on the weekly racing has been slow. Sunday May 18 was a Hot Night for the Kelsey racing team with a strong finish in the feature event of 4th.

Here is the write up from SeymourSpeedway.net.

"The Street Stock feature had a double meaning as this was also the first of the 5 race Super Series being run with the Chilton Speedway. A field of 20 took the green with Joe Wittmann leading the opening lap before David Hoerning pulled into the lead. Several cautions slowed the race with Derek Lecker, Steve Decurf, Jesse Behnke and Todd Everard moving to challenge for the lead. By the mid point of the race, Hoerning was still in control with Behnke in second, Everard, Wittmann and Paul White behind. Another restart on lap 11 had Everard take the high line and move into the lead leaving Hoerning to battle for second with Behnke.

A final caution on lap 13 set up a shortened green white checker finish. Everard maintained the lead to the finish. Behnke sent Hoerning spinning in turn 3 on the final lap, with Wittmann, Bill Kelsey, White and Mitch Landvick following at the finish line. Behnke was greeted by the black flag on the next trip by and Hoerning was given his spot back to finish second with the rest of the order remaining the same. The win by Everard was his first of the season."
STREET STOCKS

14 Lap Feature(time limit) 1. Todd Everard, Green bay 2, David Hoerning, Appleton 3. Joe Wittmann, Kaukauna 4. Bill Kelsey, Luxemburg 5. Paul White, Green Bay 6. Mitch Landvick,
 

May 25, 2008

Starting 6th in the heat race Bill was able to pick up one spot in the heavy hitter field, but that one spot was all he needed to make it into the feature event later in the night. The race track was in perfect condition and held tack all night. With severe storms in the area and black skies all night, the threat of rain lasted until the last checkered flag of the night. The rain held off until 10:30 and then it Poured.

Starting 18th in the  feature event, Bill and the #65 machine had there work cut out to make it towards the front. Midway threw, the #66 lost it in corner’s 1 & 2 and Bill had no place to go and tore up the front of the car. Because Bill did not cause the caution, he got his orginal line up spot back, but the car had heavy front end damage and rear damage.

As the checked flag flew, the Kelsey Racing team crossed the line 8th, which seemed like a win after all the front and rear end damage the car had.

"Joe Schwister, Justin Jacobsen, Dave Drawenek, Mert Summers and Harley Simon made the lead pack in the early laps of the Street Stock feature. Jacobsen took over the lead on lap 2, with Simon making a run at the top spot on lap 6. A caution erased the pass, but one lap after the restart, Simon regained the lead and took off to run alone to the checker. Todd Everard moved into the runner up spot on lap 8 and started to close the gap on the leader with David Hoerning moving behind Everard. As the field took the white flag, Everards mount slowed and allowed Hoerning to sneak by on the back straight to take the runner up spot. Everard coasted by in third with Jacobsen taking 4th. Paul White and Bob Czarapata rounded out the top six.

The win by Simon was his first of the season and ended a streak of bad luck to start the year."
 

The next race is Sunday June 1, 2008 at 6PM. The exciting Sportmod division is back again and they put on one heck of race last week. The #65 machine is fixed and ready to rumble again! Bill is currently 5th in the points and only 10 points back from the leader!

The Mother’s Day race has been rained out. I think they called the race a bit early, but they make the call. It didn’t rain since early this morning but with cool temps and being Mother’s Day, I think that helped them make the call to not race.

We hope to be back at the track next week with the late models making their first laps of the 2008 season. Racing starts at 6pm sharp.

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.