[Task Force]

MIKE WALLACE RACING COMPLETES HECTIC FORT WAYNE WEEKEND
By Zach Tasker
The Mike Wallace Racing Technology team went in to the annual “Rumble in Fort Wayne” looking to take home a victory. Unfortunately it was one of the most trying weekends for the team littered with challenges and adversity. The problems all started on Friday’s opening practice session when the #10 MWR Technology/Lightning Chassis/RQ! BBQ/On the Rocks Spirits & Gaming/Ken-Rich Concrete Raising/B&B Auto Sales Lightning/Ecotec driven by Mike Wallace made contact with the turn 1 wall creating extensive damage. “The whole wreck seemed to be caused by a broken bolt in the front radius rod that caused the car to take a hard right and hit the outside wall. In the video you can see the cars front wheels flop over before any contact was made.”
The Joliet, Illinois based midget team would not be deterred. Many people expected Wallace to be a scratch from the rest of the weekend; however right after the crash the team drove from Fort Wayne, Indiana all the way to Joliet, Illinois to have the car repaired. They made it back to the hotel at about 3am on Saturday morning. “Part of the whole reason of going to Fort Wayne this year was to put laps on the updates to our Ecotec program for 2014. So the first thought in my head after getting back to the pits to look at the damage and watching the video was we have to get this back together. Everyone was looking to see what parts were damaged and what we needed to fix. It was clear that it was not going to be fixed there. We loaded up and headed towards Joliet and that's where the story begins. Once clear of Fort Wayne I got on the phone with Tim from Northern Illinois steel company. They are a huge supporter of the Illini Racing Series and what we do at MWR. Tim had in stock the tubing I needed to replace the damaged frame and had it waiting for me at my door when I got back. I also got calls from Lee Beckwith, Scott Baran a huge MWR supporter and MWR's Russ Vanderhoff, former Formula 1 and NASCAR engine tuner. Once we arrived the ballet began. Everyone picked a job, Patrick (Bruns) melted right into our team like we have been doing this for years. There was no panic or chaos, it was very methodical. The car was painted and back in the trailer in under 4 hours. MWR is made up of many amazing people who all make it the operation it is. There is no I in team or MWR.”
After just a few hours of sleep it was time for Saturdays portion of the show at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The #01 MWR Technology/Lightning Chassis/B&B Auto Sales Lightning/Brayton-Buick driven by Illini Racing Series regular Basil Hicks was in a highly competitive heat race which saw only the top 2 finishers transfer to the main event. Hicks would just miss out on a transfer spot in a race that featured lots of contact finishing in 3rd position, an impressive showing after starting 7th.
Wallace was not as lucky in his heat race. Many competitive cars were in his qualifier and he would slot into 5th position when all the dust was settled. The B main was up next with the top 2 finishers once again making the 50 lap feature. Wallace would start 3rd and Hicks in 7th. The #10 machine would need a great start and hope to get into a transfer spot. Unfortunately on lap two the Joliet, Illinois native would feel something wrong with the car and have to immediately pull off into the pits. Hicks would finish the race in 7th meaning no MWR cars transferred to the feature. This trying weekend would make many race teams feel down and make morale low, but not Wallace and the MWR team.
“Saturday really wasn't that bad. We got a lot of people coming by and patting us on the back for our hard work. It’s not really the way we wanted to show case the work that we can do but so be it. We got better each practice, and we qualified in the front half of the field with an under powered outdoor car. In The heat race the inside lane got bogged down and dropped us to 5th. And in the semi we broke the rear end. We could have been upset but it was one of those racing things. All of our updates to our engine worked well. The engine never missed a beat! Racing is full of ups and downs and last week was a character builder for us for sure. We dealt with it the only way we know how. We rose to the occasion and overcame. We truly appreciate all of our supporters and sponsors and we are expanding for 2014 and looking for more sponsors. There is no one who can get you more for your advertising dollar than MWR.”
MWR hopes to use what they learned this weekend to translate to on track success for the 2014 Illini Racing Series season. The schedule for the IRS should be released in the coming weeks.

[Bb2005]

IRS schedule been released yet