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Team Race Day Reports

Race Day Report - #24 PMD Motorsports

Edmonton, AB (September 9, 2008) - The business of racing is also a family business for PMD Motorsports.

Owned by father Paul Dennis, the Edmonton area team fields first year entries in the ARCA West Mac's Series for sons Chris and Scott.

The PMD Motorsports family

Last time out, younger son Scott piloted the #24 Antrim Construction Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a first place finish to score his first win in just four ARCA West Mac's Series starts and give the team a victory in the first season of their Super Late Model campaign.

"The team is really pleased with the win at Race City in Calgary," said Paul Dennis of PMD Motorsports. "But, it has been an up and down season for Scott."

The season started out on the right foot for one-time WEST Series (formerly CASCAR) driver with a B Main victory in the inaugural ARCA West Mac's Series event held in Saskatoon, SK. But mechanical issues parked the #24 early in the A Main event.

At the Summer Sizzler 150 in Vernon, a promising seventh place qualifying effort was followed by a disappointing mechanical DNF in the Main event. Next time out, contact during the Main event in the B&J Signs Gas City 150 at the Medicine Hat Speedway spoiled a strong third place starting position.

"Calgary proved to be just what Scott needed," continued Dennis. "The car and Scott performed flawlessly. I would also like to give a special nod to Kieran Kelley, owner of Antrim Construction (Edmonton, Red Deer and Fort McMurrary) who has given the team unwavering support for the last five years and sticking with us through the lean times."

West coast chassis specialist and car builder Greg Jablonski doubles as the crew chief on the geographically diverse team that has members, Conrad Hinds, John Smith and Mike Sheppard who make the trip from Vancouver, Kelowna and Edmonton to each stop on the ARCA West Mac's Series tour. Crew member Hinds' company IMAGE Auto Detailing (St. Albert, AB), OxyPro Welding Supplies (Edmonton, AB), Fred Whiteman from FHC in Edmonton, AB and Ken Klein Engineering of Surrey BC are other valuable partners in the family operation.

"We would like to give a special mention to Auto Clearing Motor Speedway and the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association. The team has always been treated well at that track and the boys consider it to be their home track. We are looking forward to returning to Saskatoon for the Border Challenge race on September 20th."

Race Day Report - #97 Driven on Dreams Racing

Special Report By Christine Bay, www.A360Production.com

Driven on Dreams Racing. The team in Saskatoon.

Sleepless in Saskatoon!

“Our day started at 7 am Friday morning in Golden and ended at 1 am Saturday night in Saskatoon. The crew members were troopers! We spent a grueling 42 hours awake, traveled over 900 km’s, and hustled to finish the car and then race it. We knew full well the car was untested and we were really just hoping everything would go well” said a pleased Dan Foraie, driver of the #97 Driven on Dreams Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

Practice started off slow and adjustments were made as the team searched for the right set-up. By the final practice session, the team led by Troy Vandenbilche, had a rocketship which was turning laps in the 14.8 to 14.9 second range. The track record at that time was 14.914 seconds. "We new at that time that we had created an extremely fast car which pulled very well,” said Foraie.

During qualifying, Foraie placed 12th out of the 35-car field securing an automatic spot in the Main Event. In the first heat race of the evening Foraie started in the middle of the pack and was able to maneuver his way up to a third place finish. The fastest qualifiers finished behind the #97 car from Golden.

“The main event was what we expected, first race of the year, lots of cars, it was fast and aggressive. We took the brunt of it; I narrowly avoided two monstrous crashes! Our lap times were there but then I got hit and spun out which made us drop a lap. We lost fuel pressure around lap 90 of 150 ending our night. But hey, that’s racing!” explains Foraie.

“Overall we treated it as a test session and now we know we have a fast car. So it’s just a matter of getting all the bugs worked out and being ready for the next race. We’d also like to get a test session in at Calgary,” concludes Foraie.

Team members Troy, Julie, Chris, Shawn and Jill are key to the success of Driven on Dreams Racing says Foraie. “The crew worked incredibly hard to get it done, good job guys!”

We would also like to thank our sponsors for being a part of our team: East Kootenay Fuel Sales, Taks Home Furnishings, and Golden Installations. For more information on “Driven on Dreams Racing”, visit www.drivenondreams.com

Race Day Report - #55 Viking Installations

CALGARY, AB (October 3, 2006) - "Hectic!" That is how driver Gary Lister of the #55 Viking Installations/ Wolsey Mechanical Pontiac Grand Prix describes their weekend in the last round of the NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series race at the Auto Clearing Motor Speedway in Saskatoon, SK.

The 55 in line waiting to qualify at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway

"It started on the drive from Calgary when we discovered a really bad transmision leak on our hauler. After a 1 hour layover in Kindersley, we soldiered on to Saskatoon - 290 Kms, 2 gallons of tranny fluid is some where on that bald prairie," explained Lister.

"Sunday, race day, started out rainy but dried in time for 30 min's of practice. We set a good time scuffing in our race tires, (faster than the track record), and brought her in.

For quallifying, I was the second car out. The infield was really muddy. Fast laps would be a challenge as the tires were cold and dirty. I took a conservative first lap and tried to go deeper into turn one for my second. Big mistake, almost lost her. The first lap would stand as my fastest and was good enough for fourth quick. We later heard that the top five qualifiers had all broken the existing track record. If only?"

Race Day Report - #56 Family Racing Collectibles

CALGARY, AB (September 4, 2006) - The #56 Family Racing Collectibles Chevrolet Camaro, Series rookie driver Ryan Fee and crew chief Randy Fee made their final 2006 appearance at Race City Speedway in Calgary, AB at the eighth race of NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series season. But, the day almost ended early for the team.

Fee qualifies the #56 at Race City Speedway on Saturday

"The day started out pretty shaky for the #56 Family Racing Collectibles / Pennzoil / Wolsley Chevrolet Camaro," explained driver Ryan Fee. "A big electrical fire during practice almost put us out for the day. But some quick rewiring and help from Craig Ball and Berry Bischoff in the form of new distributor parts put us back on track for qualifying. Thanks guys."

Back on the track, the team had their best effort of the season finishing on the lead lap in fourth place in the nineteen car field. "We solved our very loose off condition this week by changing a carburetor, slowing down the motor entering the turns and keeping the wheels from spinning coming off," said Fee. "The changes worked great but we ended up pushing like a dump truck in the center of the turns. But I'd rather have the push then almost spin out on every lap."

"We are getting the hang of it and this old car wants to race!"

Race Day Report - #97 Rocky Mtn Developments

Day ends early for Foraie, the #97 pulls off track during main event.

GOLDEN, BC (August 30, 2006) - Dan Foraie and the #97 Rocky Mountain Developments Chevrolet Monte Carlo returned to Race City Speedway in Calgary, AB for the seventh race of NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series season looking to improve on his third and sixth place finishes at the venue in June.

"We had a real good car on Sunday. The handling was definitely dialed. It was a 3rd or 4th place car for sure," said driver Foraie. "We had a little difficulty getting by slower cars in the main and then lost the throttle linkage ending our day."

"Too bad, but that’s the way she goes sometimes."

But there were some bright spots to the day.

Race Day Report - #54 Macs Motorsports

#54 Craig Ball exiting Turn 2 during Saturday practice at SunValley Speedway, Vernon
CALGARY, AB (August 2, 2006) - The #54 Mac's Motorsports Pontiac Grand Prix team rolled into Vernon sitting in first place in the 2006 NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series season standings.

With the advantage being a slim 39 points over the second place Team Lister #55 Viking Installations Pontiac Grand Prix and the fine turnout of competitive teams from British Columbia, Alberta and Washington state, the focus was on a top ten finish.

“ I have to thank some people; drivers Chris Stephenson, Rob Angus, Grant Brown and Dean Craig for helping to promote the event in their areas”

-- Craig Ball, Series Exec

But driver Craig Ball found himself on his own on Friday. "Due to work commitments in Calgary by team members, I had no crew for practice ," explained Ball. "I shook the car down and got familiar with the track again, in particular turn one! "

"When the crew arrived Saturday for practice, we put on a decent set of tires and the car was running really well. We qualified 3rd. In the heat race we finished 4th and knew we had a good car for the main."

The inversion for the main was picked by the crowd. The first six rows were inverted which put #54 Mac's Motorsports Pontiac Grand Prix 10th on the grid.

Race Day Report - #97 Rocky Mtn Developments

Just in time, #97 Dan Foraie gets on track for practice
GOLDEN, BC (August 1, 2006) - Another race, another new track. Golden, BC driver Dan Foraie and the #97 Rocky Mountain Developments Chevrolet Monte Carlo visited SunValley Speedway in Vernon, BC for the first time on Saturday for the fifth race of NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series season.

"Vernon was a crazy experience!" enthused Foraie. "As usual, we made it just in time to get the car on the track for the last practice session. We got in about 15 laps and never got another chance to scrub in new tires. So, needless to say, qualifying was tough on brand new stickers."

The facility lived up to its reputation. "Troy warned me about the front straight away and the famous spatula Turn 1 but it still surprised the daylights out of me! The front straight rolls the entire way and kind of creates a blind spot for me when entering Turn 1 which is incredibly tight. It was hard to figure out how quick to enter it so as not to get into the marbles and float up into the wall."

The race proved to be as challenging as qualifying.

Race Day Report - #56 Family Racing Collectibles

CALGARY, AB (August 1, 2006) - There were a lot of firsts for the #56 Family Racing Collectibles team on Saturday in the NEWALTA Late Model Challenge Series fifth race of the 2006 season on the tri-oval at SunValley Speedway in Vernon, BC.

#56 Ryan Fee and Family Racing Collectibles Camaro in Vernon

It was the first Late Model event for the team and first Late Model race by Series rookie and former IMCA Stock Car Champion Ryan Fee. And it was the first time on the track in competition for the car, the brightly painted #56 Chevrolet Camaro.

For the driver and his crew chief father, Randy Fee, these firsts were the rewards for the all the effort to get the program on the track. "We worked some very long hours on the car last week only to work until midnight Friday on the release bearing. It was 1am on the day of the race when we finally left Calgary for the eight hour drive to Vernon," said driver Ryan Fee.

And, it was with the help from a lot of friends at the track that the weekend was a success.

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