by Kevin Kovac, Eric Jacobsen Racing
LA SALLE, IL - After the World of Outlaws Late Model Series stop on July 8 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, tour regular Eric Jacobsen was itching to find some new places to race.
The laid-back Californian hit uncharted territory by jumping onto DIRT MotorSports’ prestigious UMP Summernationals, a grueling month-long series that offers over $800,000 in purses and a lucrative points fund.
Jacobsen, 37, of Santa Cruz, Calif., entered UMP Summernationals events on July 9 at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., and July 10 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway. He ended his two-day Summernationals drop-in without a feature finish to write home about, but he relished the experience he gained from running foreign ovals.
Considering Jacobsen is only in his fourth season of dirt Late Model competition, any extra laps he’s able to turn are useful.
“It’s more seat time,” Jacobsen said while preparing to qualify on Monday night at La Salle Speedway, a high-banked, quarter-mile track about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. “The guys we race against on the World of Outlaws Series have a lot of experience, so we’re trying to learn as much as we can.”
And make no mistake – Jacobsen, who is a WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender, was in a full learning mode. He raced without the vast setup assistance he receives at WoO LMS events from fellow members of the Rocket Chassis family, and he had to get acclimated to UMP’s Hoosier 20/40 compound tire mandate (the WoO LMS has an open-tire rule).
“This is great for us,” he bottom-lined.
Jacobsen’s UMP excursion began positively at Tri-City, where he turned the fourth-fastest lap in time trials. But a bobble in his heat race cost him a transfer spot, and he failed to qualify because his car’s transmission broke during the B-Main.
The good-night-gone-bad prompted Jacobsen to race in La Salle’s program, which wasn’t on his original itinerary.
“Frustration got us here tonight,” he said on Monday, referring to his disappointing outing at Tri-City.
Jacobsen had some troubles during time trials at La Salle, nearly spinning on the backstretch on his first lap. But he recovered to qualify for the 40-lap feature through the B-Main, finishing second to Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.
Before heading onto the track for the main event, Jacobsen contemplated his race philosophy.
“Do we try to compete,” he said, “or do we try some stuff we’ve never tried before and see if it works?”
Jacobsen didn’t have a chance to do either. On the main’s third lap he clipped the homestretch wall and limped into the pit area with his damaged Soilfume-sponsored No. 5.
Despite the disappointing runs, Jacobsen enjoyed his fleeting taste of the UMP Summernationals, a test of man and machine that was scheduled to visit 27 tracks throughout the Midwest in a 31-day span.
“If I wasn’t running with the Outlaws, I’d love to do the whole Summernationals,” said Jacobsen, who planned to return home at mid-week before flying back to east for WoO LMS events at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, on July 21-22. “Running all those races in one month seems like it would be a real adventure.”
LA SALLE, IL - After the World of Outlaws Late Model Series stop on July 8 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, tour regular Eric Jacobsen was itching to find some new places to race.
The laid-back Californian hit uncharted territory by jumping onto DIRT MotorSports’ prestigious UMP Summernationals, a grueling month-long series that offers over $800,000 in purses and a lucrative points fund.
Jacobsen, 37, of Santa Cruz, Calif., entered UMP Summernationals events on July 9 at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., and July 10 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway. He ended his two-day Summernationals drop-in without a feature finish to write home about, but he relished the experience he gained from running foreign ovals.
Considering Jacobsen is only in his fourth season of dirt Late Model competition, any extra laps he’s able to turn are useful.
“It’s more seat time,” Jacobsen said while preparing to qualify on Monday night at La Salle Speedway, a high-banked, quarter-mile track about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. “The guys we race against on the World of Outlaws Series have a lot of experience, so we’re trying to learn as much as we can.”
And make no mistake – Jacobsen, who is a WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender, was in a full learning mode. He raced without the vast setup assistance he receives at WoO LMS events from fellow members of the Rocket Chassis family, and he had to get acclimated to UMP’s Hoosier 20/40 compound tire mandate (the WoO LMS has an open-tire rule).
“This is great for us,” he bottom-lined.
Jacobsen’s UMP excursion began positively at Tri-City, where he turned the fourth-fastest lap in time trials. But a bobble in his heat race cost him a transfer spot, and he failed to qualify because his car’s transmission broke during the B-Main.
The good-night-gone-bad prompted Jacobsen to race in La Salle’s program, which wasn’t on his original itinerary.
“Frustration got us here tonight,” he said on Monday, referring to his disappointing outing at Tri-City.
Jacobsen had some troubles during time trials at La Salle, nearly spinning on the backstretch on his first lap. But he recovered to qualify for the 40-lap feature through the B-Main, finishing second to Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis.
Before heading onto the track for the main event, Jacobsen contemplated his race philosophy.
“Do we try to compete,” he said, “or do we try some stuff we’ve never tried before and see if it works?”
Jacobsen didn’t have a chance to do either. On the main’s third lap he clipped the homestretch wall and limped into the pit area with his damaged Soilfume-sponsored No. 5.
Despite the disappointing runs, Jacobsen enjoyed his fleeting taste of the UMP Summernationals, a test of man and machine that was scheduled to visit 27 tracks throughout the Midwest in a 31-day span.
“If I wasn’t running with the Outlaws, I’d love to do the whole Summernationals,” said Jacobsen, who planned to return home at mid-week before flying back to east for WoO LMS events at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, on July 21-22. “Running all those races in one month seems like it would be a real adventure.”
