(Bill W) July 29, 2013 – A win at the Willamette Speedway in Oregon last Saturday night has the Vacuworx Racing #o5 and driver Brad Loyet in good shape heading into Southern Iowa Sprintweek. The action starts with the 360 Nationals at Knoxville Raceway this weekend and continues with the “Capitani Classic” before moving to the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa, Iowa on Monday.
The Lucas Oil ASCS National Series raced two nights at Willamette, starting on Friday. Brad won his heat from row three in the prelim. “I liked the track last year,” he says. “It’s kind of a ‘rim-riding joint’ on the top. Everyone was rolling the bottom in the heat, and I knew I wasn’t going to pass anyone down there. I just jumped on top and we were lucky enough to win.”
The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver was fortunate to draw the pole for the feature. “It was exciting,” says Brad. “I thought the track was going to be tough to pass on. I took off on the start and we were good. A couple of yellows came out. On the first one, I got an o.k. start and on the second one, Jeff (Swindell) timed it real well and slid up in front of me. I felt I had a better car, but it was so hard to pass.”
Brad was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but still locked himself into the finale with a fourth place finish. “I thought I was going to be second, and right at the end, Johnny (Herrera) and (Logan) Forler found rubber on the bottom,” he says. “They got by me with two to go or so. We got locked in, which set us up for Saturday.”
The luck of the draw was in the offing again for Saturday’s finale. Brad would start outside of row one alongside Jason Johnson. “Jason had a better car at the beginning of the race,” he says. “He took off from me. I was able to run him down, and we were kind of dicing it up in lapped traffic. The yellow came out, and we had only run eight laps. I thought we were racing in a lot of lapped traffic to only be in eight laps!”
Brad lined up behind Johnson on the restart. “I told myself to stay calm and wait for my move,” he says. “He took off on the restart again, and I reeled him in. He got back to lapped traffic and went around the top to get by a lapped car. Right when he got to the corner, he changed his mind and he slipped up off the bottom just enough for me to get my nose in. I had a car that rolled the bottom of one and two really nicely and I was able to stick it. Luckily enough, I never saw him the rest of the race and we were able to win.”
The win at Willamette was preceded by two nights at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon the previous weekend. He was second in his heat and started tenth in the feature on Friday. “I had a good car the first night at Cottage Grove,” says Brad. “A lot of people were on top, and I was rolling the bottom. I was just kind of creeping around there.”
Brad made a bid for fourth at the end of the main event, but settled for fifth. “I thought I was going to get locked in,” he says. “I drove under (Seth) Bergman there. He just beat me off the line to the finish and I was fifth. It was a good night. I thought we had a good car.”
He would finish fourth in his heat in the finale after starting eighth. “The final night at Cottage Grove, we didn’t make the redraw,” says Brad. “I think we started eleventh. I felt like I passed ten cars, and still finished eleventh.”
Scorer error came into play early on. “We were up to seventh or so on first few laps,” says Brad. “I guess there was something wrong with the scoring, because they put me back behind cars that were never in front of me. The other guys told me later they didn’t know what they were doing putting me behind them. I got shoved back.”
Brad would maintain his placing. “At the point I got back up to eleventh, everyone was in the same line and I couldn’t really get going anywhere,” he says. “It was one of those nights where I had a good car, but that deal messed the night up. I should have finished better than I did.”
Brad and the team are looking forward to getting to Knoxville. They will qualify Thursday night. “Our setup on the big tracks has improved this year,” he says. “We’ve run well at Devil’s Bowl and up to I-80 (Speedway) this year. We haven’t been to Knoxville, but I feel last year I was thinking a little too much about my first trip there. I kind of got mind-warped on it. This year, we’ve been running top five every night with these guys. If we go and race it like any other race and get qualified, I don’t see why we can’t run up front with those guys. I’m looking forward to it.”
Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global, Miller Truck Lines, and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.
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Monroe, IA USA