| |
Race Recaps
Ryan wins semi
and finishes 13th in the feature at Jefferson!
May 10, 2008 - Saturday was going
to be a new adventure for the race team for it was our first time out with
our "new" car. We were able to do a test session before Saturday but still
things can happen in race time. We looked at the day to be a learning day
and were looking forward to getting Ryan some seat time and that's exactly
what we got. Qualifying didn't turn out in our favor as we ran the best time
of the day but a lot of drivers did the same, we ended up somewhere around
the 20th fastest mark. But it was going to be a learning day. The qualifying
time put us 2nd row outside for our heat and within five laps Ryan made it
to the front and finished the last five in the top spot getting the car its
first win and Ryans first heat win at jefferson. The Semi Feature stated off
rocky as coming to get the green another driver drove over his head and spun
into our door, rain started to come down and everyone went back to the pits,
once the rain delay was over we started the race again this time from the
3rd row inside. Once again after the laps started counting Ryan made his way
to the front and took the lead with five laps to go and went on to win the
semi feature. After a little down time it was time to race again as we now
started 15th in the feature, Ryan calmly waited and passed when given an
opportunity and made his was up to 11th. With 8 laps to go the
cars handling went away and Ryan made a long harmless spin in one and two,
bringing out the caution flag. Fighting hard once the green came back out,
Ryan made it up to 13th and that's where we finished the night. Our next
stop at Jefferson will be next jefferson May 24 with Tyler driving.
Tyler finishes 7th in Slinger Opener!May 4, 2008 -
Well the 2008 season wasn't looking that good for the jamesgang motorsports
crew. It rained Saturday raining bad weather made us stay home for
practice day at slinger super speedway. But Sunday's weather was much
better. Sunny skies and a little breeze made the racing day one to look
forward to. However that mind set changed after the first practice.
There were a lot of close calls when entering the corner due to brake
settings and by the time Tyler had an idea on what to fix, the first session
was over. The next session led to a very tight ill handling car that
wouldn't turn through the center of the corner. We tried to make adjustments
for qualifying but couldn't get past a 13.709 which put us 16th out of the
19 car field. We were going to be the last race of the night and starting as
far back as we were(8th row inside) we decided to make a big change in the
rear-end. That changed proved to be a good one as by lap 15 we were up to
10th. Moving through the pack is never easy but Sunday was more of a
survive night as four different cars spun or had contact right in front of
Tyler and he was lucky enough to miss them all. By the end of the race the
car became tight in the center again, but we still managed to climb to 7th.
Given the starting position, the team was happy with yet another top ten at
slinger speedway.
Tyler finishes 5th in the points
standings!
September 2, 2007
The last race was a "bring the car home don't chance anything" race. We had
to try and stay 5th in points and with help maybe get 4th. As the race
started a early shuffle among the leaders and a quick caution put us on the
outside of a slow up front starter. That meant that we had to get away from
this car and in a hurry. We managed this and rode around in 4th for most of
the race. A late caution put the pack side by side again and i noticed the
car didn't have the power that it had early in the race (after the race we
found out we broke a clutch). With that power loss and the double file
re-start we fell to 5th and ended up there. The luck we needed just wasn't
enough and we fell one point short of 4th in the championship battle. But
after we missed 3 races and then decided to race full time at slinger we
can't be mad. We beat guys who raced there every week and we still managed
to finish 5th overall. We had a great season with no major problems, few
crashes, some problems with other drivers, but still had fun doing it. Of
course we couldn't do it without the help of family, friends, and sponsors.
Next year we plan to be back, still unsure about full time at slinger but as
the season nears we will post our schedule. We have a 2nd car that we will
prepare for some other tracks and plan to do a little more racing next year.
So thanks to all who cheered and helped and we'll see you again, next year.
Tyler finishes 7th!
September 2, 2007We
started middle pack for this race and had a decent car to run well but the
problem was that the race went green for the first twenty laps or so and we
had to work around slower racers. That allowed the pack to pull away from
us. After clearing the other racers we did manage to to fight to 7th place.
Once again keeping our record of every time we finish a race we get a top
ten finish. One more week to go so we'll see what happens.
Tyler brings
home win #2 at Slinger! August 26, 2007
To keep it short, as some of NASCAR's finest say
"we didn't have a car to win but somehow managed", fits our Sunday situation
perfectly. We shouldn't have won the race and if I started anywhere but 1st,
I wouldn't have finished 1st. But as others say I had to stay in first
to the win so it was well deserved. Either way we got our second win of the
season and it helped with the pocket book and with the points.
So were happy. We plan to make some changes to make the car better so
we can actually pass some cars, only two weeks left so we have to go on the
offensive.
Slinger Speedway
7-22-07
After fixing the body damage on our car from Tuesday, the car unloaded
really well. Practice put us 3rd fastest, but qualifying tied my last
Sundays position of 11th. The track was changing and I never was able to
make the correct changes to get the car where it needed to be, the feature
showed that. We started inside row 6, being that far back sometimes means
the drivers aren't the best and that was true for today. Which meant that I
would have to be extra cautious when trying to pass the other cars. After
the first two laps I went high on the 0 car, in four he pushed up hitting us
but not enough to spin us out, we passed him and went on to the next car,
much like the 0 the 21 had a ill handling car and made us get on the brakes
coming off of 4. With those two events taking place the field was able to
pull away from us. But after running a clean race we managed to catch
up and finished with another top 10 ending up in 8th.
Slinger Nationals Tuesday 7-17-07
It was a long day at the track. We had to get there early for a pit
spot. The time went by fast and after practice we were again at the top of
the practice charts. We had a rare good qualifying run and timed in 5th. for
the feature we were suppose to start tenth, but a line up order mistake put
us 12th. Like Sunday the out of town racers up front were driving, well,
badly. After a couple of cautions we found ourselves up to 8th, after a
restart using the bottom lane we got up to fifth. While trying to pass the
57 car he cut down on my right front and we both went spinning into turn
one, our front bumper was torn off and our night was done.
Slinger Speedway Sunday 7-15-07
After winning the week before we had to start in back of the ten car
invert, we timed in at 11th so if there was a time to no to so hot in
qualifying this was it. The race itself didn't go our way, a lot of beating
and banging for the top guys, a lot of it was caused by guys who don't
normally run slinger but we were cautious, at one point we were up to sixth
but after a caution we got stuck on the high side after oil was put down so
we really had no chance getting up to the front. we had a crash free race
for us and thats all we could ask for some nights, so we took that and ready
for the slinger Nationals.
Tyler brings home first feature win at Slinger!
July 8, 2007 - Yes we finally got our
first win of the season and it happened to be at slinger speedway. Going
into the day we all knew it was going to be hot but I tend to race better
in really hot conditions so that didn't bother us. In practice as always
we had a good car, not the best but a very good race car. Had a very
close call with a spin in practice but was able to avoid that so on to
qualifying. We timed in at a 12.672 which put us 7Th in time, and started
us outside row one, a good start to the race. When the race came around
during warm up laps the car felt good and we were ready for a race- and
that's what we got, a very good race. We ended up running 17 laps door to
door with the 16 car until a bobble by the 16 in turn two allowed us to
gain the upper hand. Once we had that upper hand we had the whole track
and ran the last 13 laps un-challenged and finally crossed the finish line
first. So thanks to all the sponsors that have helped in every way and
thanks to all friends and family who were with us the whole way.
Ty
Another Top Ten at
Slinger! July 1, 2007 - As most of the weeks
prior our car was very good in practice. We didn't do a lot of
changes but as we are good in practice, qualifying is once again another
story. We ended up timing in at a 12.608 putting us 14Th. Sixth was a
12.54 so that little bit makes a different race. But the cards
were dealt and we had to start 14th. Within the first two laps, we
made it to 10th but then a caution fell and we got put back to 12th.
After the crash was cleaned up we again started our way to the front
passing cars for ten straight laps until we stalled at 7Th. By the time
we cleared the other cars the leaders were in our site but too far away to
make a threat for anything. But the car is again rolling on all fours and
next week is a new race.
Ty
Tyler brings home a fourth place finish at Slinger!
June 24, 2007 - We had a good morale
going into Sundays race and practiced showed no reason why we wouldn't. We
were one of the three fastest cars in practice. We drew qualifying number
1 so we were the first to time in, and I feel we did pretty good ending up
6Th in time. When the race started the inside line was moving so we
stayed in our place just waiting for an opening. Two cars ahead of us down
the backstretch got together and we had to check up but still hit the 21
car... Didn't cause a caution but went for a ride down the
track but managed to hold on. However the hood started to raise up so it
was a little hard to see but we stayed on the track. That did put us back
into sixth so with a little time we worked are way up to fourth. After a
caution we started fourth but the car in front of us started to fall back.
We had to fall to fifth and then go to forth once again and that's where
we crossed the line at race end. After the race the 20 car found some
reason to hit us under the cool down lap, I don't know what he was
thinking but the track handled the situation. So next week we'll be back
again at slinger still trying for that first win of the season.
Ty
Lapped traffic cost Tyler
the win at Slinger!
June 17, 2007 - From Slinger's website:
Dan Jung took the lead from Tyler James while working lapped traffic and
went on to win the 35-lap limited late model feature.
James paced the field at the start over Andy Wendt and Corey Funk as Jung,
Chris Ratajczyk, Ryan DeStefano, and Jerry Eckhardt battled behind them.
At the completion of the first lap, contact between Eckhardt and DeStefano
triggered a multi-car incident in turn one that also caught up Dan Bowe
and Scott Apel as the event quickly fell under the yellow flag. James once
again led as racing resumed with Wendt glued to his rear bumper while Funk
tried hard to hold back Ratajczyk and Jung. As Wendt remained stuck to
James’ bumper, the action heated up behind them as Funk’s car kicked loose
exiting turn four and he spun into the infield as Ratajczyk and Jung raced
by. The race stayed under the green flag and Wendt began to pressure James
hard for the top spot, using several light taps to try to get position on
the inside lane. As the laps wound down, Jung and Ratajczyk took to the
high groove and moved alongside James and Wendt in two-by-two formation
for the top four spots. James held his ground on the inside and both he
and Jung remained door to door for several laps until the leaders began to
approach lapped traffic. With six laps to go, Jung was able to take
command of the race as James became picked behind a lapped car. Once out
front, Jung streaked ahead to take the win over James and Ratajczyk while
Wendt and Jon Reynolds Jr. completed the top five.
Tyler races in the Summer Rumble!
June 8th and 9th - This week we took
part in two seperate races at columbus and jefferson, the two day show is
called the summer rumble. At columbus we did what we always set out to do
and that is bring the car home in one peice. with a car count around 35
we timed in 13th, starting us 13th for the feature, we got as high as 8th
but hung around ninth. the car had some steering issues from our crash at
slinger, but we ended the race in ninth, but the flagman screwed up and
waved the white flag twice and when all said was done with drivers not
knowing what was going on, we were awarded 10th. One reason why we only
race at 151 speedway once a year. then on saturday we thought we had the
car fixed but still steering issues led to a long night, timed in 18 out
of 35 again but never made it out of the semi-feature. mostly due to
starting position, as always one car brings you back to the end of the
line and you have to work up from there. by the time we had a chance to
pass that slow car i only had 10 laps to pass four more, got two but
needed four so our night was done. But bright side car is once again in
one peice. so sunday is our next racing day, and we'll see if we can make
sparks fly at slinger.
ty
Bad Luck strikes at Slinger
 May 27,
2007 - Well the first dnf at slinger did happen this week, no
hiding around that. As a team we are not very happy how the dnf
happened. Getting driven into from the inside lane while your on the
outside passing is dirty pool. To have it happen on the second lap of a
thirty lap race makes it worse. We had a very good car. We made the
dash, qualified fifth, due to lack of preparation we finished second in
the dash, but had high hopes for another top five in the feature. With
the little time I had in the car it felt really good, but the 0 car from
Joe Cool Racing stopped those good feelings.
Coming off of two while on the outside the 0 car kept climbing towards
the outside lane eventually hitting us as we were going into three, I
managed to keep the car off the wall but did get hit by the other racers
trying to avoid me. We'll be back and will deal with the 0 when the
time comes. When we return to slinger we have again high hopes for
another top five and are always trying for the first win of the season.
Thanks
Ty
 Another third place
finish at Slinger!
May 13, 2007 - It was our third time back to slinger but
only our second opportunity to race due to the clutch going away on us two
weeks ago. We left off were we did the last race.. during practice
we were one of the top five cars in time. Going into
qualifying, I had good hopes for another top five. But the other
drivers had different plans and we ended up 7th in time. We came to
the conclusion that I won't be a contender for top qualifier, I'm just not
that kind of driver. However being 7th in time put me in the outside
front row. I would have liked to be on the inside but you take what
you can get. I knew I would have to make a strong run to make it to the
lead, I tried holding on the outside for five laps but eventually fell to
second. I then tried to find a spot to make the pass for the lead,
staying second for about 15 laps but I just couldn't get by without the
leader Chris Blawat making a mistake. It didn't happen. In
fact a mistake I made by getting caught behind a lap car caused me
to drop from second to third. The car was great but I couldn't get a
good enough run to better my spot so as the checkered fell, I had to
settle for another top five and another third place run. We'll be back at
Slinger next Sunday for another run at the win, so hope to see you there!
Thanks to all racing sponsors and fans
TyMishap at
Jefferson ends the night for the 27 team May
5th, 2005 - The day started out as a learning day as we headed to Madison
speedway. It was my first time there so we took it easy. Since it was only a
practice day we tried to learn as much as we could. We came to the
conclusion that the track is very fast but maybe not to our style yet. So I
don't think we'll be racing there this year, but everything is always
changing. From Madison we went to Jefferson to race there. Our first time
at Jefferson this year was once again learning. Throughout the night we
fought an ill handling car, but started to make progress in the semi feature
until another car spilled anti-freeze all over. That led to a 15 lap
cleanup scrub in until the track was suppose to be ready. On the first
restart we got involved with the 21 of Ryan Zielski who got in the the oil
dry that was still left on the track. The crash left both our cars out for
the rest of the race. As a driver, I hold nothing towards Ryan, he has no
control of the car. WE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RACING, at that time. I
place most of the blame on the #27 of Tom Shutte, and small part on
Jefferson for starting us to soon. But cars are meant to be put
together again and that's what we'll do. I have talked to Jefferson Speedway
and hold nothing against them. They tried to do what was best, but
we just ended up on the short side of the straw. Sunday we'll be going back
to Slinger to try and improve on our 3rd place finish last time we were
there.
Good racing
Ty
Clutch problems end the
day early.. April 29, 2006
We arrived at Slinger Speedway 8:30 a.m Sunday with high hopes for another
good run. The car was cleaned up by 8:45 am, we went through tech at
9:35 and at 9:50 we found a problem with the clutch. The car was
loaded up and we spent the day as race fans.
We are tentatively
adding next Sunday at Slinger to our schedule to make up for the troubles we
had this week. If all goes well at practice in Madison on Saturday, we
are also considering running Jefferson Saturday night. Stay tuned as
we make our final decisions at the end of the week.
Thanks
Ty
Tyler has a
great start to the 2007 season finishing third at the Slinger Super Speedway
season opener!
April 22, 2006 - We started the
day with confidence as Saturday's practice session left us with high hopes
for a good run Sunday. During the practice sessions we slowly tried to dial
the car in with small changes, trying not to change the overall driveability
of the car. Those small changes led us to our best qualifying effort on
Sunday, timing in at 3rd place. This gave us the third starting position,
or second row inside for the 40 lap feature event. When the green dropped
the inside lane moved up as the cars in the outside lane struggled. We
locked ourselves into the 2nd position and stayed there for twenty laps
until the event's first caution flew. We were forced to run the outside
lane on the re-start. We fell back to 3rd, fought up to second again just to
have another caution with 7 laps left. We once again fell to 3rd after the
re-start which is where we finished the race, giving us our first top five
of the season. Due to the good run we won't be going to 151 speedway for
their season opener, we will instead be going back to slinger next Sunday
to try and improve on a 3rd place run.
Thanks to all!
Ty James
|
