HBR Racing Recap 8/28/17

HBR Racing Recap 8/28/17

Story By: Mandee Pauch/MPR

Photos By: Mike Johnson/RacersGuide.com

Mandee Pauch Relations – August 28, 2017 – The ‘Baldwinsville Bandit’ Jimmy Phelps returned to victory lane Saturday night after a hard fault battle at Fulton Speedway in the No.98h Big Block Modified.

The HBR team opened their three-day weekend Thursday evening at Ohsweken Speedway with the Super DIRTcar Series.

Phelps started fourth in his heat and drove up to third.

Phelps and the crew were satisfied with their car after the heat and decided to leave it alone for the 100-lap main event.

“We got quite a bit of rain and they worked it back in,” Phelps said. “We really didn’t expect the track to tighten up like it did.”

Phelps started the main event on the outside of the second row.

“I spent the first twenty laps trying to keep all four wheels on the ground,” he said. “We lost a bunch of ground early and backed up to twelfth. We were too tight to carry a lot of speed which killed me.”

Phelps closed the night with a 13th-place finish.

Max McLaughlin started sixth in his heat race and maneuvered his way through to fourth, placing him in the top-12 redraw.

McLaughlin started on the inside of the fourth row for the main event.

“We got to fourth early,” McLaughlin noted. “We got shuffled back on a restart and was able to hold sixth. We weren’t too bad but it was a heavy track which made it tough for us to pass.”

Friday evening saw the HBR team at Brewerton Speedway.

Phelps started seventh in his heat and drove up to finish fourth.

“I thought we were really good,” Phelps said. “The track had a bunch of grip, it was really fast. You make a decision what line to run and either it works or it doesn’t. It seemed like every time we took a step forward we went backwards. Nothing went our way.”

Phelps finished seventh from his 17th starting spot.

McLaughlin finished fourth in his heat from his seventh place starting spot.
McLaughlin rolled off on the outside of the eighth row for the main event.

“We had a really good car,” McLaughlin noted. “It was tough to get through because the track was really tight. It took us too long to get to the front.”

McLaughlin moved into fifth with two laps remaining but ran out of time and crossed the line in fifth.

The team returned to Fulton Speedway on Saturday.

Phelps qualified fourth from his seventh place starting spot.

“Everyone was quick,” added Phelps. “We were good so we didn’t make too many changes prior to the feature.”

Phelps started on the outside of the fifth row for the 35-lap main event.

“We got to second pretty quick,” Phelps said. “We had a really good race with Billy Whittaker and got the lead with about eight to go.”

Phelps’ victory helped close the point lead tremendously. Phelps currently sits one point out of the lead heading into the final points weekend at Brewerton Speedway.

“We have to have our stuff together next Saturday,” he said. “It’s tight. Tim Sears Jr. is leading by one point while Larry Wight is just nine points behind me.”

McLaughlin charged through his heat to finish second from seventh.

“We left the car how it was and made some minor adjustments for the feature,” added McLaughlin.

McLaughlin started on the inside of the eighth row for the feature.

“The track was a little faster than normal,” McLaughlin said. “It took us too long to get around some cars. The same thing happened as Friday; it took too long to get a clean racetrack. 35-laps is tough to get to the front if everything doesn’t go your way. We’ve had a really strong car lately and we’re looking forward to the Valley.”

McLaughlin closed the weekend with an eighth-place finish.

The HBR team has a busy week ahead. They will kick off the week Thursday evening at Lebanon Valley Speedway with the Super DIRTcar Series, Friday at Brewerton Speedway and Saturday at Fulton Speedway to close out the final point nights, and Monday at Weedsport Speedway with the Series.

HBR QUICK RESULTS

Jimmy Phelps
Thursday, August 24 – Ohsweken Speedway; Heat: 3 (4); Feature 13 (4)
Friday, August 25 – Brewerton Speedway; Heat: 4 (7); Feature 7 (17)
Saturday, August 19 – Fulton Speedway; Heat: 4 (7); Feature: 1 (10)

Max McLaughlin
Thursday, August 24 – Ohsweken Speedway; Heat: 4 (6); Feature: 6 (7)
Friday, August 25 – Brewerton Speedway; Heat: 4 (7); Feature: 5 (16)
Saturday, August 26 – Fulton Speedway; Heat: 2 (7); Feature: 8 (17)

HBR SEASON STATS –

Jimmy Phelps
45 races – 3 wins, 20 top fives, 31 top 10’s

Max McLaughlin
45 races – 2 wins, 18 top fives, 29 top 10’s

UP NEXT –

Thursday, August 31 – Lebanon Valley Speedway
Friday, September 1 – Brewerton Speedway
Saturday, September 2 – Fulton Speedway
Monday, September 4 – Weedsport Speedway

MEDIA LINKS –

HBR
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hbrmotorsports
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HBR_Racing
Jimmy Phelps
Website: www.jimmyphelps.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JimmyPhelps
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimmy_phelps
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jimmyphelps

Max McLaughlin
Website: www.maxmclaughlinracing.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaxMcLaughlinRacing
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MaxMcLaughlin_
Instagram: www.instagram.com/maxmclaughlin_

Dave Blaney
Twitter: www.twitter.com/BuckeyeBullet10
APPAREL –

The HBR team has apparel available for sale at their racecar trailer during events they compete in this season.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHTS –

JIMMY PHELPS’ SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Teo Pro Car

For information on Teo Pro Car, visit www.teopro.com.

“I have to thank everyone at Teo for their continued support for the last year and a half,” Phelps said. “They’ve worked with us to try and better our program every step of the way.”

Phelps would also like to thank J&B Installations, Mohawk Northeast, JRI Shocks, Teo Pro Car, Strange Oval, Winters Performance, Bob Bruneau, Simpson Race Products, VP Fuels, Fragola Performance Systems, Jones Racing Products, Wilwood , FK Rod Ends, Cobra Motorhomes, Bert Transmissions, Eibach, Industrial, Tire of CNY, Driven Racing Oil and Arts Radiator for their continued support.

MAX MCLAUGHLIN’S SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – ASI Racewear

For more information on ASI Racewear, visit www.asiwear.com.

“I can’t thank them enough for their continued support and their great apparel,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin would also like to thank Textron Off Road, Mohawk Northeast Inc., Simpson Race Products, Wienerschnitzel, Just Let Me Do It Commercial Services, Eibach Springs, Max Papis Inc., HBR, Bob Bruneau, Nitro Manufacturing, Maxima Racing Oils, Winters Performance Products, Hoosier, Cobra, TEO Pro Car, Pro Bar, Strange Oval, JRI Shocks, Absolute Audio, Fragola Performance Systems, Wilwood, Lincoln Electric, VP Racing Fuel, Jones Racing Products, FK Rod Ends, Bert Transmission, ASI Racewear, Swindell Speed Lab, Walker Performance Filtration Systems, HD Designs, Torie Costa Foundation and Butler Built Seats for their continued support.