Elite Racing Rossburg event report

THE ELDORA EFFECT

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, even in the racing world. This weekend when Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing squad pulled into "The Big E," they had been flawless placing in the top-ten each time they set a Goodyear tire on the track in 2010. On night one at Eldora Speedway, they continued their streak collecting their 14th top-ten finish this season, but night two would see that run end as a top-ten finish was elusive for the team. Through it all Elite Racing held their heads high as they stayed focused on the task before them.

Night one: Trying to evade Mother Nature

On Friday night at Eldora Speedway, it was not only the competitors that Elite Racing were trying to outrun, but also the weather. Over the second turn, lightning was in the distance and it was not a matter of if it would rain, but when. At the start of the A-Main, Meyers started in the 12th position in his #14 GLR Investments KPC and within two laps had made his way into the top-ten, while Joey Saldana paced the field.

On the 13th lap, the yellow flag would fly for a spin by Randy Hannagan. During this time several cars would pit with flat tires, so when the field came to the restart Meyers was in the seventh position. On the restart, Meyers quickly went to work getting around Danny Lasoski to pick up the sixth position.

"I think what honestly worked out for us last night was our running position," stated Meyers. "When you are in an odd numbered starting position on the restart, you get to start in the lane the leader picks, which is always the preferred line. When we were seventh on the restart, we had a big advantage. It definitely played out in our favor tonight."

At the halfway point of the event, Meyers was in the 6th position and was stalking Paul McMahan to edge his way into the top-five. Meyers would make it into the top-five when Donny Schatz shredded a tire with 5 laps to go and brought out the caution flag. At that point of the evening the light sprinkle that had begun at the start of the feature became a downpour and the race was declared complete and Joey Saldana the winner.

"It was good. We are still learning the tires at this track," explained Meyers. "I thought we had a great car early on in the night, but in the feature we were not good in traffic. We learned a lot tonight and we are looking forward to coming back tomorrow night with a few things different to compensate for what we missed. I think we had an okay racecar tonight, but I am looking forward to having a much better one tomorrow."

Saturday May 8 Eldora Speedway - Rossburg, OH

Night two: Top-ten run eludes Elite Racing

The second night of racing at Eldora Speedway would be a night that Elite Racing is going to use as a learning experience. It may have been a tough night, but a lot of teams would be proud to call a 13th place run with the World of Outlaws a bad evening with the level of competition that the series presents.

Meyers would begin his night in the #14 GLR Investments KPC in the 15th position. A long green flag run with an ill handling car would present a problem as the leaders were working traffic fast and furiously. Meyers would go down a lap during this run, which would prevent the car from improving their running position on the series of restarts at the conclusion of the race as #14 was the first car one lap down. Meyers would spend the restarts defending his 13th place running position and would finish his night there, while Paul McMahan went on to collect the victory.

"Very disappointing is the only thing I can say about tonight. But that won't slow us down; we will work it out and be back in contention next weekend. We have to be," stated Meyers.

The 13th place finish Saturday night would end the streak of 14 top-ten finishes Elite Racing had accumulated in 2010. It also affected the point standings as Meyers is now just three small markers behind Steve Kinser, but with an imperative weekend coming up at Williams Grove the Elite Racing team is going to stay focused on the prize, the 2010 World of Outlaws Championship.

Up Next for Elite Racing....

Coming up this weekend will be a three race affair as Elite Racing will be challenging Pennsylvania's best at Williams Grove on Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14, before moving on to Virginia Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 15.

"The Grove is always one of the toughest places we go, and this weekend will be no exception. We are aiming to get that elusive victory at Williams Grove for our engine builder Charlie Garrett," commented Meyers.

-source: er