It's mid June and time for a Hansen Motorsports season-to-date update. 

ARCA:
We completed our first ARCA race of the season in May.  The venue is one we love - a very fast 2 mile oval known as the Michigan International Speedway.  While budget remains tight during these economic times, we will run as many ARCA events as possible and test wherever possible.  Michigan was our first race and we plan on being in Iowa during July, Chicagoland during August and Kansas later in the season. 

Michigan Results:
The ARCA race was part of a weekend long racing marathon at the Michigan International Speedway - including a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.  Our race was Friday so the team had to leave early in the week.  While no on-track activities were permitted on Wednesday, we were able to complete registration and inspection.  (We even had time to participate in the "Annual ARCA Parade of Haulers", an event that is quite a hit with the local folks.) 

Since this was our first ARCA race of the season, ARCA Officials took a bit longer inspecting our car - including the fuel tank.  Fuel tank inspection means the bladder is checked to ensure a current date and any foam has been removed.  In addition, the tank's volume is measured to ensure the team can't cheat and put extra fuel in it.  Once bladder inspection is complete, it is sealed by ARCA Officials with a tamper proof seal.  It all takes time!  Next, we were informed that the car's seat belts were not current.  We learned that last season's requirement that belts could not Be older than 3 years was changed to 2 years.  Everything else went quite smoothly.

On-track practice was scheduled for Thursday ... it rained all day!  As this was a Sprint Cup weekend and most events were to be televised the schedule was packed.  Somehow ARCA managed to find 50 minutes of practice time on Friday morning.

The quality of the competition in ARCA gets better each year.  During practice while in the spotters tower I had occasion to interact with an individual wearing a Miller Lite shirt.  It turned out he was a spotter for Kurt Busch who was working with one of the ARCA drivers.  There were Penske and Gibbs haulers in the paddock area along with many others. 

At the end of practice we were the 17th quickest of 41 cars.  We were still about 3/4's of a second slower than the fastest cars, but were confident our car could compete.  Our Weagner engine performed flawlessly and the car handled reasonably well.  After practice crew chief Dan Peterson noticed the right front spring had broken.  This was not good news.  Replacing the spring had the possibility of greatly changing the car's handling due to the intricacies of the chassis setup.  Thus, when the race began Todd had no idea how his 'modified car' would handle.  Michigan is a 200 mph track - so not knowing how handling has been compromised was disconcerting.

Todd started 28th based on series points as qualifying was washed out by the rainy weather.  As typical with Todd's style, he quickly started to make his way forward in the pack by passing cars quicky.  However, the car's handling caused him to spin out on lap 3.  All tires were 'flat spotted' due to the spin and the right front fender was damaged.  Todd limped back to the pits and was serviced with 4 new tires and repairs to the fender.  When the race restarted he was last and 2 laps down.  With focus and effort, Todd worked his way back up.  With good pit work and some "Lucky Dog" help, Todd worked his way back to the lead lap.  He eventually finished 15th.  While not the finish we had hoped for, this was highly respectable given the circumstances early on in the race.  Kudos to Todd and the entire crew for their efforts!

ASA Midwest Tour:
This is a series we added to this year's schedule.  It is not a "walk in the park" by any imagination.  This series is without a doubt one of the toughest short track series I have ever been involved with in 40 years of racing.  Competitors in this series are definitely the 'fastest of the fast' in a four-state area.  We are working hard to get this part of our program on track.  Re-entering the world of short track racing after 4 years is not simply a matter of "just showing up".  Short track racing is different.  The tires are bias ply and react much differently than the radials used in ARCA races.  Our best finish so far has been 11th, but we are updating our technical knowledge of short track car set up and are committed to making things better when we enter races in this series.  We have mapped out a testing program so that we will get 'on track'.  More news about the world of ASA Midwest as the season progresses.