Tim Smith and S & S Motorsports ended up treating the NASCAR Grand National West race at the Copper World Classic as an opportunity to prepare for the April race scheduled at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). The number 12 Valliance car started out the practice session on Saturday with some brake issues. The cockpit was being filled with smoke coming from the brakes. After one more quick session on the track, the brake issue was fixed. After the brake issue was taken care of, it was time to scuff tires for the race. Smith and crew chief Mark Romero decided to get the race tires scuffed and then give Smith time to feel out the track on the practice set of tires. This plan would have worked if a hail storm did not role in all of a sudden ending the practice session all together.
When Sunday’s qualifying came around, Smith was not too worried about what the track had in store for him. After the qualifying session was over and Smith ended up 29th, he knew that the day would end up being more like a test then a race. “After qualifying where we did, my goal was to go out there and get a feel both for the car and the track. I also did not want to get in the way of the leaders, but still be competitive when it was appropriate,” says Smith.
The only caution of the day came out at approximately lap 24. Smith and Romero used this opportunity to make an adjustment to the car and have fuel man Willie Norman top off the tank. Romero comments, “We were a little concerned about being able to make the entire race without taking fuel, that’s why we had Willie top of the tank when we brought the car in for the adjustment.”
At the finish of the race, Smith had moved the number 12 Valliance Monte Carlo to 18th position. Smith adds, “I’m not real happy with the finish, but my crew and I did what we could with what we had which includes some inexperience at this track on my part. We are already preparing for the next race at PIR and plan on getting this car into the top ten, but we are aiming for a top five.”
“I’ve just got to say that I was really impressed with the way NASCAR handle the registration and the hauler entry process. Both went very smooth with very little wasted time if any. I’d also like to thank Mike Helton for coming out to the race and showing his and NASCAR’s support for this series.”
