On a night when the theme was honoring the great champion Al Pombo, Dave Byrd had to draw on years of experience to deal with several tough situations thrown at him.
After a seventh place qualifying effort and an invert that put Dave starting 3rd, the stage seemed to be set for a classic Saturday night short track duel with some of the best of the new generation and some of the veterans of the short track wars from the past.
The night’s main events were just getting underway when a 2” cut in the sidewall of the right front tire was discovered by the crew of the Madera Auto Center Toyota Camry. NASCAR officials ruled that the cut justified replacing the tire, but it was discovered that the track tire supplier had already loaded up and left the track. With no replacement tire available, the decision to run on the damaged right front tire was left up to Dave. This turned out to only being the beginning of drama for the night.
After jumping out to an early lead at the start of the 50 lap main event, Dave was soon challenged by long time rival Harry Belleto. With Dave running the outside and Harry hugging the bottom, the two veterans put on a display of side by side racing that was seen as an example of tough but clean driving. Dave kept sailing it in around on the high line, but Belleto kept digging on the bottom. As soon as Belleto got the advantage, Dave was immediately challenged again by Joey Stearns. The two battled for the second position with Dave holding the advantage until a red flag around the half way point of the race was thrown for another competitors’ blown engine.
The oil slick circled the entire track in the high groove with the main damage covering the high groove in turn one. After a 15 minute red flag period to allow for clean up. The cars were doubled up for the restart. Running second put Dave on the front row outside. The fans were on their feet as Dave drove it into turn one on the restart. Not only did Dave use those years of dirt track experience to drive the sideways car through the corner he also came out with the lead. Dave was never challenged again as he drove away from the field of cars. Dave crossed the finish with a straight away lead.
“The oil and the slick track seemed to be just what I needed to loosen up the car”, joked Dave. “We’ve had one heck of a night wondering if that slice in the right front tire was going to hold up and then if we were going to be able to get all four tires through the corner on the restart.”
Dave Byrd and Kenny Whalen’s Madera Auto Center Racing Team are fired up and ready to race July 26th in Madera Saturday Night Thunder with the return of Hot Rod & Hog Run Car/Bike Show and Kids Night.
For more information, race over to www.davebyrdracing.com
Dave Byrd is partnered with: Madera Auto Center, Madera Toyota, Toyota Certified Used Vehicles, Madera Chevrolet, Country Club Auto Body, MTD Farms, Performance Electric, Foletta Bros, Inc., Madera Mobile, Perko’s Café & Grill, Robert V. Jensen, Inc., Central Valley P & S, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Jason’s Mobile Graphics & Decal, Kragen Auto Parts, Electronic Sorting Service, Schoettler Tire, Inc., AmeriPride Uniform Service, BG, Jim & Pam Garcia, Kenny Whalen Racing and Bob Strandwold Racing.
About the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series: The series is the NASCAR version of a national, state and local points system for Saturday night style racing at your local track.
Whelen is the only US manufacturer of emergency warning equipment to still manufacture its products entirely in the United States. The use of robotics and a motivated workforce allow it to compete with off-shore products.
