RIP MICHELS, And — his IDevAffiliate racing team headed into the last night of point’s competition at Toyota Speedway this past Saturday night, with a very slim chance at the championship. Rip was 82 markers out of first and would need a miracle to have any shot at the championship.
Knowing that the current points leader would have to finish dead last in both races, the team felt that they had little to no chance to win. So the team decided to use the night of competition as a test session for the Showdown in January.
Rip and the team showed up with an experimental set up. The car was fast but could not maintain a good balance throughout the run. The team was not satisfied with the car in practice. The car was loose, and although they set fast time, they were concerned about the loose condition of the car. “The tires have been an issue for us all year,’ said Tire Specialist Chris Lazalde. “If the car has been loose in race one, you basically burned the right rear tire off before you ever turn a lap on race two.”
The team tried to tighten up the car, but as the green flag fell, the car was still loose. Rip started the race on the pole and lead for the first 15 laps, but as the car became looser, he fell back to second. A late race caution set up a green white checkered flag situation, and gave Rip and the team one more chance.
When the green flag dropped, Rip drove his car to the outside and was able to make the pass coming to the finish line first, and captured his 60th career win at Toyota Speedway. “We got lucky tonight,” said Rip Michels. “We were at best, a 5th place car. Travis had us covered. When the green white checkered came into play, I knew I had a shot, not a very good one, but a shot never the less. When we went green, I knew Travis would take away the bottom groove from me, and he did. I knew that if I could get to his outside, and pin him down coming out of turn two, that I might be able to get him.”
“We both were sideways coming out of turn two, and I was able to get on the outside of him. We ran side by side for the next lap, when we exited turn two again, Travis got real loose and we were able to get the win. The sweetest word I heard was by my spotter, Medlin, when he called me clear going into turn three; I knew I had him then.”
“Winning our 60th race at TS, is pretty cool, especially when you realize that we have only competed full time at the track a total of 6 years. I can not thank my sponsor enough for giving me the opportunity that I have had to reach that 60th win mark. I especially want to thank Jim Webster and all the associates from IDevAffiliate, had they not come on board to help us in the final three races, we would have had to place our race car on jack stands. Hopefully next year, we can get the full funding that it takes to be competitive and give the competition a run for their money,” said Rip
“It was a great night for us to get a win,” said Team Manager, Michael Medlin. “We have been contacted by a few owners who were in attendance, and we are working on a couple of deals that might have us running a full schedule in the SRL for 2010, or running the full season at Toyota Speedway. It is nice to have these owners interested in our team. I am hopeful we can announce something within the next couple of weeks, as it is imperative that we get started now for 2010 season. As I told one potential owner, tonight’s win was all Rip Michels, He was worth about a half a second.”
The entire team would like to congratulate Nick Joinides, and his team led by for their championship. The team would also like to thank the following associate sponsors for their help this season:
Ron’s Rear Ends, Victory Circle, Total Power Batteries, Orme Brothers, Aurora Rod Ends, Quarter Master, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Ringers Gloves, Circle Racing Wheels, BC Sportsimages, Apache Studio Rentals. Merengue Bakery & Café, Hot Rod Hobbies, UPgrade Decals, and Works of Art Johnson.
For more information on Rip Michels and sponsors, please visit Rip Michels Racing Inc., at www.ripmichels.com or ripmichelsracing@myspace. Also check out our new Facebook page.
