TACOMA, Washington — HayWire Motorsports joined the racing action at Evergreen Speedway during the Evergreen State Fair, returning both the #92 Mo-Dane Trucking / RPM Sales & Service / Vital Signs Chevrolet Impala driven by Tommy Rasmussen as well as the #68 KMB Design / Hargis Engineers / Print-NW / Fast Track Sims / Ringers Gloves Toyota Camry driven by "Terrible" Tim McDougald to action after both had been away from the track for some time.
For Tommy Rasmussen and his #92 Mo-Dane Trucking / RPM Sales & Service / Vital Signs Chevrolet Impala, the absence was roughly a month after a blown engine took him out of competition in the middle of the "Summer Showdown" event. With a new car, a new paintjob, a new engine and a new grin, Tommy rejoined the action at Evergreen Speedway. Early practice showed his new ride to be a little off but faster than the old ride. The team made some adjustments to help improve it and Tommy would qualify mid-pack.
Being a Twin-50 Main Event night, there would be plenty of racing action for the new #92. Rasmussen fell in line during the first Main event and began laying down laps getting use to the feel of his new ride when the handling started going away and the car began getting very loose. After coming home in 9th place at the end of the first 50 lap Main Event, Rasmussen stated that it felt like he had burned the right rear tire off the car after the race had ended. The crew found an oil leak that appeared to be soaking the right rear tire, causing the loose condition late in the run.
After repairs to stop the oil leak, Rasmussen would start the second Main Event mid pack once again. Falling in line, Tommy began to execute his plan of following current Evergreen Speedway championship front runner Kelly Mann to the front. His plan proved to be working for the first 3 laps of the race until both were caught up in a huge wreck that would bring out a lengthy red flag. After repairs were quickly made in the pits, Rasmussen rejoined the race and would nurse his now damaged car home to a 9th place finish.
For "Terrible" Tim McDougald, his absence from the speedway was a bit more lengthy. McDougald had been away from the track since a Memorial Day crash left him with more repairs than the budget allowed. After finally getting the car back together, McDougald returned to his NASCAR Home Track. While Tommy's day was rather solid from the start, "Terrible" Tim's day was a stark contrast to that. Early practice found McDougald pointed the wrong direction several times as he fought to keep his #68 KMB Design / Hargis Engineers / Print-NW / Fast Track Sims / Ringers Gloves Toyota Camry pointed the right way. With a car that was "wicked loose" according to "Terrible" Tim, the crew went to work to try and fix it.
After one last major adjustment, McDougald would qualify his car 15th out of the 17 cars who took time. A small improvement, but still really off the pace. Starting in that 15th spot for the first Main Event, McDougald found himself fighting a now rather tight car as the adjustments proved to be a little too major. Settling in to log laps, McDougald did his best to stay out of the way. But as the leaders were working past him around the half way mark, McDougald set his already tight car in a little too high in an effort to leave room for his fellow competitors and the car hit the marbles, that loose stuff in the top groove that provides no traction, and went sliding off the turn. At that point McDougald chose to just park the car and adjust it for the second Main Event.
Starting the second Main Event in 17th, "Terrible" Tim was ready to just log some more laps. Having undone some of those adjustments, the crew was looking for a better finish than that first race. After a bizarre series of events that saw 3 caution flags and 1 red flag in the first 3 laps of the race, two things happened. The first was that the officials shortened the race to 35 laps due to time constraints. The other, McDougald found himself in roughly 8th place as several of the fast cars had been in those incidents and were now lined up behind him with plenty of damage.
Once the race finally got under a steady green flag run, McDougald discovered that his car was much better than the first race. While still tight, "Terrible" Tim was holding his ground for the lengthy green flag run and began to work his way past lapped traffic. On lap 24, while passing a lapped car on the outside, McDougald was struck in the driver's door by the lapped car, shoving him off the end of the track. In disbelief, McDougald would rejoin the field and be lined up behind the car that sent him off the track. While trying to make the pass again, the lapped car repeated the same outcome as last time, sending the #68 KMB Design / Hargis Engineers / Print-NW / Fast Track Sims / Ringers Gloves Toyota Camry off the track once again. Now in total shock, for the final time of the night, McDougald simply chose to park the car short of the checkered flag.
Having been absent for so long, the HayWire Motorsports team left the track feeling rather good about the night's adventures. They now look forward to returning to the speedway one last time for the 2012 racing season.
For up to date news, information and complete coverage contact:
HayWire Motorsports
14711 12th Ave E, Suite B
Tacoma, Wa. 98445
Or visit the HayWire Racing website at - http://www.haywire-racing.com.
