SHANE HARDING STARTS THE 2007 SEASON WITH A BIG CRASH AND FINISHES 4TH

Source: jp
Date: 04/06/2007

The March 31st NASCAR WHELEN ALL AMERICAN SERIES 2007 Evergreen Speedway season opener on the big 5/8’s mile speedway was a night we all were looking forward to. It was a day filled with great excitement, hard work, huge disappointments, and in the end a little bit of satisfaction.

Despite ominous clouds overheads the weather stayed dry, by early afternoon the sun came out making for a very nice day at the track. Shane and his ShaneCity race team unloaded a very well prepared car. The new crate motor performed for the team as advertised it ran flawlessly. In practice all things went well with lap times at the top of the speed charts. With the new rules requiring a crate engine and the new rule reducing the weight of the car, this produced lap times equivalent to the Elite Tour engines we have used in the past.

In qualifying Shane qualified 4th fastest which would put him in the trophy dash. The trophy dash, which took place just after opening ceremonies, would prove to be disastrous. On the first lap coming out of turn four with Busch Series driver Kevin Hamlin on the inside and Shane on the outside, Shane was squeezed up into the debris on the outside of the track. The tires unable to hold traction in the marbles caused Shane to get loose, resulting in slight contact to Kevin’s car and then a tremendous impact into the front stretch wall.

Shane took the obligatory ride in the aid unit while the car was towed to the pits. The cars damage turned out to be significant. A bent frame rail, bent rear axle and punctured oil pan would end our chances of racing this car, as the start of the race was less than an hour away.

A spare racecar isn’t an option for most teams at this level of racing; it appeared that our race-day was over. Unbeknownst to Shane, the #55 John Ross team and his rookie driver Mike VanDongen were holding a team meeting. They were deciding on whether to continue their nights racing with Mike VanDongen or let Shane use the car to help him make a bid for his third super late model championship. The John Ross team and driver Mike VanDongen with heavy emotions decided it was more important for Shane to have the opportunity to race for his third championship.

Our team is extremely grateful to the Jon Ross team and Driver Mike VanDongen for allowing us to use their car, as they had many friends and family members on hand to see Mike get his first start in a very fast Late Model Racecar on the big 5/8's mile speedway. Shane accepted the offer to drive John’s brand new racecar, with very little time remaining a few changes were needed to the car to allow Shane to race. Shane was required to use the tires he had qualified on, except two were destroyed in the accident so new tires had to be purchased. Unfortunately this put our stagger into unknown territory. Due to the change in cars, Shane was required to start in last place. Shane made quick work in moving though the field and by lap 7 he was in 9th place, by lap 10 he moved to 7th where he would remain until lap 26 as he moved to 6th. With the cars very spread out and few cautions, it took much time to narrow the gap between the cars ahead. Shane picked them off one at a time and by lap 38 he had moved to 4th place. Shane had a significant distance to close in on the 3rd place car of Roger Habich. Shane was able to catch up to Roger, unfortunately as he closed the gap between the two cars, the rain started to steadily fall on lap 89 bringing out the caution and ultimately the checkered flag as the rain continued to fall.

Shane finished in 4th place happy to have finished the race and deliver the borrowed racecar back to John without a scratch.

We look forward to our next race on April 14 at Evergreen speedway when we return to the smaller but favored track of ours the 3/8’s mile.

Contact Joe Ploegman 206-551-4014 for more information or see our website at [ http://www.shaneharding.com ]www.shaneharding.com

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