PIT MISTAKE COSTLY TO HEAVNER AT LANGLEY
Written By: Racing Electronics
HAMPTON, VA (May 28th, 2011) A late-race pit call proved to be very costly to Ryan Heavner in the USAR Pro Cup Series event at Langley Speedway on Saturday night.
Heavner was running ninth when the caution flag waved on lap 161 of the 250 lap race. Crew Chief Bob Schacht called for Heavner to pit for tires as soon as the pits were open. Heavner came to pit road for two right side tires and a chassis adjustment. When Heavner rejoined the field under caution, Schacht called the 15-year old driver back to pit road for fuel.
When the race resumed on lap 166, USAR Pro Cup Series officials black flagged Heavner back to pit road to enforce a penalty. USAR Pro Cup rules state that a driver cannot pit for fuel and tires under the same caution flag period. Therefore, Heavner was held in the pits for two laps and reentered the race in 11th position, three laps down to the leaders. With the laps winding down in the 250-lap event, and Heavner on a lap by himself, the talented driver decided to ”not push the issue” and settle for an 11th-place finish in the Visit Hampton, VA 250 Presented by Racing Electronics.
“It was my fault on the pit call,” Crew Chief Bob Schacht stated. “At Rockingham in our previous race, you could take fuel and change tires during the same caution period. I guess that’s what I was thinking when I called Ryan (Heavner) back to pit road for fuel. Unfortunately, losing those two laps cost us a top-ten finish.”
Prior to the penalty, Heavner had a productive day in his third ever race at the .5-mile Langley Speedway. The Bob Schacht-led team worked hard during two practice sessions to give Heavner the best handling and fastest car possible. When qualifying started late in the afternoon, Heavner posted a fast lap of 16.946 second to earn the 11th starting position in the 21 car field.
Heavner and Schacht both knew that 250 laps at Langley Speedway on a hot and humid Saturday night would, no doubt, create lots of caution periods and several wrecked race cars. Therefore, they had a plan to save his equipment, use strategy when to pit for tires, and have a strong car for the final fifty laps.
During the first fifty laps, Heavner moved up to the 7th position. After getting “jammed” on a restart. Heavner fell to 12th and began working his way back toward the top ten. When most of the leaders pitted on lap 104, Heavner stayed on the track and restarted fourth on lap 112. However, it didn’t take long for the leaders to catch Heavner and drop the Lincolnton, North Carolina competitor to 11th. He had worked his way to ninth with the caution flag waved on lap 161, and the resulting pit stops under this caution would change the whole complexion of the race.
“First, I want to thank Bob (Crew Chief Schacht) and all the guys on this team for their hard work today,” Heavner said after the race. “It was a long, hot day, but my team kept making adjustments to make our car better. The incident with the two pit stops during one caution was just one of those things that happens in racing. We’re a close-knit team who experiences the highs and lows together as one. We’ll bounce back.”
The next stop on the 2011 USAR Pro Cup Series will be June 11th at South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia. Expect Ryan Heavner and the Matt Lofton Motorsports / Bob Schacht Racing Chevrolet to be ready for another short track challenge.
To learn more about sponsorship opportunities with Ryan Heavner and Matt Lofton Motorsports, please visit the teams contact page. They would be happy to go in to detail with you about how motorsports marketing can help to grow your business.
Ryan Heavner would like to thank all of the team partners for the 2010 racing season. These include; Strutmasters.com, Lawing Marble, DLP Marketing, LJ DeZigns, W.D. Enterprises and WaltersWebDesign.com.
For information about Ryan Heavner, visit www.RyanHeavner.com