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8/28/2014
Sprint Source
Brad Loyet – Jackson Nationals up Next!
It wasn’t the weekend that Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global/Miller Truck Lines #o5 had hoped for in Arkansas and Tennessee. Nonetheless, they remain atop the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series point standings. This Friday and Saturday find the team at the Jackson Speedway in Minnesota for the Jackson Nationals. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver finished third in that event last year.
Things started last Thursday at the Riverside International Speedway (a.k.a “The Ditch”) in West Memphis, Arkansas, where the series did 40 laps in memory of long-time car owner Shorty Chambliss. “My pill draw streak continued to be marvelous with a 71 or something like that,” says Brad. “We started dead last in the first heat. It was 100 degrees out, sun blaring all day long. We thought there would be no way the track would stay wet. But from the start, it was heavy.”
Brad did manage to squeak through and qualify for the feature. “Luckily enough, three cars got together at the start of the heat,” he says. “We were able to get by that, and that was enough points to get us to the feature. There wasn’t going to be much passing, so that was lucky.”
He would start 13th in the main event. “We were a little too snug for the track conditions,” says Brad. “It was the same situation, you couldn’t really go anywhere. We made some progress at one point. I think we were up to ninth and we caught a wall of cars. They started running three-wide. I couldn’t get underneath them.”
Brad would take evasive maneuvers to try to move up. “I tried to make something happen, and drove the car a little too hard,” he says. “I got up next to the wall and I biked the car and plugged the right front into the fence. It bent the frame and we were done for the night. It wasn’t what we had hoped for. I felt like I let the guys down by not at least bringing the car back to the trailer.”
The team put a new car together for the Lexington 104 Speedway in Tennessee on Friday and won their heat. “We were able to get a good pill draw (the pole),” says Brad. “We had a good heat race. We didn’t have any issues at all. It was a track similar to last year. Lexington is kind of a big circle, and it’s hard to pass once your momentum gets built up.”
Starting seventh, Brad would checker sixth in the main event. “We got a car on the start and pretty much ran sixth the whole race,” he says. “We had a good car. Unfortunately, everyone was about the same speed. Once I really got rolling, the race was about over with.”
Jeff Swindell, who won in Lexington is now second in the ASCS point race, trailing Brad by 74 points. “Overall, it was probably one of our worst weekends all year,” says Brad. “But if that was one of our worst weekends, we’ll be fine with that. We just need to plug away the rest of the year here. We have a brand new car to finish the year out with, and we’re looking forward to it. We want to stay on top, but unfortunately, Jeff Swindell is really on his game right now.”
Brad’s Weekly Releases
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global, Miller Truck Lines, and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.
Attached: Brad at Lexington 104 Speedway (Rob Kocak Photo)