JOANIDES CHARGES FROM LAST TO FIRST IN 14 LAPS!
(10-7-06) In his final race in the Auto Club Late Model Series, driver Nick Joanides put on another amazing performance.
Irwindale Speedway announced only two weeks ago that a 100 lap event would be held on October 7th. Goodyear has had trouble supplying enough tires for the series most of the season and were not able to do so for this event on the last minute notice. Irwindale therefore switched to Hoosier tires for this event.
The compound of the Hoosier tire is extremely different from the Goodyear tire leaving many teams scrambling for a setup that would work. With a very limited amount of practice time, the Borenstein Racing Team did a great job in getting the car dialed in and qualified 2nd fast for the main event. Irwindale Speedway officials decided to make things interesting and inverted the entire field for the start of the race, putting Joanides in the last row of the field.
After coming from 31st to 3rd in the previous event, Joanides was excited about the opportunity to duplicate his performance and he did not disappoint. From the drop of the green flag, he blistered through the field with three wide passes through the middle and down low and took the lead in only 14 laps.
Two drivers had dominated the series all season long and although Irwindale said that teams would not be allowed to run on the Hoosier tires until the day before the event, somehow, one of the drivers was able to rent the track the day prior and work on long runs to see how the new tires would react. With a very limited amount of practice time available to the rest of the teams, this test proved extremely beneficial.
Joanides easily lead the next 33 laps before their lack of practice with the new tires began to take it’s toll. The car began to get extremely loose and the driver that had tested the day before caught and passed him on lap 47 and pulled away to the win. Joanides maintained the 2nd position through the remainder of the race.
“We have run 40 lap main events all season long and that’s what our car was set up for. With the last minute change and limited amount of practice, we just didn’t have time to figure out what the car would do after 40 laps in practice, so we just rolled the dice and prayed for the best. If this was a typical 40 lap race, we win easily because the car was just awesome for the first 40 and no one could touch us. Unfortunately the car just got really loose about midway through the event. For rolling the dice with no testing, it was still a great run for this team and a great way to finish the year” commented Joanides.
Borenstein Racing, a first year team completed their first season on a roll, with finishes of 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the final three races. This is the final event in this division for the team as they are selling the car. Plans for 2007 are still being determined.
“I’ve really got to thank my car owner, Loren Borenstein for a great program. We got a slow start to the season, but for a first year team to come out and perform the way we did, especially over the last three races, is just amazing. Most teams take years to get to this level, but in just 11 races, we put this team solidly in the top 3 every week. Jackson Race Cars did a great job setting up the car all year and once we got our motor program figured out, our results were really able to finally reward these guys for all their work and show the true strength of this team. Borenstein Racing really has the potential to accomplish anything and next year can be really exiting for us” said Joanides.
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
