MODIFIED MOTOR MADNESS
AUGUST 30, 2010 --- As the Atwood Outlaw attempted to make the field of the 2nd Annual Modified Motor Madness this past weekend, the monkey jumped firmly on his back and refused to get off. The weekend started Friday night with a bad pill draw which forced the #1 JR Motorsports sponsored machine to spend much of the night trying to dig out of a hole. After failing to transfer into the Main event out of the Qualifying Heats, Herndon was set to try to convert out of the B-Main. Early on in the B, Herndon got a good run and pulled along side of the leader for the lead entering turn one. As the two rolled through the corner door to door, the leader pinched Herndon to the bottom trying to put him into the tire barriers. To avoid contact with the tires, Herndon got on the binders hard allowing the third place car to take the runner-up spot. Herndon then spent the remainder of the race trying to get back by the 2nd place car along with fighting some steering issues sustained earlier in the squeeze play. As the laps wound down, T.J. went upstairs on top of the cushion and maintained momentum to make the last lap pass for second and transfer into the $5,000 to win Main event. Early on in the Main event, the steering damage would come back to haunt him once again as the drag link came disconnected from the steering box while sailing down the front straightaway. Herndon tried to gradually slow and not make any erratic moves as he entered turn one with no steering at all. Luckily the car turned into the corner and almost made it off of the track before he was tagged in the rear. With his first night done for, Herndon rode the hook back to the hauler with his first DNF of the weekend.
Saturday night got off to a much better start with a decent pill draw and respectable starting spot in an early Heat. Herndon transferred into the Main event out of the Qualifying Heat after finishing second behind eventual event winner Johnny Bone with Arkansas wheelman Jared Landers finishing third. Bad luck would once again come calling as the Main event got underway with the Atwood Outlaw occupying the sixth starting spot. The field took the green flag and made their way cleanly through turns one and two but as the field entered turn three, front runner Matt Cooper lost the handle with twenty cars close behind. Unfortunately, the #1 Shaw by Outlaw was the first in line behind Cooper with nowhere to go which resulted in a damaged racecar which once again was unable to continue resulting in a second DNF in as many nights. Herndon was well pleased with the performance of his IMCA car in the Outlaw show and looks forward to next week as he attempts to make the field in the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. With 222 Modifieds already pre-entered for the event, Herndon knows that he must leave the monkey in Tennessee if he is to have any chance in making the 24 car Main event. You can follow T.J. and Jeff Taylor’s quest to make it into the Super National field by tuning into the free audio webcast at www.DirtTour.com. Modifieds will qualify nightly on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday beginning at 5 p.m. CST. Saturday night’s broadcast will begin at 6 p.m. CST and will continue until the final Main Event is completed. Results should also be posted daily on www.raceboone.com.
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SWITCHAROO
AUGUST 23, 2010 --- This past Friday night, T.J. Herndon and the UpFront Performance team headed to Tuscumbia, AL to assist the North Alabama Speedway with their car count in hopes of keeping the Open Wheel Modified as a part of their weekly venue. After finishing 2nd in the qualifying Heat, Herndon surveyed the electrical and fuel system of the #1 Modified in efforts to find the miss that robbed him of much needed torque. Come Feature time, Herndon would be fortunate enough to lead the Main from flag to flag to take the win although he would not find the electrical short until the following morning to remedy his engine miss. Following the Atwood Outlaw to the stripe was the #63 of Jeremy Greenway, Eric Hughes, Paul Robinson with Greg Welch rounding out the top five.
Upon arrival at Clayhill Motorsports on Saturday night, Herndon’s bad pill draw kicked his night off by landing him a 7th place starting position in the second Qualifier. Herndon was able to advance to 5th by the end of the qualifying Heat after struggling with an ill handling racecar. The #1 Shaw by Outlaw appeared to be better in the Feature after moving from a 10th place start to just inside the top five before a three wide squeeze play and a later spin to avoid the leader who had spun in turns one and two made a bad handling car worse. As the Feature wound down, the winners check would once again be written to the dominating #18 of Matt Cooper followed to the line by Hunter Rasdon, Robby Arnold, Randy Todd, Bart Richardson, Ashley Newman, Jimmy Halford, T.J. Herndon, Jonathan Rowan with Ronnie Vernon closing out the top ten. After exhausting all efforts to get the previously crashed chassis to handle after being clipped, Herndon decided that his chances would be better in the Modified Madness events this weekend by reverting to the IMCA car that he had been readying for the IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa the first of next month. Come on out to Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN this weekend and see if the Atwood Outlaw’s IMCA Shaw by Outlaw has anything for what is sure to be some of the best Modified drivers in the Nation. For full results and the latest news associated with Clayhill Motorsports and this weekend’s Modified Motor Madness, check out the website at www.clayhillmotorsports.com.
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ROUGH RIDER
AUGUST 16, 2010 --- After discovering that UMP tires were not compatible with a legal IMCA body, the Atwood Outlaw decided to take Friday night off and work around the house and return to the track the following day. On Saturday night at Clayhill Motorsports, an uncharacteristic pill draw landed Herndon on the pole of the first Heat race of the evening. Herndon turned the pole start into a win which would allow him the opportunity to start the Main event from the pole as well. As the Modified Feature got underway, Herndon quickly realized that he had missed the set-up robbing himself of all side bite as he tried to carry the #1 Shaw by Outlaw to the bottom of the racetrack. After slipping back to the third position as the first caution flag flew early in the race, Herndon started packing a line on top of the cushion in hopes of salvaging a decent finish. On the restart it appeared that the Outlaw would be able to advance his position but rough track conditions and fatigue plagued Herndon as he continued to slip back through the field as the Feature event continued. Herndon continued to pack the cushion as each caution waved with little or no help from fellow competitors. As the checkered flag fell, the big check would be taken home by Matthew Cooper followed by Bart Richardson, Robby Arnold, Ronnie Vernon with Ashley Newman rounding out the top five. Herndon had slipped back to sixth by Feature’s end followed by Brandon Poppenheimer, Hunter Rasdon, J.C. Waller with Jimmy Halford rounding out the top ten. For full results and the latest news associated with Clayhill Motorsports, check out the website at www.clayhillmotorsports.com.
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FULL TILT
AUGUST 9, 2010 --- Last Friday, the Atwood Outlaw and the UpFront Performance crew struck out to Tuscumbia, AL to follow the USCS Modified Touring Series on their two day swing through Alabama and Tennessee. Friday night, Herndon qualified for the Feature event with the third fastest qualifying time in an abbreviated field of only ten cars. He then took the win in the six lap Modified Power Dash consisting of the top six finishers from the last event. In the Modified Feature, Herndon took the green flag from the third position and quickly moved into the second spot and began to apply pressure to the leader. The Shaw by Outlaw was super fast in the bottom lane in spite of the leader continuing to pinch him down on corner exit to break his momentum. On lap five, adversity struck as the Atwood Outlaw came within inches of putting the car on its lid. As he forced the issue on lap five, Herndon’s car bicycled on two wheels as he exited turn four resulting in a flat right front tire as well as a broken left rear shock mount and bent four bar tubes as the car slammed back to the ground. Herndon then went pit side, replaced the flat and returned to the track to restart in the tenth position with twenty laps remaining. As the laps ran down, Herndon continued to fight his crippled racecar eventually making it back into the top five as Chris Moore took the win and the $1,000 payday. Moore was followed by Randy Todd, T.J. Herndon, Paul Robinson with Henry Hanger rounding out the top five.
On Saturday night, Herndon returned to Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN and qualified ninth for the Feature event through his qualifying Heat. The Atwood Outlaw once again took the win in the Power Dash with the top finishers from the night before. In the Feature, Herndon immediately went to the top groove and continued to slip back through the field as it was apparent that the car was far from competitive and eventually resulted in a DNF. Talking with T.J. after the race he elaborated, “I really can’t remember the last time I had a car that bad. I think we’ve missed something from the deal last night. We got home this morning about 3:30 from North Alabama and got up at 7:00 and spent half the day at the duck blind drawing in Big Sandy before getting to work on the car. We thought that we had everything fixed from last night but we’ve obviously missed something. We’ll go over it with a fine tooth comb this week and have her ready next weekend.” Like the night before, the big check was once again cashed by Chris Moore followed to the stripe by Hunter Rasdon, Bart Richardson, Brandon Poppenhiemer with Ronnie Vernon rounding out the top five. For full results from this weekends events as well as the latest news associated with the USCS Outlaw Modified Touring Series, log onto www.uscsracing.com.
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SHOW ME MODIFIED SHOOTOUT
AUGUST 2, 2010 --- This past weekend, T.J. Herndon and crew made the five hour drag to West Plains Motor Speedway in West Plains, MO in hopes of making the field in the Show Me Modified Shootout. On the first night of qualifying on Thursday night, Herndon finished third in his Qualifying Heat providing him the opportunity to compete in the nightly Qualifying Feature of which the top eight finishers would transfer into Saturday’s $5,000 to win Main Event. Adversity struck as the Atwood Outlaw cranked the car to stage for the nightly Feature. As he attempted to pull away from the hauler, the engine quit and upon further inspection the crew discovered that the crankshaft had broken just behind the timing gear. Unfortunately, Herndon’s night was over as he started to contemplate his next move.
On Friday, T.J. and the crew started the day by removing the broken engine and readying the car for the engine that his dad was bringing later in the day. After installing the replacement engine, Herndon struggled with an extremely tight race car as he advanced from 5th to finish 4th in the Qualifying Heat. He also missed the top eight cut in the Qualifying Feature while advancing to a 12th place finish from his original starting spot of 14th.
On Saturday, the Atwood Outlaw continued to battle a racecar that was extremely tight on corner entry. The car was better early on but continued to get worse as the track lost grip. Herndon enjoyed his best pill draw of the year which allowed him to start on the pole of the first Qualifying Heat which he parlayed into a win which allowed him to start on the pole of the night’s Qualifying Feature. Herndon made the top eight cut to qualify for the Main Event by finishing 5th in the Qualifier on his final attempt. Herndon took the green flag in the star studded Main Event occupying the 15th starting position. In the opening laps, Herndon advanced to just outside the top ten before an ill handling race car once again consumed his time in just trying to hang on. As the 40 lapper came to a close, Herndon had slid back to a 16th place finish as Late Model Ace Terry Phillips out of Springfield, MO took the checkers and the $5,000 check. Phillips was followed to the line by Rustin Miller, Johnny Bone, Jr., Mike Bowers, Robby Arnold, Richie Tosh, Jeff Taylor, Wayne Brooks, Paul Reeder with Scott Crigler rounding out the top ten. The balance of the twenty four car field were Robert Baker, Ashley Newman, Gary Stolba, Brad Buck, Patrick Linn, T.J. Herndon, Carl Murphy, Hunter Rasdon, Jason Hughes, Randy Timms, Josh Hughes, Peyton Taylor, Kyle Duke and Tyson Franks. For full results and the latest news associated with the New West Plains Speedway, log onto www.westplains-speedway.com.
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