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Phil Loedeman of Kalamazoo added a fourth win this season on March 2nd, when the MCT-SRL visited Wabash Raceway.   From the beginning, the universal feeling of all the MCT-SRL drivers was that it was going to be a tough race.  The fictional, slippery .4 mile track, with 27 degrees of banking in the turns and about the same on the straights, made last week’s track, USA International, look flat by comparison.  The one thing which became abundantly clear during practice was that the shiny belt of steel railintg ringing the track would ruin more than a few paint jobs before the night was through.  League Administrator, Craig Bristol commented over the radio about the small size of the field for the race. I response was, “Thank goodness for that!”  As a driver, this was a fun track once you found your rhythm, but if you lost it, it was a while before you could get it back.

A familiar sight on the pole was 2 time series Champion, John Hernly in the blue No.64 TV Land Chevrolet.  The driver from Lansing posted a 13.481second (106.817 mph) lap.  DeWitt’s Craig Curtis started on the outside, in the No.74, with a 13.672 second (105.325 mph) trip around the course.

After the green flag dropped, Hernly and Curtis lined up and quickly broke away from the field.  By lap 12 they had caught the No.66 of Dave Whiteside at the rear of the pack.  As Hernly and Curtis made their way past, Whiteside, clipped the apron and slid up the steep banking into the guardrail.  Whiteside’s car eventually ended up on its lid and the night was over for the Barie Speedway veteran.

After the race got back under way, Curtis in the No.74 took advantage of a bobble on Hernly’s part to grab the first place spot.  The caution came out again on lap 29 when the No.96 of Craig Bristol snapped loose on the entry to turn one and slapped the guard rail.  I had just gone a lap down to the leaders as Bristol  spun and picked up the Lucky Dog.

Curtis and Hernly were still dueling on lap 39, when It became Curtis’ turn to spin.  His car got loose on the exit of turn two and executed a slow spin down the inside of the back straight. He made only slight contact with the inside wall at the very end, and continued on, none the worse for wear.
 
Shortly after the restart, Bristol because the victim of a computer glitch and got disqualified from the race. He disappeared from the track right in the middle of turn four on lap 46.  When lap 49 came along, Hernly, who had regained the lead, slid way up the track entering turn two. This opened the door for Phil Loedeman in the No.0, who easily drover underneath Hernly’s No.64 to take the point.

The final caution waved on lap 55 when Curtis tagged the guardrail and then made contact with the No.59 of Mark Howland.  Howland’s car was in good shape, but Curtis lost 2 laps while in the pits for repairs. The race ran under green for the remaining 50 laps. Loedeman was the class of the field, putting about tenth of a second per lap between him and second place Hernly. 

On the white flag lap, Hernly clipped the apron and went up the track making hard contact with the guardrail. This opened the door for Mark Howland in the No.59 to cross the line in second, with yours truly taking the No.73 across the line in 3rd.

MCT-SRL Wabash Race Results

MCT-SRL Standings after 12 of 14 Races