Spring Update March 2019
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Spring Update March 2019 The #86 pro late model team have been busy since the end of the 2018 season as they tackled updating their 2013 perimeter chassis to a new straight rail chassis. During the 2018 season, the #86 team was one of the few; if not the only team that was running the old chassis design and although they consistently finished in the top-10 since venturing into the pro late model class, they decided that the older technology was holding them back from breaking into the top-5 on a consistent basis. Discussions started late last summer with Mike McColl from McColl Racing Enterprises to come up with a budget and schedule that would see Mike’s team from London and the #86 team join forces to make the chassis upgrade as economical as possible at the end of the season. After going through the details on how much of the existing bolt on parts could be used, Mike’s team went to work fabricating the steel that would be put on his jig for welding as the Spira team went to work dismantling the old car. With the parts removed, cleaned and serviced, the team took them to London where they joined the MRE team to jointly assemble them on the new chassis. Once assembled enough to load in the trailer, the car was returned to the shop for final assembly and ensure that everything would fit without any issues. There were more than a few hiccups along the way but the team was able to overcome the obstacles and once confident that they were finished, modified their jigs for the front bumper, back bumper and side rails that were considerably different from last years. After making spare parts, the car was completely disassembled once again in order to get the chassis painted at Durose Manufacturing in Guelph where they applied the two part grey epoxy primer from Korzite Paints, also from Guelph, that is very strong and has a powder coat like finish that can easily be touched up with the Plasti-Kote Federal Grey as it is a perfect match. After paint, the chassis was brought back to the shop for final assembly and then a final trip was scheduled to MRE for late January, where the car was put onto their surface plate to go through the geometry to ensure that they would have a good baseline setup to start the season. After a 12 hour day with the team working with Paul from MRE, the car complete and returned to the shop for the final time, both under budget and ahead of schedule. With the chassis complete, the crew spent their time making up spare body panels and preparing them for paint with the familiar green provided by TSS Top Shops Body Supplies from Barrie as well as going through the entire car to document the detailed locations of everything, modify any spare parts to suit and do a bolt check on the entire car before their first scheduled test day at Flamboro Speedway on April 20th. Prior to getting on the track, the team are planning on having the body panels painted complete with their sponsor decals installed so that pictures can be taken for the 2019 hero cards that will be handed out during the autograph sessions scheduled throughout the season. In addition to again running the full APC United Late Model Series schedule, Billy and team have also decided to run for the NASCAR Pro Late Series championship at Sauble Speedway in 2019. Billy has plenty of experience at the track as he won the mini stock track championship at Sauble back in 2014. Samantha Shaw and her father Randy have been busy preparing the #81 mini stock for their return to Sunset Speedway where Samantha will again focus on the points championship. After coming so close last season, Samantha is hungry and determined to come out on top next season. With the car in relatively good shape from last year, the focus has been on replacing body panels and refreshing the engine. Along with the regular season at Sunset, Samantha plans on running two mini stock invitational events this summer at both Sauble Speedway and the fast 5/8 mile track at Jukasa Motor Speedway with both events being run in conjunction with the APC Series. With Erik Dalla Riva selling the #86 mini stock after winning the season ending Frostoberfest invitational at Flamboro Speedway in 2018, Erik has joined forces with Billy’s brother Rich as they team up to run for the points championship at Flamboro in 2019. Both drivers have spent a considerable amount of time working on the #72 mini stock that started off with a new front clip that was required due to the wreck that Rich was involved in at Frostoberfest. With the new front clip installed, Erik and Rich went to work on making all new body panels and refreshing the engine for the upcoming season. The two drivers will also be travelling to other tracks such as Full Throttle Motor Speedway and Sunset Speedway as well as Sauble Speedway and Jukasa Motor Speedway where they will join Samantha for the mini stock invitational events that coincide with the APC Series. Along with sharing the driving duties, Erik and Rich have committed to a mentorship program this season as they bring 13-year old Cole Quinto on board to introduce him to the mini stock class. Cole has and will continue to run a go-kart at Flamboro; however, he is looking to advance to a mini stock in the near future and the #72 team have agreed to help him get his feet wet by getting him some seat time during Tuesday night practice sessions as well as being with them on race nights and in the shop to get him familiar with the workings, setup and adjustments on the car. After solving the challenges involved with changing the car over to suit driver changes such as lead placement, different seats and steering wheel locations to suite the size difference between the three, the #72 should be ready to go for the April 20th practice session at Flamboro Speedway. We are proud to welcome back our sponsors for the 2019 season including Hy-Grade Steel Roofing, Spira Fire Protection, Cambridge Source for Sports, Dominion Sure Seal, Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers, Fleet Image, Guelph Wish Fund for Children, GUNK Company of Canada, Lucas Oil Products, National Fire Equipment, Northern Ice, NUCO, Schwartzenburg Haulage, Sunvale Homes, TSS Top Shops Auto Body Supplies, Victaulic Company of Canada, Vinnie’s Mr. Fix-It, Wix Filters, and Woseley Canada. The Spira Racing team would like to take this time to recognize one of their former teammates who is accomplishing great things south of the border. Scott Simmons, who originally hails from Cambridge, recently won the 2019 Daytona 500 as the tire specialist on Denny Hamlin’s #11 team with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Scott originally started with ThorSport Racing out of Sandusky, Ohio and the #88 of Matt Crafton in what is now the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. After a few years with ThorSport, Scott made the jump to the big show as he joined the #78 of Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing in Colorado. Winning a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with the #78, Scott made the move to North Carolina and Joe Gibbs Racing after Furniture Row Racing ceased operations at the end of the 2018 season. Congratulations Scott! The 2019 season is scheduled to kick off on Saturday April 27th as Samantha heads to Sunset Speedway for opening night. The front gates open at 3:30 PM with racing getting underway at 5:00 PM. Erik and Rich will make their season debuts at Flamboro Speedway the following weekend on Saturday May 4th for opening night. The front gates open at 5:00 PM with racing getting underway at 6:00 PM. Billy will make his season debut on Saturday May 18th at Sunset Speedway as the 2019 APC Series gets underway. Attached is a copy of our tentative schedule for the rest of the 2019 season and it can also be found on our website at www.spiraracing.ca. .