RSRA MARL at Mosport- Week 5

8/7/2019 RSRA MARL at Mosport- Week 5

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/rsra-marl-at-mosport-week-5 1/8

ON-LINE RACER

MAGAZINEMARL round 5

This week the Mid AtlanticRacing League made its first

venture north of the border to

run the sole road course race of

the 2011 season (three). While

there were two Canadian

drivers on the circuit, it was

Tennessee's own Trae Forsythe

that had everyone talking...Trae

has had success at Mosport in

both the Mustang Challengeseries as well as MARL’s own

impromptu practice event that

came about as a result of the

postponed New Hampshire race

in season two. Naturally Trae

was fast in practice and

qualifying but it would be a

Canadian driver on pole after

all, with Mike Swanson setting

the time to beat followed byForsythe, Scott Burlovich and

Ricky VanWhy. Series title

contender Kevin Myers was not

able to complete the race

distance, however the Radicals

team cunningly had their driver

‘start-and-park’ for points and

Myers was credited with 5th

place for his two lap effort. The

fireworks came early, asForsythe and Burlovich hounded

Swanson right from the drop of

M A R L ta ck le s M o sp o rt



the green. Using every inch of race

track, the Orange Crush machine

pushed Swanson hard sticking his

nose in at every opportunity hoping to

force the leader to make a mistake.

On lap two Trae pulled to the outside

exiting turn #8, aiming at the inside of

turn #9 forcing Swanson to miss his

apex. With a shallow approach to turn

#10 Swanson lost straightaway speedand Forsythe pulled into the lead just

past the start-finish line. In an

attempt to pull away early Forsythe

ran hard, perhaps a little too hard.

Between turns #4 and #5a the #4 car

pilot downshifted a little too early,

and a resulting puff of smoke alerted

the other drivers that Trae was having

engine problems as he pulled off the

course. Fortunately for Trae, his teamwas able to quickly shim the rocker

arms for the offending cylinder and

Trae was able to rejoin the race;

Forsythe was able to soldier on to a

2nd place finish. Meanwhile,

Swanson’s challenge wasn’t over as

Scott Burlovich aimed to make it a 1-2

finish for the Canuks....and he wanted

it to be the Butterfly Communications

Chevy in 1st. Scott pressuredSwanson for many laps before Mike

was able to slowly increase his

advantage, and a mild spin in turn 5b

by Burlovich finally gave the #5 car

the breathing room it needed. As all

this transpired, VanWhy elected to run

a modest pace, hoping to capitalize

on mistakes made by the hard-

charging leaders. His strategy paid off

somewhat; while VanWhy himself hadseveral off-course excursions and

many pit repairs, he was still credited



with 3rd finishing position after a hard

crash by Burlovich into the turn #2 tire

barrier forced him to withdraw from

the event. Burlovich finished 4th. As

the race unfolded, Swanson fell into a

rhythm, while Forsythe focused on

staying on the lead lap to reward his

pit crew’s fast action getting his car

back on the track. The WestJet Chevy

would lead every lap for the secondrace in a row, and a Canadian would

win at Mosport after all. Forsythe

brought his ailing Monte Carlo home in

an astonishing 2nd place on the lead

lap after his engine woes and a quick

spin late in the race in turn #4. After

the race we caught up to Trae to ask

about his engine troubles: “ Well, I

knew if I got by Mike I’d have to gap

him early...and I was just trying toohard. Really the engine should have

been able to handle the revs, so after

the race we did fire the engine builder.

I really have to thank my pit crew for

their quick action disabling that

cylinder; I can’t believe we were able

to stay on the lead lap!” As for

Swanson’s view of the race; “Well, I

couldn’t believe the pace early. I was

planning on letting the tires heat upbefore I pushed it but Trae and Scott

were having none of that. I was doing

too much mirror driving and when Trae

dove inside on turn nine I missed my

apex. After about lap 15 I was finally

able to find the rhythm we had during

practice and settled in for a good

pace.” Next the series returns to the

short tracks, with a visit to USA

Speedway. All the current drivers onthe circuit have something to prove as

the series returns to short track



most notably Kevin Myers. Having

finished out of the top three for the

first time at Mosport, Myers also has

back-to-back USA race losses to

avenge. In season one KJM ran out of

fuel while leading late in the race,

handing the win over to Swanson. In

season two, nearly an identical

outcome occurred. Kevin assures us

he won’t be running out of fuel nextweek. Ricky VanWhy has hopes that a

return to short track racing will

enable his return to victory lane,

having handily won at Martinsville

earlier this season as well as a strong

run during the USA race in season

two. Scott Burlovich, known as a

“short track ace” looks to re-assert

himself as a short track menace and a

championship threat. After severaldisappointing road course starts

(which he feels are his best chance to

win), Trae Forsythe is still looking for

that first win. After his pole position

and laps led at Lanier, perhaps it can

come at a short track after all. And

finally for Swanson, a chance to win

at USA without fuel mileage being the

‘decider’ would be welcome. -CRN



Team Radicals start-and-park for points Trae digs hard

Not letting Swanson get away Scott lets it all hang out



The Canadian contingent Swanson gaps Burlovich

Turn #2 claims a victim VanWhy gets pit repairs



Race Stats: Pole winner: Mike Swanson 1:25.149

Laps led: Mike Swanson 45

Cautions: 0

Caution laps: 0

Lead changes: 0

Finishing Order:

1-Mike Swanson

2-Trae Forsythe

3-Ricky VanWhy

4-Scott Burlovich

5-Kevin Myers

RSRA MARL at Mosport- Week 5

Documents

Transcript of RSRA MARL at Mosport- Week 5