Mechanical Woes Bookend Strong Qualifing Effort

June 6th, 2011 - Gibson Motorsports returned to Flamboro Speedway on Saturday night to resume the first leg of the Grisdale Triple Crown, which was chased off the track by rain two weeks prior. The team's anticipation for a strong finish turned to concern when the engine slowly laboured to lift prior to the start of the race. Little did the team know that the engine's lethargic behaviour would become an omen for a difficult evening at the track.

Starting near the rear of the field, Scott quickly passed several cars until forced to take an evasive manoeuvre to avoid an accident after only a handful of laps. Although he was able to avoid contact, the hot engine stalled and failed to reignite. Without a push-truck on call to help restart the Gibson Motorsports entry, a dejected driver returned to the pits on the back of a flatbed truck. The crew quickly sprung into action, but was unable to find a quick fix and were forced to become spectators for the rest of the event. Congratulations to Shawn Chenoweth for winning the first round of the Triple Crown. After all other scenarios had been ruled out; a failing starter was isolated as the likely culprit. But without a spare starter at the track, the team would have to get by with what they had for the rest of the night.

After charging the battery and resetting the timing to place less strain on the starter, the #88 Gibson Motorsports entry started the qualifying heat from the pole position. After falling back to fourth while being cautious during the opening laps, Scott was able to keep pace with the lead duo of Jason Lancaster and Gary Elliott, finishing third in the qualifying heat. After building heat in the tires, the car handled very well with only a slight push through the centre of the corners. A small air pressure adjustment was made prior to the feature, increasing the stagger at the rear of the car.

The Gibson Motorsports entry paced the field from the pole position at the start of the 30 lap feature but lost several positions in the opening laps. On the fifth circuit, Scott did not accelerate as quickly as the #56 Kubota sponsored car of Jeff Stewart, which resulted in contact and the #88 spinning toward the infield. The contact was not Jeff's fault, as Scott was being overly-cautious in the opening laps while getting a better feel for the car's capabilities.

With the risk of the race ending if the engine stalled, Scott's attention turned to keeping the engine running, pointing the car in the right direction and rejoining the chase. However, when the clutch was released quickly, the shear pin in the rear mini-spool broke ending the night for the Gibson Motorsports entry. For the second time that evening, Scott returned to the pits on the back of a flatbed truck.

After disassembling the broken differential, parts were ordered to put the wounded car back together. The team will not compete in this weekend's races at Flamboro Speedway due to other commitments, but hopes to test prior to the second instalment of the Grisdale Triple Crown on July 2nd. An updated schedule will be posted on the website when finalized.