By: Joe Burrage
Bulls Gap, TN. – (March 21, 2011) – Last weekend in Texas nothing went right for Chad Kemenah, well what a difference a week can make. Kemenah made the long tow home to Findlay, Ohio where his family was waiting for him to come home and the visit was much deserved as he got to spend time with his wife and kids.
“We did not have the weekend we were looking for in Texas,” said Kemenah. “We left Houston right away to come home and regroup get things figured out. Cale and I have been on the road for awhile and this was the perfect opportunity for us to go home for a few days and spend time with our families and get our mind off of racing for a couple days.”
The home cooking certainly paid off for Kemenah and Powers after their weekend at the Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee. Kemenah and expert wrench and engine builder Bob Hampshire got the Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks No.63 in tip top fashion for the first night of racing. Qualifying has been an area of concern for Kemenah so far in 2010 and on Friday night Kemenah timed in 12th overall, giving him a front row starting position in Heat Race No.4, where he would end up finishing in the fourth position.
After the heat races were completed Kemenah, Powers and Bob Hampshire continued to work on the No.63 sprinter as the night progressed. With the 35-Lap feature drawing near the changes were made to the car and Kemenah was pushed off for battle. Starting in the 15th position Kemenah had plenty of time to make his way forward and grab a top-ten finish.
The Green lights quickly came on around the high banked Volunteer Speedway and Kemenah was able to find a good racing line in the middle of the speedway in the early stages of the race to advance a couple of positions. It didn’t take long for Kemenah to settle into a groove as he started to make his way forward just shy of the half way point of the feature. From there Kemenah had worked his way up to the 11th position before electrical problems started slow him down. Battling electrical problems in the final stages of the race Kemenah was able to bring home a 15th place finish after the 35-Lap feature was completed.
“We had a good run going tonight but the electrical problems got us late in the feature,” said Kemenah. “Tom and Fran Chiappelli are down here this weekend to watch us race and we really want to have a good showing for them and all of our loyal sponsors. I thought we could have had a chance at the top ten tonight but we came up short. We made some changes to the car and it responded really nice so I am looking forward to Saturday night.”
Night Two
Heading into Saturday night’s finale at the Volunteer Speedway, Chad Kemenah was feeling pretty good after his Friday night finish. As the anxious race fans slowly filled the grandstands Kemenah would come out in qualifying and time in third quick overall giving him an excellent shot at making the Dash later in the evening.
As the cool evening progressed right along Kemenah would finish in the third position in his heat race just missing a birth in the Dash later in the night but the veteran driver was still very confident he could make his way forward and grab a solid finish after the 35-Lap, A-Main was completed. After a huge firework display for the traditional World of Outlaws parade lap, Kemenah was ready to race.
When Kemenah took the green flag he maintained his position for the first lap and quickly settled into a rhythm where he consistently hit his marks on the track allowing him to keep pace with the lead pack just ahead of him. The track was very hard to pass on and Kemenah continued to be patient waiting for an opening to move forward.
Kemenah would continue to run in the 12th position until late in the race where the car started feel good. Kemenah would continue to run the cushion in turns one and two, middle to bottom lines in turns three and four. In the closing stages of the feature Kemenah would get trapped behind Bill Rose for nearly three laps before Kemenah executed a perfect slide job on the No. 6R sprinter and Kemenah set his sites on 10th place runner Donny Schatz. Just as Kemenah caught Schatz the checkered flag would hit the speedway leaving Kemenah in the 11th position.
“We a good car tonight, I just could not get by Bill Rose towards the end of the race,” said Kemenah. “I was trying everything I could to catch Donny Schatz those last couple of laps but came up short. The qualifying effort this weekend was much better than last weekend and hopefully from here on out we can be consistent in that area. I have to thank Tom and Fran Chiappelli for coming down here this weekend to watch us race, last weekend Mark Stockinger was at both Texas races with us and this weekend Tom and Fran were here and it’s great to have their support and encouragement to this team. We will go back home and visit our families and hopefully in a couple of weeks we can get our first top five of the season.”
The Sponsors: Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks, Hampshire Racing Engines, Maxim Chassis, MS Motorsports, Kears Speed Shop, Champion Racing XP Performance Lubricants, Bell, Awesome Racewear, Pro Shocks, Banshee Graphics, SSE Helmet Designs, ButlerBuilt Motorsports Equipment, TP Wings, Winters Performance Products, Media Camping Center, Real Racing Wheels, All-Star Performance, KSE Racing Products, Inc., Chiappelli Motorsports.
