By: Joe Burrage
Racing with the World of Outlaws gives every driver a very unique opportunity to run at various tracks across the United States. Chad Kemenah is one of those drivers that certainly have seen his fair share of tracks over the years but racing on the west coast has been very difficult for him since joining the World of Outlaws in 2005.
Over the past couple of weeks Kemenah has been turning in some solid finishes and the qualifying effort has been a lot better. After the Knoxville Nationals Kemenah was able to grab a fifth and sixth place finish in Mandan, North Dakota, then the CKR Team traveled to Edmonton, Alberta Canada where he was able to finish in the 10th position. Making the long trip to Cottage Grove, Oregon Kemenah was feeling pretty confident himself and the car before the action began on the very tricky ¼ mile bullring.
“Making the Knoxville Nationals was huge for this whole operation because we have struggled all year,” said Kemenah. “Adam and I have worked really hard on this car and finish fifth and sixth at Mandan gave us an extra boost going into Edmonton and we were able to bring home a 10th place finish, so were getting closer and closer every night. The west coast has been a challenge for me for awhile but I think it’s time to change all of that with some good solid finishes because I really racing on the west coast.”
The Cottage Grove Speedway is one of the most intense ¼ mile bullrings in the country and some of the best racing takes place on this action packed track. Kemenah would finish in the fourth position in the first heat race to transfer to the A-Main. Starting in the 13th position for the feature Kemenah knew the first couple of laps were going to be tough with the track conditions very narrow and fast. Kemenah would run in the 13th position for most the race until late in the feature where the No.63 sprinter would become very tight and almost impossible to steer, the end result would see Kemenah cross the finish line in the 19th position.
On Friday night Kemenah was back in action at the Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington. The Skagit Speedway is another track that has haunted Kemenah for the past couple of years and he has no idea why. Kemenah would start the night off in the right direction by finishing fifth in the fourth heat race of the night. From there Kemenah and crew member Adam Brough discussed what they wanted to do for the feature and the Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks, Hampshire Engines, MS Motorsports, Maxim was ready for the feature event. Kemenah would stay clear of trouble for the entire feature en route to finishing in the 18th position.
Saturday night was a new night for CKR Team and with $20,000 on the line for winner Kemenah was calm and focused before the racing action started. Starting sixth his heat race Kemenah was able to grab the fifth and final transfer spot into the 40-Lap, A-Main event later in the evening. With the weather very cool out Kemenah made a few changes to the car for the feature event hoping the car would respond.
Starting in the 19th position Kemenah would get a great start and pass two cars coming out of turn four on the first lap. From the Kemenah would run very smooth and consistent laps while passing cars here and there on the high banked 3/10 mile. The Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks No.63 machine was getting faster and faster as the race went on. On the final lap of the race Kemenah pulled even with Kerry Madsen for the 10th position but was unable to the Australian driver. Kemenah would cross the finish line in the 11th position.
“We had a really good car tonight, I was hoping the setup would have kicked in a few laps earlier but overall we were pretty good,” said Kemenah. “Every time we have come out here to race we struggle and I have no idea why, if we can run like this on Monday night in Elma, Washington I would be really happy. The Gold Cup is coming up soon and I would really like to have some momentum going into that race that’s for sure, but we will take it one race at a time and see what happens.”
