Koens Racing Team (KRT)

My Ode to Racin'

2012-01-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Got my hand on a wrench
time to get dirty
tighten all the bolts
but not in a hurry

Got the car all clean
looks much faster
bad to the bone
avoid the disaster

Smelling the fuel,
burn in the air
that feelin I get
just cant compare

Strapped in the car
ready to rumble
no friends out there
no time to be humble

Turning left
and going fast
start in the rear
got cars to pass

the Hoosiers are stickin'
doughnuts on the door
the holley is flowin
got the throttle on the floor

We might rub as I pass
the cars I been chasin'
but as they say
Rubbin' is Racin'

The caution is out
time to regroup
dont let em catch me
or throw me for a loop

Out front in the lead
white flag is out
dont use the mirror
one more I shout

Pull into victory lane
havin' great fun in my life
celebrate with the crew
and my smokin' hot wife

Today was the best
came home with a win
back to the shop
and do it all again!

by Wade Koens 2012

Sponsor commits to another year with Koens Racing Team!

2012-01-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

The Oregon State Fair has given a verbal commitment today to return as an associate sponsor on the #28 Super Late Model car driven by Wade Koens, continuing a great partnership between Koens Racing Team and the OSF.

We are very excited to have OSF back on the car for another run at the DCS Championship in 2012. Hopefully we can put them back in victory lane this season!

Thanks to all of our fans that visit the Oregon State Fair each summer and mention Koens Racing Team! We appreciate the support...look for an exciting concert ticket giveaway contest later this summer. These tickets will be for a major concert at the Oregon State Fair in 2012. Musical groups will be announced in June/July. Last year it was Selena Gomez and ZZ Top the year before that!

New Class Sponsor for Super Late Models in 2012

2011-12-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Umpqua Armory has signed on with the Pacific Racing Association as the Super Late Model class sponsor for the upcoming 2012 season.

We are excited to have such a great sponsor for our class and want to extend a warm welcome to Umpqua Armory. I am confident that our loyal fans in Douglas County will support your business. Umpqua Armory sells many hunting items including, scopes, rifles, bow & arrows, etc...A great partnership fit for our sport here in Douglas County!

The Umpqua Armory Super Late Models expect around 10 races at Douglas County Speedway in 2012.

Welcome new sponsor for 2012!

2011-12-21T08:58:00.000-08:00

Koens Racing is happy to announce an addition to their racing family. ITS has come on board as a primary sponsor for the 2012 racing season on the #28 Super Late Model. "We are thrilled to have ITS and its staff join our team for the upcoming 2012 season and hopefully for years after as well", said Wade Koens, driver of the #28 Super Late Model. "We look forward to our first victory together!", he continued.

ITS or Invictus Technical Solutions was originally based out of Las Vegas and has recently found a new home here in Roseburg, Oregon. ITS provides leading technical expertise in support of Government and Commercial customers.

Spotter needed this weekend!

2011-09-15T14:18:00.001-07:00

I am seeking a volunteer spotter/crewman for the race this weekend in Roseburg. Please have some experience with both. My normal spotter, Dave, is in the hospital and cant make it.

Please contact me at;
wade@rv-center.net
541-680-2517 cell

Thanks!

#28 back to victory lane!

2011-08-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming but the #28 has finally made it back to the winner's circle. After winning 5 times in 2008, the #28 Pepsi Max Chevy Impala SS has come out on top once again.

The day started with Wade Koens posting the fastest lap during qualifying with a 15.37 lap.

During the 50 lap main event, the #28 spun twice early but recovered and was able to hold off Kyle Pope's #72 late model for the victory.

Next race is September 10th in Roseburg and September 17th for the first back-to-back of the season. Should be interesting.

July 2nd Race Recap @ Roseburg

2011-08-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

It was a great day for racing! 4th of July weekend. Fans packing the grandstands. One of my favorite sponsors...The Oregon State Fair was on site and we had a nice field of 16 late models!
During practice we saw Harlan Koens in his KRT#18 Amp Chevy Impala SS with the 6th fastest lap at 15.65 and Wade Koens in his KRT #28 Pepsi Max Chevy Impala with the 4th fastest lap at 15.56. A good start for both cars but we needed more speed.

Qualifying brought both KRT cars good runs. Harlan Koens placed 6th fastest with a 15.56 and Wade Koens nabbed his career best qualifying run at Roseburg posting the 2nd fast time of the day with a 15.33.
Between the fastest lap time by Kyle Pope at 15.22 and the 11th fastest lap time by Chris Oddo at 15.74, only 1/2 second separated these 11 cars!

After qualifying both KRT cars made their way through the parking lot and over to the main gate to visit with our friends from The Oregon State Fair at their display. Both KRT drivers spent about 1/2 an hour speaking with fans, handing out T-Shirts, pens, hats and other fun stuff and signing autographs. This is the 2nd year we have done this with The Oregon State fair folks and look forward to next year! Please make sure you visit the exciting Oregon State Fair in Salem this year and tell them Koens Racing Team sent ya! ;-) They are a fantastic sponsor and partner with KRT and their commitment to us does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!!

The trophy dash was uneventful for the #28 car. Keeping an eye on the prize at the end of the day, Wade Koens reduced his pace during this 4 lap race and finished 3rd.

The great expectations for both KRT cars on this day started to dwindle during the 8 lap heat race. Both cars began to struggle to reach optimum speeds, losing grip and relegating the #28 car to 5th and the #18 car to 7th in the 7 car field.

The 50 lap main event was sure to bring better results than the heat race did for both KRT cars...unfortunately it was more of the same. Harlan Koens lost all of his brakes in his #18 Amp Chevy and retired on lap 22. Wade Koens lost all of his grip after lap 25 and actually spun out going into turn 1 and was narrowly missed from the traffic behind him. The #28 Pepsi Max Chevy finished a disappointing 9th, one lap down. It is now known that the right rear tire on the #28 car was cut and losing air making it very difficult to keep up with the pack.

To view the incar camera video of this 50 lap race from Wade's #28 car, please click here.

Wade Koens missed the July 30th race due to prior obligations, so the upcoming race on August 27th at Roseburg will be his first since the July 2nd debacle. Harlan Koens was able to enter the July 30th race and went on to a 6th place finish in that 50 lap main event!

Both drivers at KRT are excited about the race on August 27th and look forward to bringing home a 1-2 finish for KRT!

The Oregon State Fair is coming...!!!

2011-06-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Once again The Oregon State Fair promotional tour will be visiting the Douglas County Speedway this Saturday, July 2nd from 3:00pm - 6:30pm! Their display will be setup just inside the main entrance.

Both KRT drivers, Wade Koens and Harlan Koens, will be making a brief appearance with their cars immediately after qualifying (approx 4:45pm) for a fan meet-n-greet and to support The Oregon State Fair. There will be great prizes for fans including t-shirts, Oregon State Fair admission and Cheap Trick concert tickets!

For more information on the 2011 Oregon State Fair promotional tour dates, please visit their site at http://oregonstatefair.org/big-deals/promotional-tours

As always, please visit The Oregon State Fair this summer and tell them KRT sent you!

See you at the races!!!

View lap times online!

2011-06-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Go to http://www.mylaps.com/ to view laps times from Douglas County Speedway late model races.

For the June 4th lap times of all late model events go to www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1933357

Results from June 4th race in Roseburg

2011-06-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

The #28 Oregon State Fair Chevy Impala SS nabbed a Top 3 finish for the second race in a row for the 2011 season.

After two sub par practice sessions, the #28 came to life during its qualifying run, posting a 15.3 second lap time. The fastest time of 15.0 posted by Kyle Pope, set the bar for the night. Wade Koens, in the #28 car finished a strong 2nd in the trophy dash but during the fast heat race the car experienced the front end rubbing the track on corner entry, disrupting the handling just enough to finish 7th.

The 50 lap Super Late Model main event was eventful. The #28 had multiple close-calls of wrecks directly in front of him. Koens was able to maneuver past by driving into the infield during one wreck and taking quick, evasive actions through the pit area during another wreck keeping the #28 car in the hunt for the win. Unfortunately, this night the #28 was a 3rd place car at best and took home the second consecutive 3rd place finish for the season.

We look forward to the July 2nd race in Roseburg, as our very supportive sponsor, The Oregon State Fair, comes in for their yearly visit! We hope to put a KRT car in victory lane while our friends from OSF are here. Look for our KRT #18 & #28 cars to visit the OSF booth exhibit inside the main gates immediately after qualifying for a fan meet-n-greet and a chance for you to win Cheap Trick tickets and T-Shirts!

See you at the races and the Oregon State Fair!!

First practice session of 2011

2011-04-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

We will have both Koens Racing Team cars on the track this Saturday, April 23rd for the first practice session of the 2011 season! We hope to learn from the changes made to both cars. Fans are welcome to come out to the Douglas County Speedway to watch the cars. This is a rare opportunity for the fans to have access to the pit area for free. All ages are welcome...gates open at 10am and close at 6pm. Weather permitting, or course. See you there!

First race of 2011 is coming fast!

2011-02-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

The first race of the year for KRT is fast approaching. Slated for April 9th at Shasta Racepark in Anderson, California we are now only 6 weeks away from the first green of the season!

Both KRT cars, #18 & #28 have some modifications coming in the next couple of weeks. The #18 will get a new body installed and some other nice additions to that car by our buddy Jon Wishon. Jon will also be adding some nice changes to the #28.

Look for both cars to be front running everywhere we race in 2011!

If you would like contact information for Jon, we would be happy to provide that to you. He is an excellent mechanic, body man, front geometry and racing in general person to have in your corner. Not to mention he is a proven winning race car chief/crew chief, a dealer for fivestar bodies and Pryotect safety equipment! Oh and he even works on golf carts! Thanks Jon!

Sponsor commits to 2011!

2010-11-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

Koens Racing Team is happy to announce that the Oregon State Fair (OSF) will be back again as an associate sponsor with Koens Racing for the 2011 season!

Without the support from our sponsors, we would not be able to enjoy the sport like we do! As always, we look forward to working with the OSF during the season. Our goal is to help promote the OSF and get them into victory lane! Look for the OSF at a race in Roseburg again in 2011...I'm sure they will have some great prizes on hand!!

Thanks again Oregon State Fair!

Welcome New Sponsor for 2011!

2010-10-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

Blue Ox Manufacturing based in Pender, NE., maker of the most dependable RV towing products in the industry has joined forces with Koens Racing Team for the upcoming 2011 race season! We are very excited to have Blue Ox on board as an associate sponsor and appreciate the support our fans will surely direct to their products.

You might recognize Blue Ox in the NASCAR scene as they also have sponsorships involved there. Some recent sponsorships for 2010 include Kenny Wallace's #28 Nationwide car. In addition, Blue Ox is the main corporate RV Park/campground sponsor at many of the NASCAR tracks throughout the United States!

Kamper Korner RV Center has been proudly installing and selling the Blue Ox brand since 1999. Blue Ox is focused on winning...just like Koens Racing Team!

Please visit their site at www.blueox.us Drop them a note and tell them you heard about them from Koens Racing!

Race results from 5-15-2010

2010-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

I missed the first of two practice sessions but my car was handling fine in the session that I was able to make. We had tightened the car up a bit in the shop because of the heat and probable loose conditions on the surface.

Qualifying: We had a 15.57 lap time which put us 5th fast out of 16 cars. The 2nd fastest car had a 15.52, so we were right in the mix!

Fast Heat: One of the best races I have ever been involved in! I started in 4th place outside row 2. After green flag dropped, I tried to hang around on the outside but was slipping back quickly. After the 2nd lap, my car was changing for the better. My grip on the outside increased and I was able to hang on to my 6th place position and actually move ahead of the 5th place car on the outside. Then I methodically moved up positions all on the outside until I finally reached 1st place with one lap to go. I was able to secure the victory and hear how great a race it was to watch! Ha, even better to be in!

Main Event: The race was fairly uneventful for me. At the start I was trying to pass a car on the outside for the lead but we ended up going 3 wide into turn 1 and I had to lift. This started the freightrain for me being stuck on the outside and I must have wound up somewhere around 10th place or so. After a quick caution flag, I was moving up. Near lap 25 after another caution I tried my best to give the leader a challenge. I restarted on the outside only to fall back to 2nd directly behind the leader. I tried to keep up but my car developed a push that just didnt let me catch the leader. I ended up finishing 2nd behind David Miller. David was very fast and drove a clean race. Congratulations to him and his crew!

Our next race is May 29th at DCS. Hope to see you there!

Sorry, no incar video from this last race. My camera wasn't turned on properly.

Results from 4-24-2010 race

2010-04-30T16:22:00.001-07:00

Well, it was a great day for racing. Some blue skies and pleasant temperatures in high 60s! I didnt get to the track until around 3:30p so I was only going to make 1 practice session. It went well. The car was a little loose so we made a change for our qualifying attempt. 16 cars qualified and I ended up 5th fast with a 15.6. The car was still loose so we again made an adjustment in preparation for the heat race. I finished 4th in the heat and again the car was still loose and now the motor was acting a little odd.

For the main event we had 14 cars lined up ready for action. We got off to a fast start and climbed to 3rd position by lap 5 and then in the middle of turn 1 & 2 the #88 got into my left rear and spun me in front of the entire pack of cars! Luckily, no one made contact with me and we were able to regroup and get ready for the restart. I was placed in last place because I was involved in the wreck but the #88 got to move up to 3rd place! Interesting call there...Anyway, after the restart we were moving through traffic on the outside and was nearly involved in a pileup in turn 3! We were able to escape that accident without a scratch as well! Whew! There were many yellow flags and even a red flag for Jim Brock's tranny explosion and subsequent fire. He was unhurt and the fire was extinguished quickly on its own. The track was a mess however and it took quite awhile to clean it all up. On the restart I decided to take the high lane to 2nd place. On the green, I wasnt able to keep good grip on the outside with the fresh kitty-litter and fell to 4th place which is where I finished. My car had an exhaust leak somewhere and I had some huge fireballs coming out of the tailpipe and some pretty loud backfires too! During our preliminary inspection Wednesday night, we found that the left side header had a large gap in it. It has already been pulled off and welded. I would assume we were down some HP because of this leak and look forward to full power next race!

I have some great in-car camera videos posted on youtube including this race! My youtube website http://www.youtube.com/user/wadekoe

Thanks again to Diet Pepsi, Kamper Korner RV Center, Mahalo Heating & Air, Ferrellgas & Oregon State Fair. Your support is much appreciated. The next race is May 15th...see you all then!

Practice session from April 10th, 2010

2010-04-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well we finally got the #28 Diet Pepsi Impala out on the track for the first time in 2010! The first session out I basically shook the bugs out, literally! Apparently after taking some lead out of the car we didnt realize that there was another piece still in the channel. As I went out on the track and picked up some speed, the lead fell out of the car and slid across the track. Oops! Glad it didnt get ya Heather! Anyways, we also had some smoke that later we figured out came from the exhaust because we had added new pakcing this winter and it was burning off the fuel on the packing.

Session #2 went great! The new setup seems to be workable. It was a bit loose off both turns but we addressed that with some slight changes and in session #3 it was fantastic!

We will work on some slight adjustments in the shop next week and then we should be good to go for the 1st race of the season!

Lots of late models are expected. Looking forward to that green flag!

Thanks again to our sponsors; Diet Pepsi, Kamper Korner RV Center, Ferrellgas, Oregon State Fair, Clint Newell Motors and Mahalo Heating & Air!

Keep an eye out for new in-car video action posted here after each race!

Practice Session 4-10-2010

2010-04-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

On April 10th, we will be loading up our cars and heading for the track! We are hoping to see if all the winter changes will help or hurt the handling of the car. This is the last opportunity to test the car before the first race on April 24th. The practice is free for fans and visitors...so come out and see the cars up close. This opportunity doesn't come around very often!

Check back for an update from the practice day.

New 2010 Sponsors

2010-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

2010 brings a fresh, new look for the #28 Chevy Impala SS with new colors and a new scheme. I would like to thank my newest sponsors. The Oregon State Fair, Ferrellgas, Mahalo Heating & Air I will run Diet Pepsi again and hopefully we can put them back into victory lane! These are exciting changes and I look forward to having a partnership with these companies for years to come. As usual, Kamper Korner RV Center is a major sponsor and supporter! If you are a fan of Koens Racing or just a fan of racing in general, please stop in and patronize these sponsors...and tell them you saw 'em on my car!

Look for the new look #28 Super Late Model in April at the Douglas County Speedway! Kids, make sure you come to the pit area after each race for autographs and driver cards!

Is that racing exhaust I smell?

2010-02-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

As I sit here typing this blog, I realize that in about 7 weeks I will be loading the car up for the track. I remember as a kid getting my favorite scratch 'n sniff...gasoline! I scratched it so often that I eventually got splinters under my fingernail from the wood dresser that I had the sticker stuck to. Ahhhh the smell of gas just does it for me. Now grown up (sorta) I still get that same feeling while sitting in my racecar ready to roll out onto the track. If I could plumb the exhaust straight into my helmet, I would! When I was Christmas shopping at Macy's last year, I stumbled on a cologne called 'Diesel'. I was a little disappointed. They had the right concept, but the wrong fuel. O well, maybe they will read the letters I sent them and this year I will be able to finally purchase 'gas' or 'race fuel' or 'racetrack smells'. TBD.

I am excited for the new PRA and the many opportunities it brings our fans, drivers and sponsors. There is sooo much time going into this deal from soooo many great people! Basically, racing at DCS will change. Good change. A change that either happened when it did or we all watch a track be torn down and become conference buildings... and I don't EVER remember scratching a sticker that smelled like a meeting.

ASA iRacing.com 125 at DCS Aug 22, 2009

2009-08-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

From the ASA NWLMT website;

ASA NWLMT Pointed South for Roseburg Oregon

Marysville, WA (August 18, 2009): The iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour is ready for its only trip to Oregon. The Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, OR is bringing the Northwest’s only Super Late Model traveling series to town on Saturday Night August 22. The super fast 3/8-mile paved oval will play host to the best and fastest late model stock car drivers in the northwest.
A large field of drivers has pre-registered for the ‘K-DOCK Radio 125. The race is shaping up to pit the best series regular’s vs. North State Challenge Series and Local Big 5 Late Model racers. This event is the largest super late model race in the area in this season.
The points battle for the ASA NWLMT championship has three drivers headed south with a 19-point separation. The Northwest’s hottest driver Gary Lewis from Snohomish, WA currently leads the series by 5-points over E. Wenatchee, WA veteran Brent Harris. Kelly Mann of Monroe, WA is third 19-points in arrears.
Lewis has had a remarkable 4 year run in the northwest. Most recently the last 45 days are unmatchable. It started with a win at he Montana 200 (3 in a row) followed by a win of the Idaho 200 (3 in a row) and this past weekend the ARCA West MAC Series Can-Am 150 at Montana Raceway in Kalispell, MT. The Lewis team is ready for their final long journey of the season. “We’ve traveled a lot of miles this season and Roseburg is our final long distance event. I want to keep the streak going. The team is tired but dedicated to winning the ASA championship,” said a weary Lewis.
Both Harris and Mann have never made the trip to beautiful Southern Oregon. They each have a lot of experience on a 3/8-mile ovals and in a few laps of practice will have the tricky oval at DCS figured out. “With three races to go for the 2009 championship I do not have the luxury of having a bad race,” said a well rested Harris. “We took the last month off of racing in the special local events to get ready for the final three tour races.” Mann also sat out for the last month and has been slowly heading to the top of the points chart for the first ever iRacing.com ASA NWLMT championship.

A local driver that is in the running for the ASA NWLMT Port City Racecars ‘Rookie Challenge’ and in the top 10 in points is Alan Cress (Albany, OR). “I am really excited to run at my home track. We have traveled the furthest distance to all the ASA NWLMT races this season. DCS is a track that I have had success at.”

The new ASA Northwest Late Model Tour was formed during this past off season when the former Late Model Challenge Series and the Northwest Tour merged to form the Northwest’s only Super Late Model Touring Series.

Many of the top local Late Model racers are pre-entered including Dale Roth of Roseburg, OR who leads the Big 5 Late Model division at DCS. Chris Celorie is second in the Big 5 he is from Damascus, OR. Other locals entered are Wade Koens (Roseburg, OR), Paul Blake (Hillsboro, OR), Robert Hirschbock (Klamath Falls, OR) and Jeff Smith (West Linn, OR).
Many are making the trek north from California. Two former champions of the North State Challenge Series are entered. Mike Doss (Upper Lake, CA) and Howard Ford (Crescent City, CA) along with slew of others.

Three states and four series will be represented. The Big 5 series racers will have a race within the K-DOCK Radio 125. They will be running for their own points.

Who: iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour plus traveling series Outlaw Compacts/Mini Stock Invitational, Super Street Stocks, Hornets, and Lady/Jr Stingers.

What: K-DOCK Radio 125 (125-laps 3/8-mile oval) plus local classes

Where: Douglas County Speedway – Roseburg, OR at the Douglas County Fairgrounds

When: Saturday August 22, 2009 – Hot laps begin at 2:00pm with opening ceremonies scheduled for 6:30pm followed by dashes, heats last chance ASA NWLMT main if needed and mains culminating with the ASA NWLMT 125.

Registered drivers for the K-DOCK Radio 125 iRacing.com ASA Northwest Late Model Tour at Douglas County Speedway on Saturday August 22:

Brent Harris – E. Wenatchee, WA
Kelly Mann – Monroe, WA
Kyle Pope – Roseburg, OR
Jay Sauls – Puyallup, WA
Ricki Mackin – Eugene, OR
Chris Celorie – Damascus, OR
Martin Stanwood – Portland, OR
Amanda MacDonald* – Ephrata, WA
Brad Stanwood – Portland, OR
Doug Turner – Eugene, OR
Mike Doss – Upper Lake, CA
Dale Roth – Roseburg, OR
Randy Houston – Cottonwood, CA
Alan Cress* - Albany, OR
Kevin Ostern – Lucerne, CA
Gary Lewis – Snohomish, WA
Joey Tanner* - Portland, OR
Wade Koens – Roseburg, OR
Paul Blake – Hillsboro, OR
Mike Lovell – Willits, CA
Bobby Hirschbock – Klamath Falls, OR
Jeff Smith – West Linn, OR
Howard Ford – Crescent City, CA
Riley Watson – Roseburg, OR
Expected: David Miller, Keith Marson, Jeff Marson, Al Gibney and Josh Braudway
* Denotes Port City Racecars ‘Rookie Challenge’

Continuing the season 2009...

2009-08-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well, after thinking the season was over for us, we are contemplating running the ASA NW Tour race here at DCS on August 22nd. It is a big 125 lap show and is sure to have some of the best super late model drivers and equipment in the NW! The hesitation has been due to the incredible loss of dollars that this race will incur. How badly do we really wanna race? These races are also typically destruction derbys and we have had enough of that kinda luck in 2009 to last us 2 or 3 more seasons!

I doubt we will be highly competitive for the win or even a top 5 however, if we placed in the top 10 without going any laps down, I would be thrilled! My intention is to stay out of trouble. Stay out of the way. Keep the fenders clean. Earn some respect from the Tour drivers like last time they came to DCS. Load the car up and start doing winter maintenance in preparation for 2010 and whatever track(s) are available for late models.

Hopefully, we have a packed house and they are cheering on the local boys to victory!

I also would like to mention the terrible accident that Mr. Don Livermore was in at the track last Saturday August 8th. His street stock ended up going into the Torrid Turn 3 extention K barrier wall that should never have been placed there in the beginning anyways! Don broke his neck in the wreck and had surgery this week on it. He should make a full recovery! Nice job DCS...another near miss on the death chart for the turn 3 wall. I doubt the water barrels that you placed in front of the wall will make much difference and I dont wanna find out. I am still amazed that the County continues to allow this incredibly unsafe wall(s) to be there. Why the backstretch wall isnt extended all the way to the track entrance is beyond me. Spotters should be in the stands anyways. Just my opinion.

Race recap from 7-10-2009

2009-07-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well, what can I say? We were not very fast in qualifying or the heat race. Made some changes that got us up to speed in the main. Took the lead pretty early (as I started near the front) and kept it until Dale Roth took me on the outside on a restart. Fell to 3rd and through some accidents I was able to regain the lead on lap 38 of 50. Car felt pretty good but after the caution I developed a slight push. The #78 car was up on me tight but I was going to hold my line low and make him pass me high. I figured I had a good shot for 10 laps. Unfortunately, coming out of 4 my car decided to just turn right without warning and I ended up facing the wrong way drivers side up against the wall. Not knowing for sure what just happened, I got the car started and turned it around. I thought the #78 got into my for sure...my spotter assured my he did not. It looked to him like the car just darted to the right while the tires were stright. Weird. So, I lined up for the restart and figured I could pass a couple guys for a decent finish. Green flag drops, looked good for first 1/2 lap and then the exact same thing happened as I came out of 4 and was nearly straight. It veered to the right and I spun. At that point I figured it was an axle, so I parked it.

We have since found that the axle is fine. We checked other things too and all checks out ok. This one amazes me...We will fix the body and try to practice next Thursday. Stay tuned...

Looking for a team photographer and reporter

2009-07-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Starting immediately, Koens Racing is seeking a volunteer photographer/reporter for each of our remaining 3 races in 2009 and practice sessions at DCS. Person should have access to computer and internet with good photography and reporting skills.

Basically, we would want someone that is willing to take pictures of the #18 and #28 latemodels on the track and in the pits on raceday and practice sessions. Maybe take some notes and report on the action of these two cars. Email pics and report to me and I will post them here for all to see and comment on! Hopefully someone can start doing this Friday 7-10-2009.

Thanks in advance!

Wade

After practice thoughts

2009-07-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Well, got to the track at about 5:45p. Track was very dirty and had no rubber down on it.

Session #1: Took the car out real slow, getting heat into engine and tires. I shook it around a bit for about 4 laps or so and gently eased into more and more each lap. All of the replaced suspension parts seemed to feel good. Steering was good and the motor was crisp as usual.

As I got the car up to full speed, I realized that the entry was fantastic but the exit on turn 2 was loose off and exit on turn 4 was slightly loose off but good in the middle on both corners. I felt like the car was nearly race ready right off the trailer! Although the amount of dirt and rocks on the track may have had a hand in the handling feeling loose off...?

Session #2: John Dumire made some simple changes as we searched for more speed and grip off the corners. The entry was still good but we never got the exit any better. We will attribute this to the dirty track and load it up. It is so hard to get 'real' setup numbers with a dirty and slippery track. All we end up doing is wasting rubber on our race day set of tires, so we call it a practice at 7:30p.

I also watched Anthony Pope for awhile in his #8 latemodel. He looked good. They had some mid-corner issues going on but I'm sure they will get that car setup just right for Anthony come Friday. Anthony drives a nice line and has that cart experience which helps him alot with a sideways car.

Thanks to Rhett Lange and Dave Denn for spending so much of their time to get these cars ready in time to make this practice. They are very important to our being able to run each race after the driver wrecks and wrecks...Also, thanks to John Dumire for all the help at the track. He is reliable and has tons of racing smarts!

Race on Friday, stay tuned....!

Practice 7-8-2009

2009-07-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

Going out for practice tonight at DCS. Bringing both the #28 and the #18. After the hards wrecks each car got into last month, the practice time is very important to 'shake' out all the bugs. We hope to have enough time to make some changes to get the cars faster off the corners. The #28 is fast going into the corners but loose out.

We have been working many nights over the last few weeks getting these cars ready for this week's race on Friday. Right now they are on the way to the track for practice.

Much has been said about the last latemodel race at DCS. We hope to put that night behind us and move on.

More about how practice went later...