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| Eric Gunderson and his crew had a strong performance at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway |
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Las Vegas Motor Speedway – August 29, 2009
Eric Gunderson won his heat race in the USAC Focus Midget race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and finished 3rd in the main event. He is bringing his 2009 race season to an early close in order to complete shoulder repair surgery and recovery in time for the start of the 2010 season.
The Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring is a 3/8 mile track located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The race drew a field of 17 Ford Focus cars. It is the longest and fastest track visited by the Focus Midgets during the season. All the teams battled the heat throughout the race day. The temperature in the pits peaked at 117 degrees just before qualifying began.
The Focus field was split into two heat races. Eric started his heat race in 5th position and moved forward to win the 8 lap event. “We have a pretty good setup considering the heat,” explained Eric after the heat race. “We don’t have the fastest car here tonight but we should be competitive for one of the top spots in the main event. The heat has been really awful. Our team has gone through a lot of Vitalyte today”.
When the green flag fell to start the main event, Eric immediately took the lead. The top three cars moved away from the rest of the field, but among those three the battle for the lead was intense. Eric led the first 20 laps of the 30 lap event. On lap 21 he was hit from behind by the 40 car, nearly spinning him out. He gathered the car up to find himself in 3rd, and held that position throughout the rest of the main. “We had a good race going until lap 21,” said Eric after the race was over. “Unfortunately the 40 car hit the back of my car coming out of turn 2. It really upset the car and I was lucky to keep it from spinning. The battle for the lead was so tight that I was immediately passed by the 40 and 42 cars and came out of the incident in 3rd. I closed the gap with those two cars again but just couldn’t get around them.”
Reflecting on the incident after the race, Eric thought it was just one of those things that happen when racing is so close. “The top three cars were only inches apart for the first 20 laps,” said Eric. “That type of contact is inevitable under those conditions. It was really nobody’s fault.”
Eric thanked his sponsors Maxima Racing Oil, Oakley Inc, Vitalyte, Mechanix Wear, MLP Imaging, Nomad Slot Racing, Organic Food Bar, and Koolin’ Klothz for their support. He also thanked his crew for their efforts preparing his car and working so hard throughout an incredibly hot race day.
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