2011 150 Laps of Dwyer Pre-Race Thread

[Ceej]

Remember kids, nobody is locked in

All 120 cars on the entry list will participate in the 90-minute Smash Beer Pole session (3 30-minute practice sessions with fixed weather and 40 cars each). All of the times will be pooled and the fastest 2 cars will make up the front row of the 150 Laps of Dwyer.

The remaining 118 cars will transfer to the four pre-qualifiers. The top 20 from each of those races will then transfer to one of the two main qualifiers (Odd finishing position = Qualifier 1, Even finishing position = Qualifier 2). From there, the top 20 finishers will qualify for the main race.

[Tanrar]

Wow, this has the potential to REALLY shake the points.

[Chives2112]

This could be just like Karjala.

[navycook75]

(OOC: I don't know if Ceej is doing this already))

Leckliter will releive Morales halfway through the pole session, Winter and Flint will as well.

Daniel Leckliter has said that halfway through the Qualifying session, he will releive Scott Morales and take over until the end, and has told his drivers Chris Winter and Lucas Flint to do the same. When askes why he said "I want to make it practice for the real thing, even if we fail to qualify, at least know what to do for next years running." It is also said that both teams will split the Qualifying races between both drivers, but this is unconfirmed at this point.

[RyanB06]

This could be just like Karjala.

I was thinking the same thing. Makes for a more interesting race, that's for sure.

[Ceej]

Pole qualifying was a 90 minute session, but Marcos Leonard and Tom Delgado waited until there were less than 30 seconds left to lay down the two fastest laps.

The front row for the 150 Laps of Dwyer:

1. #X/0- Marcos Leonard (2:06.290)
2. #87- Tom Delgado (2:06.301)

Mumba Kumangu took the early pole with a time of 2:06.312 about half an hour into the session, and held it until Leonard and Delgado surpassed it within seconds of each other.

[Rovenami]

"Guess were gonna have to race our way into the Endurance Race" said Treck Tauger after looking at the leaderboard.

[Chives2112]

"I am really not looking forward on racing my way in," said Thomas Nash.

"This just goes to show you how high the competition for ARLA and its biggest race of the season," said Erik Boyd.

[navycook75]

"Now is where everybody is going to fight their way in, and I don't think anybody is going to be nice out there." Scott Morales said after talking to his relief driver, Daniel Leckliter.

[RyanB06]

Matthews disappointed in qual run: Matthews Motorsports driver Tiffany Matthews didn't mince words after pole qualifying for the 150 Laps of Dwyer.

"We missed it," she said. "Totally blew the setup. Funny thing is, we didn't do anything differently than when we ran in the simulator. We were turning mid-to-low 2:07 (lap times). I thought it would be good enough. Apparently it wasn't.

"Now I know what Ryan went through at Karjala," she added, referencing husband and relief driver Ryan Matthews' failed attempt to qualify for this year's Karjala Grand Prix.

[Magus978]

Delgado on Front Row Start: "I told you so!"

Tom Delgado was hyping up the fact that he was going to put the #87 Gold Star Security Nemoto on the front row for the 150 Laps of Dwyer. With seconds left in the final session, Delgado made good on his promise. He ran a 2:06.301, seizing the pole from Mumba Kumangu...at least for a few seconds. Marcos Leonard would run a 2:06.290, taking the pole away from Delgado, but both will start on the front row and avoid the pre-qualifying mess that will ensue.

"To everyone who thought I couldn't put this car on the front row, to people who wouldn't listen to me when I said I had a really good car: I TOLD YOU SO!" Delgado said proudly after coming out of the car. "Obviously I'm disappointed at not winning the pole, but being on the front row and avoiding the mess that is pre-qualifying is something we were shooting for, and it's something we got done. Now we get to focus on getting ourselves right for the race, and so does Marcos (Leonard). Me and Marcos have a history together, and it's really going to be a fun time to start on the front row with him" Delgado added.

[Alpineopossum]

Mumba Kumangu - ARLA's most underrated driver
Tom Delgado - TMMC's most underrated driver

[TheRacingExperts]

KASTAPOLOUS, DeGRAY TOUGH RUNS, BUT READY FOR PRE QUALIFIERS
Nikos Kastpolous, main driver for the 728 TheRacingExperts.com Cromwell talking in post-practice news conference:
"Considering we were having some of the TMMC drivers giving a go at this race, you know i really wasn't all that shocked that we had to take this to the prequalifiers. It's a pretty tough track to toggle with, especially when you're doing it for the first time. Still though, our setup way off of the pace then we wanted to, and im hoping that we can evaluate it one step at a time. We got some simulators to see what happens so we can make those decisions without ruining the car and wasting time on the adjustments that we aren't certain will work. we're hoping that we won't have the same issues with ill realistic simulations that Tiff (Tiffany Matthews) ended up with, but we're going step by step so we can be sure.

[Ceej]

Pre-Qualifier 1 (Top Left)

There was mayhem before the first corner of this race, as Wes Jones forced three-wide with Alex Carson and Makoto Yamada, and Carson gave Jones more room than necessary. Matas Kazimeras was spun in front of the field in this incident as well. Jarkko Forsstrom, AJ Young, and Mumba Kumangu were also collected.

On lap 2, Leigh Gruell, Phil Summers, and Amy Patti all made contact in turn 8, which sent Summers into the wall.

On lap 3, Jospeh Howard made contact with Rachel Rainsford and slid into the wall coming out of the esses. Further up the track, Laura Cyrus and Kyle Gaffigan made contact, taking both cars off the course and into the wall.

Wesley Savage spun off of turn 8 when he made contact with Amy Patti on lap 5.

A long series of self-spins in the esses was started on lap 8 when Makoto Yamada made contact with Ricky Navarro. Behind them, Amy Patti, Axel Andersson, Jarkko Forsstrom, Phil Summers, and Kyle Gaffigan all spun, possibly in reaction to this incident. Gaffigan was battling with Wesley Savage at the time, and swept up Savage when he spun.

On lap 9, Axel Andersson spun in the esses again, with Jarkko Forsstrom having nowhere to go but into the back of the #997. Behind them, the engine grenaded on Matas Kazimeras's car. In the meantime, Leigh Gruell got into the back of Blake Camphausen, turning him hard into the wall and ending Camphausen's hopes of making the race. Gruell was ordered to report to race control after the race.

Brenda Riggs dominated the race, with Kevin Monroe in second until the final lap, when Monroe self-spun in the esses. Anthony Griffith and Matthew Grey also spun on the last lap, but they preserved their transfer spots.

Pre-Qualifier 2 (Top Right)

Kirike Hetsuno started on the pole, and she made it clear that she wanted to lead for as long as possible by sliding up into Ian Cooper twice in the opening laps as Cooper tried to challenge for the spot. Behind them, Lang Chong Kun spun Troy Adams in the esses on the first lap. Libby Bell and Shane Lake made contact in turn 8 and both went into the wall.

On lap 2, Chris Winter and James West both went off in the esses after making contact. Bigsby Foote spun off the course in turn 8 after getting into Henry Santos. Ian Cooper muscled past Kiriki Hetsuno for the lead on this lap, but Michael Madrigal took the spot from Cooper shortly afterwards.

Kenn Groves spun into the wall in the esses after making contact with Lucas Hunter on lap 8.

Barton Sandy and Thomas Nash carried each other into the wall coming off of turn 8. Nash was well off the pace after pitting for repairs.

On lap 12, Bruce Wilkinson got into the back of Billy Bob Childers coming into the esses. Childers then spun into the path of Nami Mura. Scott Dalitz sent Lucas Hunter for a few rolls after getting into the back of him coming off of turn 8, earning himself a trip to Race Control as well.

Ian Cooper, Michael Madrigal, and Ricky Flush made it three-wide for the lead just in time to encounter Thomas Nash. With hardly any room on a very slick portion of the track, Cooper slid up into Madrigal, taking the #64 off the couse and into the wall. This created a battle for the lead between Flush and Herbie Finkleberg as Cooper lost his momentum. Flush held off Finkleberg to win the race.

Pre-Qualifier 3 (Bottom Left)

Mike Andrews had a mechanical problem before taking the green and had to be towed to the pits. He would rejoin the race 3 laps down.

Coming through Goliath, Jim Kidd hooked and turned Kodi Richards in front of traffic. Damien Snyder and Scott Morales were collected in this incident, and Kidd was ordered to Race Control.

Further up the track, Pierre Eiffel got into the back of Bill Tissom. Tissom swept back up into Eiffel, taking Eiffel and Kasie Campbell hard into the wall in the esses. Then, Tissom, Hawk Slider, and Rachel Gonzalez all spun off the course near the exit of the esses.

On lap 2, Todd Wodarczyk and David Krikorian made contact coming through the esses, spinning in front of traffic. Lucas Sweeney, Thomas Moore, and Allie Riggs were involved as well.

Nkululeko Blaze-Jonas had a mechanical problem and had to pit on lap 8, but he came back out quickly to preserve his transfer spot.

Damien Snyder was still running in the final transfer spot, but he was hooked and turned intot he wall by Mike Andrews coming through Goliath. Snyder swept back up into Andrews and went hard into the wall. Andrews was ordered to report to Race Control.

Lucas Sweeney held up race leader Gary DeSouza, opening the door for Taylor Brillon to take the spot.

Jason Teller was taken out of the race after being turned into the turn 8 inside wall by Bob Stephans. Stephans would hang on to a transfer spot, but he was ordered to Race Control.

Pre-Qualifier 4 (Bottom Right)

Suiiju Dejao Started on the pole, but quickly took himself out of the race by sliding up into Raibeart Scott in the esses, taking both cars hard into the wall. Behind them, Rip Tyler, Jared Andersen, Harry Enola, and CJ Cameron all made contact and spun into the wall.

However, all eyes were on a violent crash coming off of Goliath, which sent Mike Howard for a series of rolls after getting together with Mac Rhylen and Sergio Power. Howard was able to climb out of the car.

On lap 4, Packer Carroll slid up into Edwin Schwarzloski coming through the esses, taking both cars into the wall.

On lap 13, Nico Petrov spun into the turn 8 wall after making contact with Dan Mackay.

Chris Davenport dominated the race after the incident between Suiiju Dejao and Raibeart Scott.

[flyingturns89]

Theoretical question. Let's say I make the race, but someone in the Top 10 in points misses it. Could I put that driver in the top 10 in points in my car as the relief driver instead?

[Ceej]

I thought about it, but I decided it would be easier for me to just stick with the relief drivers on the entry list.

[RyanB06]

Relief for Matthews: Advances to main qualifier: After a poor initial qualifying attempt placed her in the third pre-qualifying heat, Tiffany Matthews wasn't optimistic about her chances.

But after a few setup tweaks, she found enough speed to place 17th in the event - good enough to advance to the second round of qualifying.

"Whew," she said after the race. "I wasn't sure if the changes we made were good enough to get us through the first round. Fortunately, they were. Now all we have to do is pull one more good finish and we're in the show."

[flyingturns89]

Good enough.

[Blackout]

Spoiler:

[AntmanB]

how wierd is it that both doom-O and derek dudding were both in the same pre q? and Doom-O almost made main q?

[day500champ1]

GLM gets cars #35 and #44 pass pre-q; #38 team watching from sidelines

GLM cars 35 and 44 both were able to avoid the on track incidents and will be in the q-races.

Jim More had this to say following the races:
"I'm happy to see Ryan [Griffin] make the show with his 7th place run. After coming so close to winning last week, he really wanted this.
And I'm happy to see our one-off entry make it pass pre-q. Michael [More Sr.] is a great road racer, and I'm not just saying that 'cause he is my older brother. He is good.

As happy as I am for them, I'm very disappointed for Jarkko. But, there was not much he could do when the idiots around him want to have a crash fest that early in the event."

[Chives2112]

Thomas Nash Has Hard Day; Does Not Transfer

Thomas Nash had this to say after getting involved in a wreck with Barton Sandy in Pre-Qualifier #2.

"It's tough out there, there were so many cars out their fighting and making dumb mistakes. Unfortunately I got involved with Barton [Sandy] and that ruined our day. We even held up more traffic after we had repairs done to the car. I hate it for Erik, I mean, he really wanted to get into the car in the main race, and this ending will not let him do that. It broke his heart to hear the news. Maybe we'll try for one more race...maybe Rockford, but that'll be about it."

[f1fan12]

Pushanda, estaic with run


"I found the car ran very well through the second half of the track. I'm actually kinda suprised by my run. Now on to the Qualifier."

[Nascar9fan]

Adams frustrated with incident!

That's the 2nd time I've attempted a one-off race, been taken out of contention & the guy that took me out has made it through. It's total bull**** . I feel sorry for Marshall, but we'll cheer for his PCC Cup Series teammate, Louis Jones, & Matthew Grey now.

[teamwhiper]

Lucas Hunter has slight injury problem,will race next race

Lucas Hunter has not had the best of years,finishing last in his Dwyer pre-Q race(although it was not his fault.) and having a once forgotten neck injury aggravated.

If you might recall,Hunter sustained a broken neck after being shunted in the back by Frank Hackson during the 2010 Rookie Shootout.And his crash with Scott Dalitz may have just restarted the pain.

"To be honest,I don't think I fully recovered from that wreck.According to staff at the infield care center,they think a joint disruption may have caused it,and it was at the same joint where I broke my neck.",Hunter said,"However,the pain is not too bad.I think I can race for the season"

Team Whiper-Ildest snatch top 10 rund in Pre-Q's

Team Whiper-Ildest keeps up good runs as Rene Recarmier in the #0 scored 8th place in his pre-Q race after starting back in 28th and Gary DeSouza in the #149 lost out to first by 8 hundreths of a second in Q-Race 3.

"Lucas Sweeney held me,Brillion went on by and I was left hung out to dry.Still quite a tense finish.",said the Aussie.

[TheRacingExperts]

#728 Nikos Kastapolous talking to reporters about his run:
"It was quite a shock to us really. We had such a ill-performing car in practice, we wouldn't have imagined it would even make it to qualifiers at all never mind a top 10 finish in our heat. honestly i think its the best run we've had so far. Still, nine seconds behind is not a guarantee to get in the main event in our view. It could fall apart just as fast, so we need to continue the adaptation that kept us in the game."

[Blake Camphausen]

Camphausen furious with Gruell
"That is the biggest piece of idiotic driving I have ever seen. If he really wanted to get by me, he would have raced me like you are supposed to, not dumped me for no reason. Gruell should be told that he won't Pre-Qualify. and let some talented competitors such as Bill Tissom in. Next time I am on track with him, I'll be sure to go after him."

[JMac525]

Both Big Mac Racing Cars DNQ

It was a terrible weekend for the #22 and #25 teams. Both cars DNQ at the same place where the team made its debut one year earlier. Both declined an interview.

[gone-sovereign]

Bruce Wilkinson Apologetic Towards Billy-Bob Childers and Nami Mura

"That was all me. I just blew my braking point entirely, and Childers was there when we got down into the esses. I'm sorry to his and Mura's teams. I tore up both of their cars that they've put so much effort into for this weekend, and now it's all on me. I'm just absolutely sorry."

Wilkinson had to further comment on his results in pre-qualifying.

[DAWGFATHER]

Shane Lake upset at Bell..overall team performance

Shane Lake was furious when he climbed out of his destrioed 155 and had this to say - "Well if we cant fail to make a race on our own why dont we have some BONEHEAD take us out to make sure of it!! Sheesh things cant get much worse can they?"

[navycook75]

"We're happy we made it through Pre-Qualifying, but it's not over yet, if we can make it through the Qualifying races, thats a reason to celebrate in itself." Daniel Leckliter said as both Scott Morales and Chris Winter advnace into the Qualifying races.

[Rovenami]

"Qualifying Race, here we come!" was all Treck Tauger ever said after making it past Pre-Qualifying.

[GamerAzuzu]

Madrigal safe to Qualifiers despite late race scuffle

"Yeah it was a relief we made it through, sucked that we were close to elimination but what happened was me and Ian [Cooper] having a hard race up front. I'm rather annoyed by how it happened but I guess seeing there was no room, what could we have done. We're in the qualifiers and thats all that matters. Besides We came to prove that even though we aren't locked in this, we have a car to watch out for."

[Ceej]

Qualifier 1 (Left)

In a pleasant change of pace, everybody got through the esses cleanly on the first lap. However, all hopes for an attrition-free race were dashed as Todd Stater got into Nico Petrov, triggering a multicar wreck collecting Jenn Stevenson, Henry Santos, Allie Riggs, Wes Jones, and Bruce Wilkinson. Stater was also involved in an incident in turn 8 when he and Holden Roberts made contact and spun off the road.

On the second lap, Chris Davenport and Kevin Monroe got together in turn 8, sending Davenport off the track and getting Ian Cooper swept up in it as well. After this, Tyrone Gilder rolled his car after making contact with Treck Tauger and spinning into the wall.

Phillip Borland was turned into the wall in the esses after contact with Chuck Bloomers, and then on the next lap, Borland was sent for several rolls after being turned into the turn 8 wall by Holden Roberts.

Hunter Downs and Jeremy West tangled in turn 8 after trying to negotiate with the lapped car of Jenn Stevenson. Stevenson also helped Nikos Kastapolous and Chris Winter get together as they tried to get past her in turn 8 on the next lap.

On lap 13, Amy Patti was turned into the wall coming out of turn 14 by Chris Davenport.

Kenn Groves was sent for a series of rolls while running 7th with 5 laps remaining when Lenore Scurry got into him coming out of turn 8, turning him into the inside wall. Scurry was disqualified when the collision was deemed to be extremely avoidable.

Scott Dalitz inadvertently took out his teammate Benji Flynn after hooking Wes Jones coming out of Goliath. Dalitz shot across the track coming into the esses, right into the path of Flynn. Jones had to drop out of the race as well.

On the final lap, Henry Santos tangled with the lapped car of Nico Petrov. He was well off the pace after this, and was quickly caught by Jason Kruger. Ian Cooper was running not too far behind Kruger, but missed the final spot. However, Cooper has been bumped into the race after Lenore Scurry's disqualification.

Qualifier 2 (Right)

Dale Underwood started on the pole, but nobody was paying attention to him because a large pileup broke out at the very start of the race. Jared Andersen shot out to make it three-wide, and Tyson Lautenschlager gave him too much room, making contact with DJ Daniels and triggering immediate mayhem. Daniels hit the inside wall and shot up in front of Axel Andersson, who sent him for a few rolls. Kurt Walker also rolled several times after hitting the outside wall. Vijay Pushanda was collected, but as he was driving away, he pulled in front of Nick Howard, causing another multicar wreck that involved Lang Chong Kun, Chris Allen, and Bob Stephans.

Rene Recarmier and Nick Howard would be the next casualties, as the tangled in the esses on lap 10 and took themselves into the wall. Recarmier was second in points coming into this race, but early reports indicate that Gasnier might pressure Whiper-Ildest Racing to replace Gary DeSouza with Recarmier in the main race.

Kiriki Hetsuno had severe mechanical problems discovered during her pit stop and lost several laps.

[navycook75]

Morales and Leckliter make it in the 150 Laps of Dwyer, Leckliter Racing caught up in lap 10 wreck

Leckliter: "We had a good run coming into here, shame it had to end early on, but we'll try again at Rockford." He was then asked about the 76 teams chances at winning. "This reminds me of my first TM Master cup race at Daytona, we made it in by the skin of our teeth, and ended up finishing well, hopefully this will be Deja Vu."

[Kornography]

Unconfirmed reports of a fight after 1st Qualifier between Borland and Roberts.

After the first qualifier at Dwyer, there was unconfirmed reports of a fight breaking out near the haulers. While there have been conflicting reports saying it never happened, was a full on physical confrontation, or was merely an exchange of words, most reports said that it looked like it was between Phillip Borland and Holden Roberts. Borland was sent into a series of flips by Roberts after being spun from a top fifteen spot a lap earlier by Chuck Bloomers, and was merely trying to salvage a spot good enough to make the race. More details will be made available as they come in.

[Magus978]

Delgado to Gasnier - Man Up and Move On

Amidst rumors that Gasnier might demand that championship contender Rene Recarmier be put in Gary DeSouza's car for the 150 Laps of Dwyer, owner/driver Tom Delgado challenged the company to "do the right thing".

"DeSouza made it into the race on MERIT. Recarmier got caught up in someone else's mess. Rene could learn from this and do better the rest of the season, but don't set a bad example for other teams and the series in general by pushing DeSouza out! I'm gonna be sick to my stomach if we see this kind of ride buying at Rockford!" Delgado said. "Put us in that position, 2nd in points and failing to make it into the main race here, and we're going home to focus our efforts on doing well in EVERY race we're in for the rest of the season. One race does not make a season, a season's worth of races does, and Recarmier has shown that he can win any race he enters! I would do whatever I can on the track to get our cars in, but when the race is over and if we didn't do enough, then that should be it!" Delgado added, opting to take an old school approach to the situation.

When asked about the #37 and #73's inability to make it to the race, Delgado did not give us much. "They didn't earn the right to race here, so they're going back to get their stuff sorted for the rest of the season. Not happy with either of them at all right now. They know my frustration, and they know exactly how close they are to losing their jobs!" Delgado said.

Tom Delgado & Azuma Kazeyama will start 2nd in the race, driving the #87 Gold Star Security Nemoto.

[Rovenami]

GasTech to buy their way into Dwyer
After failing to qualify for Dwyer, Team Owner Vladimir Visscov wants to buy Kodi Richards' spot on the grid, reasons why were disclosed by the team owner and was unable to reach for a comment.

"I don't think Visscov was too happy with the results, so he thought it was a good idea that he should buy one of the entries, If it DOESN'T pull through, then I'm letting Razzo(Pastron) behind the wheel the next time there is a race." Tauger said after talking with the team owner.

[TheRacingExperts]

The 728 was clearly upset with the 348 of Jenn Stevenson after being caught up in a wreck set off by a lack of real estate, and he showed it by waltzing right into the 348 tier of the garage to have a little chat with Stevenson, which ultimately escalated with some of the crew members that followed him.
"WE HAD THAT $#!+ IN THE BIN!" he was reportedly screaming while pacing through the garage, "THIS LADY WANTS TO LOOK COOL IN FRONT OF ALL HER BACK MARKER FRIENDS BY LAGGIN UP A COUPLE OF f**** IDOLS IN THE SERIES AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW??? I GET CAUGHT IN ANOTHER ONE OF THESE FRIEKEN THINGS AGAIN. I'M SO SICK OF THIS S***!!!!!"
Although team manager Dominic Garcia was clearly upset with Nikos's handling of the situation, no word on whether Kastapolous's actions will
hand him any consequences by ARLA officials.

[RyanB06]

Spoiler:

[day500champ1]

Griffin makes up for bad start in Q-race; makes the race

It what has become characteristic of the #35 team, Ryan Griffin started the GLM owned car 32nd and had work to do. However, the rookie part-time driver made it happen finishing 12th in the first q-race and making the main event. Griffin, who has described himself as a short track racer, wore a smile on his face after the event.

"The car was pretty good and we just had to stay out of trouble. That was just absolutely unnecessary to wreck that early in the race. But, we made and unfortunately it looks like we are carrying the flag for GLM with Mike [Michael More Sr.] not making the race. However, I think we have a shot. We're in the show so we can just go for it now."

[Cynon]

Andrews Expects Gasnier Pressure to Put Recarmier Into Dwyer 150

TM Master Cup Series pundit Lance Andrews remarked on the Dan Mullen Radio Hour that he expected Gasnier to switch Rene Recarmier and Gary DeSouza's places for the upcoming 150 Laps of Dwyer ARLA event.

"Let's face it, Gasnier is only in ARLA because of Rene Recarmier, and I would be amazed if their contract with Ildest Racing didn't say that if Recarmier fails to make the race and DeSouza does, that they will have to switch drivers." Andrews was quoted as saying.
"If they don't, and if they don't I'll be surprised, then I guarantee that Gasnier will buy a spot in the starting field for Recarmier, my guess would be the Kodi Richards car or possibly the Ian Cooper car, but I doubt that one very much. The only thing on Gasnier's mind is that championship for Recarmier and to get him ready for the TM Master Cup Series... and it's probably one of the worst-kept secrets in the paddock that Gasnier wants to replace [Dale] Roswell with Recarmier at Majestic Motorsports after this season."

[PackerMan71]

THREE OF THE FOUR GRI CARS, INCLUDING PACKER, QUALIFY FOR DWYER

The Round of Ohio was still festering in Packer Carroll's mind, but it didn't seem to affect him as he made his way into the 150 Laps of Dwyer endurance race, finishing 14th in both the Pre-Q and Main Q races. Todd Wodarczyk and Anthony Griffith also made it into the race. The only GRI car not to qualify was Bruce Wilkinson, who has had great runs this season, but has had terrible luck.

This could be a huge opportunity for Packer and Griffith. 21 of the top 40 in points failed to qualify for this race, which means that Packer and Griffith could make a HUGE gain in the points standings.

Also, Packer was seen with Alexis Rainsford and several ARLA officials. Since Chris Davenport failed to qualify, and Rainsford was to be his relief driver, Packer is appearing to be lobbying to the ARLA officials to allow Rainsford to be his relief driver, as this would've been Rainsford's last race had Davenport qualified the #27 Volpi VC02. Rush McCloud, who is scheduled to be Packer's relief driver, wouldn't mind stepping aside and allowing Rainsford to sub for Packer in the Dwyer event.

RUSH: After the Round of Ohio, Packer was pretty down in the dumps. I think teaming up with Alexis for this race would be a huge morale booster for him, considering what he has gone through this season. Hopefully, ARLA will allow this change to happen.

[RyanB06]

Matthews to Gasnier: "No chance in hell" of giving up spot:
With all the buzz in the Dwyer paddock following Rene Recarmier's surprise DNQ, Matthews Motorsports president and No. 85 owner Ryan Matthews made one thing crystal clear: their spot in the field was not for sale.

"I'm with Tom [Delgado] on this one, especially as a fellow car owner," Matthews, who is the relief driver for wife Tiffany in the event, said. "There's no chance in hell we'd give up our spot. Not to Recarmier, not to anyone. I don't care if he's second in points. We didn't work our fannies off to get this far for somebody to throw a stack of money at us to go away."

[GamerAzuzu]

Madrigal Solidy in the race. Says they have the car to beat.

Michael Madrigal had a late race scuffle in the Pre-Qualifiers that nearly saw him not make the race. In the Main Qualifiers however, that was not a concern as he finished a solid 4th, making the field.

"We have had a amazing car the entire week here. And now we've proven that we have one of, if not THE car to beat at Dwyer. We may not have locked our way in by getting in the front row but we have raced our car so we know it is good in race conditions. I put this car for M&J and come the race, me and [Jessica] Graham will show the true power of the legendary 64"

Madrigal races his way in with VSCC regular Jessica Graham as his reserve driver.

[Tanrar]

Spoiler:

[gone-sovereign]

Bruce Wilkinson Very Unimpressed After Qualifier

"We just got caught in somebody else's mess again. I was really looking forward to this race, and we blew it. It's a shame; we have the cars to get the job done, not to mention we have one of the better cars on the grid and I was the only one of four that let Packer down. It's as though for the last few weeks, we've been hitting an inevitable wall. It's not our fault it's there, just people driving with their head up their butt."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rack up another failed TM canon attempt for Mateo Mancini...

No, seriously. I'm dissapointed.

[Nascar9fan]

Matthew Grey thrilled with making it into the race. Louis Jones gets his first start in ARLA.

Matthew Grey is extremely happy to make it into the race, especially since he crashed on the first lap of his first Thunder Trucks Race.

'This is great for the team & Jones is very excited. I've just got 1 worry & promise, if anyonewrecks me stupiditally, you'll be on my enemies list forever. That's also my worry.'

Jones: 'I'm starting my first ARLA race, & I hardly did anything. It's ashame Adams & Marshall didn't get in, because Marshall is a good friend of mine.'

The team is not giving up their spot in the race for anything.

[teamwhiper]

Recarmier will not be participating in Dwyer

In a press conference at race morning,Rene Recarmier and Whiper-Ildest Racing co-boss Jerry Motta have said that,despite Gasnier's intention to buy a spot for Recarmier,the #0,which is second in points,will not be in the 2011 120 Laps of Dwyer.

"I want to be known as the guy who won the championship on merit,not money.I know this may back fire later on,but now,money no important.This comes down to talent and luck,and I lost luck that race.I wish best to Gary[DeSouza] for the race",said Recarmier in a tone that is unusual to him.

"I like Gasnier a lot for letting me race with their cars,and getting good results with them,but buying their way into a race?!Seriously,we are near the top the championship and,sure,some points lost would be big,but I honestly do not care.We're out,we're out.We're in,we're in.As simple as that.",Jerry Motta stated.

The situation that Recarmier is left in is rather deep.He would have to fight back in the second half of the year to get to the top as,before Dwyer,Recarmier was about 100 points down on championship leader Kevin Monroe,and that lead is destined to grow during Dwyer.

[crl]

Brian Morris lets his feelings be known after failing to qualify for 150 Laps of Dwyer

"Damn!" was all the Canadian said on the radio after finishing 22nd in the 2nd qualifying race, two spots short of getting in the main race.

MT Motorsports' track record of failing to qualify for TM Master Cup or ARLA Elite Series events it attempt grows further.

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