Quincy Pre-Race Thread

[Cynon]

Devereux Denies Contact with Olenick Intentional

Emotions and tempers ran high during the Round of Quebec from green to checkers. On the opening lap, Adrien Devereux made contact with Joe Olenick, taking Olenick out of the race for the second successive event. While most of the paddock believed the contact was intentional, Devereux himself denied it.

"I expected him to accelerate, but I should have expected him not to accelerate off the corners like the people at the front do." Devereux said.
"I don't know if Joe [Olenick] had a problem or if he brake tested. All I know is that I hit him and spun him because I had so much momentum off the corner, and I didn't want to stack up everyone behind me."

A later incident with Clair Auxier further stalled Devereux's progress but he still managed to finish third on the road, before time penalties demoted him to fifth. Devereux did not mince words when talking about Auxier.

"[Clair Auxier] was wandering all over the road in practice, it's a shame that idiots like her ruined the race for third. There's no point in telling her what she did wrong, because you can't teach someone who refuses to learn."

Auxier, who is not scheduled to make another appearance in the third Lynxe car, felt Devereux's criticisms were unfair.

"The car had a problem in the left rear and I was told to bring it back to pit lane." Auxier said.
"I'm trying to keep it on the track so I don't break the car further and I get hit. It's like he can't use his eyes to miss me."

Track marshal cameras showed that blue flags had been waved at Auxier before she had reached the top of the downhill portion of Road Gatineau.

Reconfigurations to Grand Detour

The Grand Detour of Western Illinois had a recent reconfiguration that, while perhaps not noticeable to fans, was noticed by drivers upon arriving. The funnel-like exit to turn 2 has been widened by 14 inches to prevent some of the massive pileups seen there in recent years. Drivers said it will likely not change the racing line.

"If you're all the way out into the wall there you're not going forwards." Leonid Roderick told Channel 44 reporters during first practice.
"We'll only know if it makes a difference on race day, but it won't make a difference to the actual green flag racing. Only thing that really needs cleaning up is the pace car situations, but those have happened on short tracks in this series for decades."

"Maybe there's grip out there. Doubt it, but someone will try it. There's like 5 lines in the corners here but only 2 or 3 in the straightaways." 2007 series champion Tony Durbin quipped during practice.
"If someone hits the wall they might not come flying back into traffic quite like they used to. I think we'll just have to wait and see until someone screws it all up."

Another reconfiguration to the track has been that the entrance and exit to the pit lane has been shifted down the track. This means that the infamous pit wall which has been sticking out at the entrance to turn 3 has been pushed back.

"That pit wall has hurt a lot of guys in the past. You can still hit it, but it doesn't feel like it's gonna happen every race now." Durbin said.
"It's back to where it was 20 years ago, but the track fits more than 35 cars now."

[Cardinals5]

Olenick Responds to Devereux's Comments

Before first practice for the Round of Quincy, Joe Olenick took to Twitter to respond to comments from two-time series champion Adrien Devereux regarding incidents during the rounds of South Carolina and Wisconsin, both of which saw the Connecticut-native eliminated from the race after contact from behind by Devereux. Olenick later sat for a radio interview where he gave further insight to his comments.

"Obviously, the ball is Adrien's court. I was holding my line in both incidents and Adrien just drove over me. I'd have been willing to look past the incident at Darlington as frustration - we were off the pace and Darlington is a tough place to pass - but then he wrecks me halfway through lap one of the next race."

When asked about Devereux's comments about whether his car had any problems, Olenick responded that his car "didn't have anything wrong until Adrien sent me spinning across the race track. I'd say that's where my day went south."

He continued, "What really gets me is that he has had plenty of time to reach out and talk with me about this whole thing. I didn't get a single phone call, text, email...nothing, from Adrien or any of the guys at HWR. Just explain your side of it to me. Instead, he goes to the press and tells people that 'Joe had a problem, he must have brake tested me, there was nothing I could do.' The race track was plenty wide, he could easily have driven around me. He drove over me and took me out."

Olenick concluded. "I'm not going to continue to get wrecked and have the officials just give some slap-on-the-wrist time penalty. Racing is dangerous and if drivers are going to continue to take people out, the officials need to start handing out disqualifications and points penalties. I can only hope that Adrien has decided that whatever injustice I've done to him has been repaid. I'm tired of being part of the highlight reel for all the wrong reasons."

[Cynon]

Team Saar USA Hits Back at Devereux

Team Saar USA owner Peter Keyes made his voice heard loudly at his first actual race attendance since Carbondale. Keyes replied to claims made by Adrien Devereux that the Frenchman was not at fault for the incidents that have resulted in Joe Olenick failing to finish the last two races.

"Adrien likes to run around like a big bully and push everyone around. He's got an entitlement problem that nobody here at Team Saar USA appreciates, and it's against what we believe in. Funny how it's all the pompous European guys doing that and none of the home grown American talent that this series was once known for." Keyes said to the press, before clarifying his last statement.
"For all you politically-correct people out there, that last part is a joke. Don't get so bent outta shape over it."

Saar's presence in the TM Master Cup series this season has been marred with both the under-performance of the Saar Carolina MS in the hands of drivers Joe Olenick, Cameron Taylor, and Garth McCallister Jr. Independent developments on the older Tremwell Knight by BlackDiamond Racing have taken three wins, and 2007 driver's champion Tony Durbin has performed well in a year old model made for Indianapolis. BlackDiamond Racing and Tony Durbin Motorsports use the same engines as Team Saar USA.

"I'm tired of reading about Adrien [Devereux] and Joe [Olenick] cry to each other." Tony Durbin told Channel 44 pit reporters after making a few installation laps in second practice.
"I wish they would just fight or something like [Brian] Sendack and Paul [Lyons] did like 5 years ago. I like fights." He added with a smile.

Roqueta Suggests Smaller Grids for Short Tracks

Colombian Carlos Roqueta has been one of the surprise tickets early this season. His pace, particularly early in the season, was staggering, but he has proven himself capable of a fair share of needless crashes. Roqueta has not felt the need to voice his opinions often during the season, but did so after a few near misses with Chris Davenport in second practice.

"Maybe the short tracks should not start so many. Last year had there not been 42 cars the big crash wouldn't be so bad." Roqueta told the press.
"Maybe two races with 30 cars would be a better idea at some of the shorter tracks... fans can see more cars and the little teams may have a better chance to go racing. Carbondale can hold it ok but I don't think anywhere else can."

Traffic, especially on the ovals, has been a hot issue in the past few seasons, with lapped cars effectively deciding the race at Darlington. Roqueta's suggestion was not met with a great deal of confidence.

"Two races would be fine if it was done fairly, but I don't know how it can." Leonid Roderick replied.
"We had a split field race in Russia once but that was a nightmare."

"The problem is the yellows. When a yellow comes out the pit lane is a mess." Adrien Devereux commented.
"Any slightest thing that goes wrong and you're suddenly 2 laps down. It's not really the best thing. Maybe the pit speed limit should be faster than the pace car on track."

Tony Durbin Motorsports Looking At 2016

Tony Durbin and his new-found Tony Durbin Motorsports team are looking into the future. Durbin announced he is planning to go full-time in the TM Master Cup series again in 2016 if the soon-to-be-confirmed rules package for 2016 is suitable.

"I'd like to run the American and Canadian races and have someone else run in Europe and Australia. Some new blood that the local fans want to see would be good for the series." Durbin said.
"Fans like names they know and remember, so I'd like to at least have the other car have a regular driver in it."

While Durbin's model may sound unfeasible due to sacrificing a potential championship bid, he reportedly plans to apply for every single Promoter's Option except for Russia and the South American races. Channel 44 color commentator Lance Andrews suggested Durbin might be planning on teams being able to use more than two cars full-time by 2016.

"It sounds like he wants three full-time cars, with two full-time drivers." Andrews said on the air during practice for the Round of Quincy.
"I think the only way he might pull that off is if he wins the lottery and buys BlackDiamond Racing."

[Cynon]

DeGarmo: Drivers Must Improve

Owen DeGarmo's return to the TM Master Cup series as a car owner has been nothing short of a disaster. While some expected the stoic, typically level-headed DeGarmo and the explosive, emotional, but capable Tom Delgado to clash behind the scenes, the reality appears to be the opposite. The struggles for DeGarmo-Delgado Enterprises on track are exacerbated by the team's choosing to run year-old Lycoias. However, both DeGarmo and Delgado have made it public that things need to change.

"I think 70-80 points by midseason between our two cars wasn't unreasonable. I don't mean to say anything bad about Tom [Delgado], but he hasn't been driving a lot lately and he's had a lot of health problems... and if he steps in for one race with a TM Lights pit crew pitting him and he goes way faster than our regular drivers, then we may have identified the problem." DeGarmo said to the press.
"Brandon [Lareau] and Tom [Moore] have put up results before they joined our team, but if they want to be there for the year they better put results up, or at the very least show signs of improvement. I'm not expecting them to run 15th, but Tutino, Maximus, and Wernstrom should be in their mirrors, not their windshields. We got a few guys in TM Lights that might be capable of stepping up."

While team co-owner Tom Delgado has had few positive things to say about the team's season, DeGarmo-Delgado Enterprises has regularly performed better in the pit lane than the other minnows in the field.

"We have a lot of really good guys on our team. I don't want this season to ruin their reputations." DeGarmo added.

While Kurt Reynolds is most likely of the DeGarmo Enterprises TM Lights drivers to be promoted to a full-time race seat, TM Canada regular Connor Freel and youngster Ethan Everett have been considered as replacements.

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