PLOVER, WI – Gabe Sommers Racing made the most of some down time from their usual Alive For 5 and ASA MIdwest Tour duties on a beautiful June weekend at two of Wisconsin’s most storied racing facilities, Madison International Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. For these two events, GSR would be taking on some of the toughest customers in North America, the drivers of the ASA STARS National Tour.

The doubleheader weekend began on Friday morning at Madison Int’l, with teams unloading bright and early for an extensive technical inspection process and multiple rounds of practice as one of only two divisions on the schedule for the night’s festivities. Practice was a whirlwind, with Gabe and the No. 15 solid, but still searching for more speed throughout the day, not quite satisfied with the pace they unloaded off of the hauler with. The Travis Sauter led crew didn’t back down from the challenge, continuing to adjust on the car until it was time to line up for qualifying. Of the twenty cars that rolled out to take time, the No. 15 would slide into the midfield on the time charts, securing an 11th place starting spot. Overall, the focus on race speed was the goal all day long, and with two hundred laps of racing yet to come, the team felt good about their chances.

With all STARS Tour races, the laps would be split into three “stages”, with a controlled caution to signify the end of each. There would also be a fresh set of Hoosier racing tires waiting in the pits to use at each team’s discretion. GSR had elected to save as long as they could in the first 75 lap stage, and dropped a couple spots at the drop of the green flag while avoiding the fracas just a couple of car lengths ahead. Cars banging doors, getting their bearings side by side was all the reason Gabe needed to take it easy. An engine failure by another car on lap 64 would slow the field, and take out the current leader in the process as everyone attempted to skate through the fluid left behind in turn 3, some ending up luckier than others. The field would return to green flag conditions after an extensive cleanup, with gabe managing to pick his way up to sixth by the time the field was slowed yet again to end the stage for controlled pit stops.

Sommers would roll off from fifth after the controlled caution, electing to stick inside on the choose cone. The field would quickly return to single file as they navigated the high bank half mile, and Gabe would stay put in fifth for almost sixty laps before making his move. With less than 65 to go, and just fifteen laps from the stage break, Sommers put his No. 15 to work on the pair of cars ahead. Five laps later, GSR would move up a spot on the charts, just one spot out of a podium position.as Stage Two came to a close. The crew would go to work on Sommer’s machine, bolting on a fresh set of Hoosier tires and making the necessary adjustments to make it through the final fifty laps. Reracking in sixth on the restart, the goal was to move forward and see where the cards fell. Just nine laps into the final stage, the caution would fly once again for a stopped car on the track, with Gabe electing to restart on the top side of the third row.

Unfortunately, the handle started to go away, and the No. 15 fell out of the top five in the running order with about thirty laps to go. On the final lap, a lap car lost a tire, launching it into the air and bouncing into turn three into harm’s way. Gabe was forced to brake early and swerve to avoid, costing him to lose one more spot as the field raced back to the finish line. GSR would have to settle for a seventh place effort at Madison, and set their sights on Milwaukee.

The next morning, GSR would roll through the gates at Milwaukee for a day filled with practice sessions, giving the field a gauge on their rides heading into Sunday. The crew worked hard throughout the day, keeping Gabe within the top five in time all day long, and building a notebook with their chassis. With Madison and Milwaukee being so different, as well as the turnaround time being so short, GSR had elected to unload a different car for Saturday and Sunday, instead of reusing the car that finished seventh just one day ago. With rain in the forecast Sunday, every lap mattered for the drivers during Saturday;s available practice sessions.

Sunday came, and the promised rain made an appearance, washing out any chances of qualifying. The starting grid would be set on owners points, placing Gabe down in the 14th spot, as a part time entrant of the ASA STARS Tour. With 100 miles of racing on deck, it wasn’t much of a worry for Sommers as he planned his strategy. The rain eventually subsided, and the track crew did a terrific job of drying the racing surface for all four divisions on the schedule. By the time the STARS Tour was ready to hit the track, no signs of water were to be found on the one mile speedway.

As soon as the green flag flew, Gabe went to work on moving up through the field before it got too strung out to make aggressive moves. In the first twelve laps, the No. 15 went from 14th to 9th on the leaderboard, hungry for more. Now with the field creating separation, passing became a tall order. By the end of Stage 1 on Lap 35, Gabe had picked off one more car to sit in 8th while teams went to work on their cars, looking to better the feel for their drivers. Some small adjustments on the GSR Ford were handled with an air of quickness before shipping Sommers back on track, where he would restart in the seventh spot. A caution would slow the field just two laps later, with a car going for a spin entering turn three, dangerously close to Gabe and a pack of cars. Another reline would move the No. 15 up a row into fifth on the ensuing restart, where Sommers would go to work. By Lap 40, Gabe had picked his way into a podium position, and began to distance himself from those behind him in the field. He would stay solidly in third as Stage 2 came to a close.

Another round of pit stops would bring the field off the racing surface, with the crew going to work on Gabe’s car with a fresh set of tires and some more adjustments. As the field charged into Turn 1 for the beginning of the final stage, something was amiss on the No. 15. The car became extremely unstable out of nowhere, and began to tumble down the order. Within fifteen laps, Sommers had slid outside of the top ten, and decided to call it a day to avoid possible damage with his ailing machine. He would finish fifteenth after pulling the plug on Lap 85/100.

We will return for a triple header on June 27, 29, and 30 with events at State Park Speedway, Dells Raceway Park, and Slinger Super Speedway, taking on some of the best in the Midwest at three very different tracks. Join us, or watch live on Pit Row TV and Racing America!