Gabe Sommers Racing took on another round of ASA Midwest Tour action, rolling south to Morris, Illinois for the prestigious Wayne Carter Classic 100 at Grundy County Speedway. The ⅓ mile bullring has been weathered from the infield to the walls with years of harsh Midwestern winters, filling the racing surface with nooks and crannies that help the drivers and racecars find their way around the speedway.
Unloading for the first practice right off the trailer, Gabe made quick work of his time on track, turning just eight laps before heading back to the pits and to the attention of his crew. His few laps were good enough to earn a fifth place slot on the leaderboard, just over a tenth and a half of a second off the top step. A quick rain scare rolled over the track, throwing teams for a loop on the all of a sudden change in pace. Rolling out for the second and final round of practice, Sommers would only another twenty laps before calling it quits, turning in a fourteenth place effort and immediately shifting focus to qualifying.
Rolling out for qualifying, it was apparent that the field would be tight, with many cars within grasp of breaking the track record in practice. A very solid 14.732 second lap would set Gabe less than two tenths of a second off of quick time and a new track record by the pole sitter, but with such a close field it would put the No. 15 back to the eleventh position when time trials finally wrapped up. Due to looming clouds and a less than stellar forecast, ASA Midwest Tour officials made the call to skip heat races and move along with the rest of the evening’s program.
After a lucky invert of eleven, the Gabe Sommers Racing Ford Mustang would be plucked from the midfield and promptly nestled on the pin for the Wayne Carter Classic 100. Leading the field to green, Sommers would have no problem scooting away and clear into the lead as the field began to file into single wide racing. Gabe and the second place car would continue to strengthen their advantage on the rest of the pack as the skies darkened. After putting over 4.7 seconds on third place, the heavens finally opened on Lap 35/100, bringing the cars down into the pits to wait it out. A couple of hours of precipitation and track drying efforts would allow teams to get some dinner, watch the clouds, and even play some games to pass the time.
Late evening sun had turned to nightfall by the time drivers were ordered to return to their cars for the final 66 laps of the Wayne Carter Classic. Now, the game had changed. Setups would be less than suited for the track conditions and lack of rubber buildup on the racing surface, making it a guessing game going into the first corner back under green. Rolling into Turn 1 under speed, it was evident it was going to take a little bit of adjusting and adapting for Gabe to stay on the back bumper of the immediate new leader. Struggling with a tight racecar, Sommers fell back into line and looked to settle in for the lion’s share of remaining laps. After almost forty more laps of riding in the second spot, the No. 15 would battle hard on a restart but ultimately slide back one spot. Not ready to give up the fight during a string of late cautions, Gabe would make one final charge for the lead, battling side by side for the top spot before being sent back once again to the third position, remaining there until the checkered flag flew.
After gaining three more points in the championship standings, Gabe Sommers Racing will roll into Dells Raceway Park for the Jim Sauter Classic 200 on Saturday, August 30 just 24 points out of the season standings lead. You can tune in live on TrackTV.com, or head to DRP in person to watch all of the action!