story by Chris Roy
Jacob Dore of Sanford, is one of 3 Maine drivers competing in the Valenti Modified Racing Series this season. The Valenti Modified’s ran their 1st race of the season 2 weeks ago at Waterford Speedway and Jacob was able to come away with a top 10 finish to start the season off. This weekend the drivers and teams are heading to Monadnock Speedway, in Winchester, NH. for race number 2.
RPM. How was the season opener race at Waterford?
Jacob. The season opener went well for us. Car fast and we made no adjustments until the feature. Had some new help that really worked out well. Mike Ordway Jr. (who races 350 supers at Lee. and has raced many divisions including a few modified racing series races) spotted for me and that worked out well. Our driving styles are similar and its nice to have a spotter that understands what your doing and how the car changes throughout the race.
RPM. Are you all set for the race at Monadnock Speedway this weekend?
Jacob. I finished the setup about 12:30 or 1 am last night. Just need to straiten out the RR quarter panel and put the new front bumper on and load it up.
RPM. What do you think about the 2011 Valenti Modified schedule?
Jacob. I think its a little intense with 4 races on large tracks (Thompson, Stafford). Also with a high dollar race being a points race is a little frustrating. I can’t complain because we do go to some good tracks for me with Monadnock, Beechridge, and Waterford. I’m also planning on going to Star Speedway for a few weekly shows.
RPM. With 17 races this season can you recover from one bad or missed race, or do you need to be consistent all season to win the championship?
Jacob. Consistency is key to finishing well in the points. You can make up for a poor race or missed race if you have the finishes to do so. Dwight Jarvis last year had a chance at the championship after missing the first race and losing a motor at Thompson. However for a team like mine, we don’t plan on running top 5 at a place like Thompson or Stafford so we really need to put together 13 good races.
RPM. Which is your favorite race track?
Jacob. Beech Ridge is one of my favorites, it’s home for me, short tow good people, beautiful track. It can be tricky for as easy as it looks. I also like Monadnock, it’s a like a bull ring, you really can wrestle with the car for 100 laps. Both ends of the track are completely different.
RPM. What is your most memorable moment in your racing career?
Jacob. Its hard to come up with just one memorable moment. It could be winning Twin State my rookie year. It could be the TNT Championship in legends cars back in ‘07. That was a good year. I think there will be more memorable moments to come this year.
RPM. If you could change one thing to improve the racing in the modified series what would it be?
Jacob. I’m not sure, they do there best to keep everything even, maybe they could do something with drawing for our heat start spots to help the guys that run every week.
RPM. Has the economy effected your racing?
Jacob. The economy has effected everyone. We lost a few good sponsors, but there has been great companies that have come forward to help us out. Dead River Co. is new to us this year, and they are helping us out with our diesel fuel for towing.
RPM. What are you studying at UNH?
Jacob. Studying Mechanical Engineering. In my Jr. year now. 3.75GPA
RPM. What do you do when you are not racing?
Jacob. Right now when I’m not racing you can find me in the school library working on homework or various projects during the week. The weekend I’m in the garage trying to make sure the car is perfect for the next race. Hopefully during the summer I’ll spend my days working with an engineering internship and most the week nights in the garage, and catching every race I possibly can.
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