story by Chris Roy
The snow is gone and the Allison Legacy North Series, first race of the season, is almost here. The drivers get ready to return to Lee Speedway, one of New England’s premier race tracks. Once again the blue number 17 driven by Melissa Fifield , will be there. With one 3rd place finish last season, Melissa is looking for that elusive trip to “Victory Lane” and to bring home that 1st place trophy.
Over the winter Melissa has been working full time, as well as working on the race car. “We hung a new body on the car with a slightly new paint color, along with rebuilding the engine on our main car.” The #17 race team is plan on running the full Allison North season, which consists of 16 races on shorts tracks throughout New England. She is also looking to run a few Allison South races.
The race car is all set for the green flag at Lee Speedway, as the 1st race of the season scheduled at Waterford Speedway, was cancelled due to rain. The drivers were able to use the time at the track as a test session. Melissa commented on the day’s practice run, “It went very well so I can’t wait until the first race.”
One changes for the 2011 season is that there are no races at tracks in Maine or Vermont this year. “I would like to go to more tracks and only go to each one twice like the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.” remarked the driver of the #17. The tour schedule will only appear at 5 different tracks this season. It seems that a lot of racing tours carry favor at certain tracks over others.
Though Melissa’s favorite track is Lee Speedway, she considers it to be her home ground. “I enjoy being able to have all my fans and friends come see me race. Lee is a smooth, fast track that creates great side by side racing.” The car just needs a little tweaking with a different spring combination from after the practice at Waterford to get it setup for Lee. Since every track is different the car setup changes from track to track. The team spends a lot of time in the shop getting the car ready for the upcoming race”.
With a strong run last season with a 6th place finish. I asked Melissa if she could bring home the championship. This is what she had to say, “I believe that I can contend for the championship, especially after working out the kinks with the new car and getting the motor done. I have a strong feeling that we will be a contender each week!.”
Safety is always an issue at race tracks due to the speeds of the cars and the risk on the tracks. One change Melissa would like to see to improved in the safety is in the head restraints. “I would make it mandatory that every driver wear a head and neck restraint device. Donuts aren’t for safety they are for coffee!”
Most drivers she would like to see in her rear view mirror with the exception of one. The driver that could be a problem would be her Dad…. he happens to be the Chief of Police. So I asked her if was worried about seeing him in her rear view mirror, she replied with a devilish grin “No, he can’t catch me!!!”