Eddie MacDonald and the Grimm Racing Team raced not only at racetracks but also to airports this past weekend. Eddie Mac competed Saturday night at the Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway then on Sunday taking the green flag in the TD Bank 250 in Oxford, Maine.
“We did the same thing last year and it was not a lot of fun dealing with the logistics of travel and getting cars to the tracks,” said MacDonald. “We had a great effort from the guys on the team in Columbus and Oxford. A lot of people put in a lot of hard work and Rollie and I are really thankful we have such committed people. The support for our team is just super.”
The K&N Pro Series East Jegs 150 on the half mile track produced a 10th place finish for the Grimm Construction Chevy. “I just couldn’t drive the car on the second groove and when we had a lot of cautions late in the race we had to start on the outside every time. We lost two or three spots before I could get back down to the bottom,” said the Rowley, Mass. driver. “Every time we would battle to get back to eighth then another caution flag and we would have to do it all over again.”
When the green flag waved, MacDonald started in the 14th spot on the grid. After 30 laps the #71 gained four positions and moved into eighth at the halfway flag on lap 75 with MacDonald saying, “As long as I could pass on the bottom I was able to hold position on the track. But as soon as the cautions started in the second half of the race it seemed we were always running eighth and got stuck on the outside for the restart. On the positive side, we had another top ten finish. We have finished in the top ten for all but one race this year. We have five races left on tracks we have run well on so hopefully we will finish strong.”
MacDonald is currently in eighth place in the point’s race as only15 points separate positions four through eighth.
The K&N Pro Series East will venture west again for the second race of the season at Iowa Speedway. It will be the second combination race of the season with the West Series in the Pork Be Inspired 150 on August 3. Speed will televise the Columbus race on August 2 at 3p.m.
The second race of the weekend began soon after the completion of the Jegs 150 when Eddie Mac, Rollie LaChance, and crew members had it in high gear to make the three hour drive to the Pittsburg airport to make the flight to Portland Jetport and then to Oxford for the 8:50 a.m. practice for the Late Model TD Bank 250. While the 80+ cars that weretrying to make the 39 car field practiced a full day on Saturday, the Hancock Electric sponsored ride would have only two practice sessions to ready the car for the heats.
MacDonald started third in the fifth heat and easily won the 15 lap qualifier and started fifth in the 250 lap main event. The two time winner of the event, Eddie Mac ran second after 18 laps despite battling aloose racecar. Many competitors pitted on the first caution flag on lap 69 but MacDonald and crew elected to stay out hoping to pit somewhere near the halfway point for tires and fuel with Eddie Mac saying, “We were loose in the center and a little free off but everyone was sliding around so we thought we could wait for halfway to pit. We were running okay in second place and no one was going to catch Joey Pole so we knew we made the right decision.”
On lap 135 the caution flag flew and the #17 came to the pits for tires, fuel and no adjustments then returning to the track in third place. “The crew did a fantastic job on the pit stop and we beat a lot of cars back to the track. Unfortunately the new tires did not work for the car and fell off very quickly. We just got a lot looser as the race went on and by the end I was just hanging on trying not to lose it. We fell back to ninth place by the end. It was really disappointing to run like that. We expected to do a lot better but it wasn’t meant to be. I feel bad for all the people who jumped in to help us this weekend. We are lucky to have so many good people helping us. I know that I, Rollie and the regular crew guys could not have done it without them. We appreciate Kenny Thompson from Hancock Electric for his support of us in this series. We are going to race the ACT race at Beech Ridge this Saturday in Freddie Peterson’s car and we are looking forward to a good run there.”