photo by Norm Marx
By Dick Casey
(PASS) 150 lap feature on Sunday, May 21 at Autodrome Montmagny in Quebec. The Rowley, Mass driver started tail in the seventeen car field due to a weight mix up. Eddie Mac drove the Dave Lemieux owned Pro Stock/SLM through the stellar competition to post the fifth place run.
Eddie Mac posted the fastest time in both practices and was poised to compete for the win but a mix up at the scales forced the #17 to start in the rear with Eddie Mac saying, “We were a few pounds heavy on the left side when we went over the scales so we moved the weight around but we didn’t go back over the scales and that was our fault. It was too bad because the car was really fast and had a great shot to contend for the win.”
When the green flag waved, Eddie Mac drove to the tenth position by the first and only caution of the race on lap 17 with the veteran driver saying, “During the caution the officials let a team member come out to clean the windshield because there was so much speedy-dry on the track from the earlier race. The car was going good but it was slippery out there. After that caution I rode around for a while not really pushing it too hard because we all expected another caution but surprisingly that was the only one. It was hard to believe we could run the rest of the way without a yellow. The field really began to spread out so it was tough to make up ground and pass cars.”
On lap 50, Eddie Mac began making his move from the tenth position and into the sixth spot at the halfway flag. Gaining positions became more difficult as the front runners were spread out on the 3/8ths of a mile oval with Eddie Mac saying, “I got into fifth place on lap 95 and I was driving as hard as I could but the third and fourth place cars were a full straight ahead of me. I chased them down in about 25 laps but I just couldn’t get by them. I could drive it in hard in the turns and get up alongside them but I couldn’t get back to the throttle because the car was loose at that point and I was driving up in the marbles.”
“We really thought we could win this race with the car as fast as it was but it was our own fault for not going back across the scales,” said a disappointed Eddie Mac. “This track is fast and a lot of fun to drive. The straights are long so you need a lot of engine and we had it and it really handled great in the turns. We just needed another caution to bunch the cars back up then I think we would have had a great chance to win. There were a number of fast cars here so when everything got spread out it was almost impossible to make up that much ground. It was a lot of fun coming here and Quebec city is a beautiful area and the team got to spend Saturday sightseeing and everyone enjoyed themselves.”
“Rollie (LaChance) and I thank all the crew for making the trip here and doing an awesome job as they usually do. Rob Drandson, Tom Rice Brian Neal, and Ryan LaChance worked great in the pits. Laura LaChance helps Rollie spot and does the time sheet. Jolene Drandson does the social media and keeps everyone back home informed about what is going on throughout the day and I thank her. My girlfriend Kelyn Harrell takes care of all the stuff needed to do so I can concentrate on the racecar. Thanks to Derek Beatrice from EXIT Realty for his support. Special thanks to car owner Dave Lemieux for giving us everything we need and special thanks to our K&N team owner Rob Grimm who supports our racing efforts. “
The #17 Pro Stock/SLM team is scheduled to compete again in the inaugural Granite State PASS race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 1.