August 15, 2011

PROBST MOTORSPORTS - A New Era

OK, the time has come to write an update on the Probst Motorsports 2011 racing efforts and Ryan Probst with this new racing direction. We are just past the half-way point of the races Ryan will compete in for the 2011 IRS schedule of events racing only the pavement races in this 2011 season.

 

The Illini Racing Series (IRS) www.illiniracing.com is a sportsman Midget racing car series that develops drivers in the Midget race car field leading to the national class of Midget cars. The IRS utilizes all the same chassis and equipment but uses slightly differing widths and engine specs as well as a specified treaded American Racer DOT tire rule. The limiting engine factors are based on restrictor plates of varying sizes depending on the level of the engine. National class engines compete side by side with stock based engines such as the Chevrolet EcoTec and the Ford Focus. The Tire rule restricts the amount of horsepower that can be utilized, thus creating a real driver class that is very competitive while reducing costs of competition. Compared to the National Midgets, the IRS class will use tires for many races while a national Midget will use up a set every time on the track if allowed. The IRS engines will last all season, the Nationals need rebuilding after every 4 to six rounds of racing. The lists goes on, but suffice it to say, the IRS is a great tool for aspiring Midget car drivers to learn the cars and the driving styles at a reduced cost.

 

Probst Motorsports has ventured into this new arena of racing after 33 years in the rough and tumble world of professional off road short course racing with Ryan’s Dad Kevin Probst driving. Many of the teams off road sponsors/partners are also helping our team to transition into pavement and dirt midget car racing. We have also added some new additions to the Probst Motorsports partner family.

 

1.       Lucas Oil Products (www.lucasoil.com) headquartered in Corona, California, signed on for the 2011 season to help Ryan get his start in racing. After years of support in Off-Road, Lucas Oil agreed to partner with the team as a Primary sponsor in the world of Midget car racing. The team is using some very special Lucas Oil lubricants that were specifically developed for light weight pavement cars. Products such as the new L9 Racing Synthetic gear lubricant, G3 racing grease and Synthetic 0w30 Racing oils keep the high horsepower methanol engine and lightweight Winters aluminum live quick change rear end alive. The new Super Coolant radiator additive keeps the engine water cooler and the Lucas S1 and S2 suspension fluids make the shocks perform consistently all night.

 

2.       Expert Plumbing Service Inc. (www.expertplumbers.com) based in New Lenox, Illinois joined the team for the 2011 season as an associate sponsor. Expert Plumbing is a full service plumbing contractor servicing customers from Ohio to Iowa and Kansas to Minnesota. They are a commercial lining specialist with exclusive products designed to re-line sewer and drainage lines without the costs of removing the original degraded plumbing. This saves major money when it comes to repairing underground piping systems used in modern manufacturing and bottling facilities.

 

3.       MSD Ignition Systems (www.msdignition.com) has maintained the spark the team required for over 25 years.

 

4.       Ringers Gloves (www.ringersgloves.com) has also maintained the support of the team supplying all the protective work gear the team needs. Race crew gloves, DriverX racing gloves utilize CarbonX construction, and UnderX fire garments utilize CarbonX fire protection as well. Crew and fire protection under gear are only a portion of the products Ringers Gloves can supply to race teams and all other areas where quality gloves and protective fire gear is required.

 

5.       Lithium Pros Batteries (www.lithiumpros.com) has joined the team to help market this high tech battery to this very meticulous group of customers. This new product shaved a significant amount of weight from the car bringing the battery needs of this very weight conscious form of racing to state of the art products. The old battery weight was 12.9 pounds and the new Lithium Pro Battery is a mere 3.8 pounds. This new technology uses a micro-processor to maintain current flow as well as battery charging all while delivering all the power needed for this total loss electrical system.

 

LETS GO MIDGET RACING:

·         Ryan started his season June 18 at the Grundy County fairgrounds in Morris, IL.. We tested for a day before this event and Ryan showed he had the skills to handle the car, traffic was another unknown. With well over 100 laps on the track, the team felt good about the starting race for Ryan. The event came and we went through the first practice. The car would not run correctly. Fuel problems caused us to miss the heat races. We chased and chased and finally found the issue, but Ryan only got to race the feature event. Starting in the rear of the field as a rookie driver, Ryan started the race in position 18 and finished 11^thi with no practice or seat time. Ryan showed everyone watching that he has the skills to race.

 

·         The second event for Ryan was July 3^rd at the legendary Rockford Speedway in Rockford, IL.. This event was the first event Ryan was able to qualify with a timed qualification. He qualified 12 out of 19 cars. The heat race had Ryan starting at the rear again (Rookie start position). Ryan started 9^th and finished 6^th in the 8 lap sprint. The main event Feature had Ryan starting at the rear in 19^th. By lap 20 of the 30 lap event, Ryan made the pass for 6^th and the following lap lost an engine due to a fuel lean condition. Ryan was 12^th on the day and would have finished top 5.

 

·         The third event was back at Grundy July 30th. The wall was not kind for Ryan in practice, DAY Over!.

 

·         The forth event was back again in Rockford on August 20th. Ryan was supposed to have finished his Rookie status and when he qualified 9^th got to start in his spot. The inversion ball put Ryan on the 2^nd row inside and within 2 laps Ryan took the lead and never looked back taking his first win of his young career in very convincing manner. The Feature race gave the lucky inversion ball to Ryan again putting him on the pole for his first time. At the start, Ryan’s car had loaded up slightly giving the edge to the outside pole sitter. Ryan raced the 2^nd spot for 8 laps of the 30 lap feature giving no ground to the eventual winner Sean Murphy. Ryan’s car was loose and with a little nudge from behind, Ryan lost 2 spots. Running in 4^th, Ryan made his way back to contention passing the 3^rd place car with 2 laps to go only to give the spot back in the next corner. Ryan finished the night in 4^th in close striking distance to the top 3 cars.

 

·       The last event in this update was last Saturday August 27 also back in Grundy. The officials told Ryan he would have to start 2 more races to be done with Rookie status. Ryan would start this night in the rear again. The officials had calculated wrong in letting Ryan start his positions in Rockford the previous week.

 

The IRS did not qualify, so Ryan started his heat race from the 8^th spot at the rear. Ryan finished 4^th in the 8 lap dash. The car was loose. We had a friend who crewed Midgets for over 35 years come to the race and stopped by. He came over after the heat to see if he could make some suggestions. We took him up on the help. With numerous changes, the #99 was sent out on the track to start at the rear. We told Ryan to take the first couple laps and feel the car out to see if the changes helped. BOY did they help. Ryan went through the field like he was on rails and ended the night in the 7^th spot of 18 starters. The race was only a 20 lap feature, and another 10 laps, who knows! The car was fast and the driver was thrilled. Ryan said the car was the best it has been and now he starts the rest of his races as a non-rookie.

 

We cannot wait until the double feature at Grundy on Labor Day weekend.

 

Thanks to all our supporting partners and for sticking with us in this new program.

 

Lucas Oil Products                           

Expert Plumbing Service Inc.

MSD Ignition Systems

Ringers Gloves

Lithium Pros Lithium Ion Batteries

The Remaining IRS Schedule for Ryan Probst in  2011

Ryan will compete in the Full 2012 Dirt and Pavement IRS Schedule to chase the championship.