RYAN PROBST
WINS in 5th Career Feature Start!
The Second half of the season for Ryan Probst in the
#99 Lucas Oil IRS Midget started with a storm. A Storm of rain and
lighting that came in from the west cancelling the September 3rd
events. The team went home to race the following night back in the
Grundy County Fairgrounds and also home to the 33rd annual “Night of
Features” event. The night of features consists of the biggest
grudge match of the season in 7 divisions that race at the facility.
The IRS (Illini Racing Series Midgets) program was also the 3rd
annual Tom Arthur Memorial. This event is in memory of Tom Arthur, a
legend to many in midget racing and at the Grundy County Speedway.
The IRS practices went off for the team with no issues to speak of,
just minor tweaks to the car based on some good information from
Ryan and discussions with Kevin. Ryan is getting the feel of this
car and can really tell when something needs to change and what it
is. Kevin is also picking up on the fine tune adjustments that make
these lightweight high horsepower cars work.
Next up was the heats. Ryan was in heat 1 row 3 outside for the
start. He got an education in what it means to get the tires cleaned
and warm as well as the brakes. Ryan backpedalled to the 8th spot.
In the short 8 lap heat time was not in his favor, but he managed to
get it in gear and make his way to finish 4th. We discussed what
happened and it was decided that the car was good and the only
change needed was to raise the car for the new fuel load for the
feature.
The Feature:
Ryan, with some luck on his side, got the lucky ball so to speak as
the inversion draw put the #99 Lucas Oil, Expert Plumbing Chevy on
the front row outside. With that, Kevin discussed with Ryan the need
to warm the brakes and get the tires right for the start. All
through the warm up and line up of the cars, Ryan got the car ready
for the green flag.
The Green Flag came and Ryan was on it. Fast! He took turn one and
lead the other cars through lap after lap. Ryan kept a good distance
between him and the second place car. Sean Murphy’s #5 SET racing
EcoTec was coming fast. Sean is a very experienced veteran in Midget
car racing and had won the last 2 nights with wins in the heat and
feature for the perfect night of racing and 300 points each
consecutive night.
With 15 of the 25 lap feature in the rear view mirror, Ryan kept his
methodical and relentlessly fast paced laps very consistent. He was
like clockwork making every turn with the precision only usually
seen by veteran racers. Ryan had Sean coming and he was coming hard.
Trying to get under and outside, Sean tried everything he could to
make the pass without taking either driver out. It was possibly the
best feature of the night with no cautions and no contact with the
leaders. 10 to go, 9 to go, 8,7,6, the team kept waiting for Ryan to
make a slight mistake or have Sean lean into his bumper or nerf bar
taking the rookie for a ride. 5 to go and Ryan is still making fast
consistent laps, 4, 3, 2, White Flag. Ryan got his first white flag
while leading a feature. With only 4 more turns, Ryan kept his pace
and the pressure on the 2nd place driver Sean Murphy. When Ryan made
turn 2 and pulled the #5 to the 3rd corner, everyone stood and
watched as the Rookie beat the Veteran to the finish line and took
his first win of his young racing career. Ryan won this event from
flag to flag and looked like a seasoned veteran in the process.
This was his first feature race win and only the 5th feature start
as well as his first race off of rookie status. It was a great night
for the team and for Ryan to have such success this early in his
Rookie season.
Thanks to all our supporting partners and for sticking with us in
this new program and helping to give Ryan the chance to get this big
win. It really sets the stage for 2012 and his quest to race for a
full season and the point championship in the IRS series of midget
cars.
Lucas Oil Products
Expert Plumbing Service Inc.
MSD Ignition Systems
Ringers Gloves
Lithium Pros Lithium Ion Batteries |
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