- The
Rocketman Qualifies on the Pole for Chairman’s Cup
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Hemlock, MI (June 24, 2009) - Dan Baudoux believed that racing on the
familiar grounds of Crandon International Raceway would give his Mole Lake
Casino supported Ford F-150 the break he needed for his first strong
finish if the 2009 TORC PRO-2WD season. The past twenty five years has
seen “the Rocketman” win several races and championships on the 1.7 mile
off-road track. Crandon International Raceway is also a few miles from his
title sponsor, Mole Lake Casino Lodge and Conference Center. In many ways
this was considered a homecoming for Dan Baudoux Motorsports.
Friday evening, TORC scheduled a practice session for all the PRO
divisions. At the same time it served as a qualifying session for Sunday
afternoon’s Chairman’s Cup race. The top six in TORC PRO-2WD points
automatically qualify for the high stakes event, leaving three spots on
the grid to be determined by lap times during the practice session.
When Dan and his #7 Mole Lake Casino Miller Lite BP BFGoodrich Ford F-150
hit the track, the time clocks recorded the fastest PRO-2WD lap time out
of all seventeen competitors. Not only did he qualify for the Chairman’s
Cup, he was starting from the pole position.
Before the start of Round 5, the crew at Dan Baudoux Motorsports was
really confident that “the Rocketman” would earn his first podium finish
of the year.
Round 5
As soon as the green flag waved, all the bumping and banging started up as
Dan passed several trucks within the first four laps. At the competition
yellow, the #7 Ford F-150 found itself in seventh place. Maybe this would
be the finish Dan needed to turn his season around.
When the racing went back to green, the right rear tire began come apart.
Dan tried to press on, but with one rear wheel running on the inner liner;
it felt like the brakes were stuck on the truck. Quickly, Dan brought the
Mole Lake Ford for a new tire. The tire took longer than expected as the
inner sidewall had wrapped itself around the suspension. By the time Dan
went back to racing, the team was a couple laps off the leaders. At the
finish Dan Baudoux came home in twelfth place.
“This definitely wasn’t the finish I expected,” remarked Dan Baudoux. “I
tried to avoid hitting a truck that seemed to be stopped in the middle of
the track and I ended up bouncing off the wall and still made contact.
Then the tire self destructed. It’s been a tough way to start a race
season.”
After further inspection, the team needed to replace a bent front spindle
and bent lower control arm, probably due to the heavy contact in the first
half of Round 5.
Round 6
Dan Baudoux lined up his Mole Lake Casino hot rod ready to make his
presence known during the Round 6, 10-lap event. Just after the green flag
fell, a rock broke a brake line leaving “the Rocketman” to use his
transmission to slow down his #7 Ford. Realizing this would destroy his
transmission, Dan pulled off the track to prepare for the heavy metal
Chairman’s Cup event.
Chairman’s Cup
The Chairman’s Cup race is a ten lap sprint, pitting the fastest PRO-2WD
trucks against the fastest PRO-4x4 trucks with the top finishers receiving
a nice paycheck. The Dan Baudoux Motorsports crew prepared the truck for
battle, as only the fiberglass hood and roof were bolted to the chassis.
The aluminum and steel door panels were now covered with Sokaogon Chippewa
Community symbol and all of the attending community members signed the
passenger side panel as well.
The land rush start saw the #7 Ford get a strong start, with only Oberg
and Johnson in front of him. By lap two Dan realized he was down on power
when the crankshaft broke inside the engine, ending his weekend.
“It’s been a tough weekend, but our team is very competitive,” remarked
Dan Baudoux. “We have recorded fastest lap time in our class at Texas and
here in Crandon, but we don’t have the finishes that show it. The folks at
the Mole Lake Casino and everyone in the Sokaogon Chippewa Community are
great supporters of our program; we will get the results that are
representative of our team, very soon. Dan Baudoux Motorsports expects a
strong run in Bark River.”
Dan Baudoux Motorsports would like to thank its sponsors including:
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Mole Lake Casino &
Conference Center
|
Miller Lite
Fox Shox
Boatec
TeamTech Motorsports
Optima Batteries |
BP – British
Petroleum
AMSOIL
K & N Filters
Mastercraft Seats
Turn One |
BFGoodrich Tires
Autometer
KC Hilites
MSD Ignition
Fox Shox |
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You can watch all the
door-to-door action from the Crandon, Sunday, June 28 , at 12:30pm eastern
on ESPN2.
Next race for Dan Baudoux is Rounds 7 & 8 in Bark River, Michigan.
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Media representatives, or sponsors, to set up an interview or meet with
the team, please contact Skip Wilson at SkipWilsonDBM@aol.com. See you all
at the track!
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- Mike Reusche,
MTG
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|
Date |
Track / Location |
| May
15-16 |
Texas Motor Speedway,
Ft. Worth, TX |
| May
29-30 |
Perris Auto Speedway,
Perris, CA |
|
June 20-21 |
Crandon Raceway,
Crandon, WI |
|
July 11-12 |
Bark River Intl Raceway,
Bark River, MI |
|
August 8-9 |
Bark River Intl Raceway, Bark River, MI |
|
August 29 |
*Perris Auto Speedway,
Perris, CA |
|
Sept 4-6 |
Crandon Intl Raceway, Crandon, WI |
|
Sept 26-27 |
Pala, CA |
| Oct
31-Nov 1 |
Las Vegas, NV |
|
