photo by RPM
Eddie MacDonald “struggled” with the Hancock Electric Motor Chevy for most of the 2nd annual ACT International 300 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. posting a 13th place finish. The #17Mass. Late Model owned by Freddie Peterson from Peterson’s Auto Body located in Saugus, Mass. completed the first two segments in eighth and ninth place respectively but was unable to complete a lap on the half-mile oval’s final 75 lap segment.
“We struggled right from the first practice trying to find some speed but nothing worked,” said the frustrated Eddie Mac. “It was one of those days that you can honestly say we tried every possible combination but nothing gave us the speed we needed. We seem to struggle at this track. We had one good run here last year and we even tried that set-up but that didn’t work either. It was frustrating for Rollie, the crew and me. We thought we maybe hit on something during the first segment but even that didn’t last.”
MacDonald started 13th hoping to claim the $25,000 first place prize money in the first 50 lap segment but was forced to the pits for an adjustment when an early caution flag waved saying, “Rollie made a wedge and air adjustment and the car responded. I had to start in the back but the car was flying and I was able to drive to eighth place before we ran out of laps. Then our bad luck continued when the alternator quit and killed the battery so we had to change both before we could get back out there for the second segment. It seemed like it was one thing after another.”
Starting 17th, MacDonald was able to drive the car to ninth when the flag waved ending the 75 lap segment saying, “By the time the second segment started the car changed completely from where we ended the first run. We gained some positions but it was pretty clear that we did not have anything for the leaders but we wanted to finish strong but then the final shoe dropped when we lost something in the rear end and had to park it before the green flag even waved. We don’t know what happened to the car but we will know better when we take a look at it today. All in all, it was pretty frustrating couple of days for everyone involved. I thank the crew for all their hard work. I just wish we could have been competitive. Special thanks to Ken and Scott Thompson for their continued support. Hopefully we will have better luck at Beech Ridge in August.
Eddie Mac was credited with a 13th place finish with 8-9-24=41 point total. The American Canadian Tour will take the green flag again at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine on Saturday, August 9.
The Grimm Construction Chevy is slated to compete in the K&N Pro Series East and West combination race at Iowa Speedway on Friday, August 1.