photo by RPM 360
By Dick Casey
Eddie MacDonald battled a tight race car on Sunday, May 8 in the 18th Annual Merchants Bank 150 at Thunder Road in Barre, Vermont to post an eighth place finish in the American Canadian tour’s race at the famed speedway. The event originally scheduled for last weekend but postponed due to rain, was again delayed by morning rain and blustery cold weather prevailed throughout the day.
“I don’t really know what happened to the car during the race,” said Eddie Mac. “We were really happy with it in practice and in the heat. Even during last Saturday’s practice here, we felt like the car was going good and we would have solid shot at the win. I don’t know if it was the cold or something else but the car was tight right from the start of the race and just didn’t have any speed.”
Eddie Mac drew the sixth starting position in the second heat but actually started second when cars in front of the Rowley, Mass. veteran dropped out. The Exit Realty/Hancock Electric Chevy easily won the heat earning a plus one rating forcing a 12th place start in the feature with Eddie Mac saying, “We started on the outside and there were a number of cars in front of us that just couldn’t run out there. I fell back in the pack and with the car not handling, it just kept getting worse. It was a struggle during the race to get the car going.”
A caution on lap 49 gave crew chief Rollie LaChance an opportunity to bring the Freddie Peterson owned Chevy to the pits to try to free the car up. Another caution on lap 54 found Eddie Mac in the pits again for a little more tweaking. When Eddie Mac took the green flag, the #17 restarted in the 23rd position with Eddie Mac saying, “After we made the two adjustments, the car was better and I was able to drive it to the top ten but we probably needed one more adjustment to get it where we could compete for the win.”
With 30 laps to go in the 150 lap event, Eddie Mac rode in the 13th position and into ninth on lap 133. With 17 laps remaining, Eddie Mac gained one more spot to post the eighth place run saying, “The finish was a lot better than we ran. It was a strange day because the car was so good in practice and the heat but just changed once we started the race. It was just one of those days you struggle at the track for every spot. The crew did a great job considering how cold it was all during the day. We sat around from nine o’clock before the rain stopped and we finally unloaded around one-thirty, then it was a rush to get everything done. Rollie and I appreciate all their hard work.”
“We have such great support beginning with our team owners Sheila and Freddie Peterson from Peterson Auto Body in Peabody,” said Eddie Mac. “Derek Beatrice from Exit Realty Beatrice Associates in Middleton is with us full time this year and we really appreciate Exit’s support. Of course, we are forever grateful for Kenny and Scott Thompson from Hancock Electric Motor Service in Quincy for their sponsorship over the last ten years. Our K&N team owner Rob Grimm has been a huge supporter of our Late Model efforts and we appreciate everything he has done. Hopefully we can have a good, solid run at Airborne next week.”
The team will have short week to prepare for the Spring Green 116 on Saturday, May 14 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, NY.