photo by RPM
By Dick Casey
In the same car nearly destroyed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway in May, Eddie MacDonald powered the Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy to a hard earned sixth place finish in the Autolite Iridium XP 150 in the second combination race pitting the East vs. the West on the Newton, Iowa track.
“We brought the car home today without a scratch on it,” laughed Eddie Mac after his ninth race this year in the K&N Pro Series. “The first time here with the new car in May ended in disaster when a tire blew out on lap 57 and destroyed the front clip. After fixing the car, we raced it to a second place finish at New Hampshire a few weeks ago and had hopes of running in the top three and compete for the win here but we struggled in practice and qualifying with it being too tight. We weren’t that great in practice (22nd and 27th) or qualifying (19th) but we thought we would be good for the race. Unfortunately, we just had to wait until after the break for that to happen.”
Starting 19th in the field of 43 cars when the green flag waved, the Rowley, Mass. veteran driver had to bide his time until the halfway break around lap 75 on the .875 of a mile oval saying, “The car was tight from the start and I just could not pass anyone. The track was really different than last time and everyone ran in the second and third groove and shot to the bottom to make their move to pass. It was like Irwindale Speedway but I wasn’t able to take advantage of it and had to wait until we could make some adjustments at the break. Rollie and I planned a number of changes to loosen up the car for the second half run and they really helped. It is too bad the car wasn’t a little bit on the loose side at the beginning. I think we would have been in really good shape. The car was loose but fast the first race here this year but it was just too tight and not as fast this time.”
The #71 Grimm Construction Chevy ran in the 17th to the 20th position for the first half on the race when a caution flag on lap 72 brought the field to the pits for tires, fuel, and adjustments for the second half run. Eddie Mac restarted in the 13th position when the four lead cars were forced to start in the rear of the field for entering the pits too soon which is a NASCAR violation, with Eddie Mac saying, “It was really weird that happened but it was a good break for us. The changes the crew made in the pits really helped the car turn in the corners and I was able to run in the second and third groove and use the bottom to slingshot by some cars. I was able to pass cars which I could not do in the first half. It also helped that Rollie (LaChance) was spotting and he was able to get me into some good positions to make passes and get back in line. Usually the crew chief is in the pits but we didn’t have a spotter so Rollie did it and his experience really paid off for us.”
Eddie Mac began marching to the front picking off cars one at a time and rode in the eighth spot when the caution flag waved on lap 130 of the scheduled 150 lap event. With only eight laps remaining Eddie Mac held the fifth spot saying, “I wanted a top five finish but I just couldn’t hold the spot and had to settle for sixth which we are satisfied with considering how we started the day. Last year we had a second place finish and we tried using that same set-up but it didn’t work. As I said, the track was different this time around so it may have been a combination of factors that caused us to be so tight. A number of drivers complained they were too loose but that was not the case for us. It was a good, solid sixth place run for us and we are happy to bring the car home in one piece this time. The crew did a great job and I thank Rob and Karla Grimm for everything they do for us. Thanks also to Waymart Building Center, Stilo, Schroth Racing, and HMS for their continued support. We are proud to have the Multiple Sclerosis emblem on our cars and encourage everyone to help support the fight for a cure of this terrible disease.”
The Grimm Racing Team has one win (Bristol), two top five’s and five top ten’s in the nine races run in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this season. The next K&N race on the team’s schedule is at Dover International Speedway on September 26. Eddie Mac will also compete in two American Canadian tour races at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on August9 and then defend his title at the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as part of the September Sprint Cup weekend.
Fox Sports 1 will televise the Autolite Iridium XP 150 on Friday, August 8, at 11a.m.