Team Puts Ransomville in Rear View Mirror After Muddled “Battle of the Border”

By Dave Sully - (Ransomville, NY) Perhaps it was the threat of bad weather, or maybe it was residual effects of the celebrated Dave Just incident from last year, but things did not go according to plan for the team at the “Battle of the Border,” (more truth than poetry here). However, at the end of the night, the team recorded a respectable 12th place finish, which could have been a lot worse, and is ready to move on.

The night started out on a sour note, when the track refused to honor the crew’s dirt cards when they signed in at the pits, an obvious slight for what is a common practice at most facilities. It got worse when the timing loop malfunctioned, forcing the heats to be determined by a “feast or famine” pill draw instead of time trials, at which Mat has been strong lately. The draw put him near the back in the heat, from where he was shuffled to the rear on the start, where he ultimately finished.

Starting tail in the consi, from which three would qualify, Mat struggled to a fifth place finish, forcing him to use a provisional to get into the race. He ended up starting last (30th). As for the consi, Mat observed, “I knew we had a provisional. I was planning on taking it at the start of the race.” By battling and clawing, avoiding wrecks and other mayhem, he was able to make up eighteen spots to salvage the 12th place finish, after being tied for the Series point lead going into the event, when Mat Sheppard was DQ’d after winning at Cornwall on Monday night, losing a hundred points in the process.

To cap it all off, the skies opened up just as the Sportsman Feature ended, drowning the pit area, perhaps a fitting conclusion to a frustrating night.

Mat put it in perspective, noting, “It’s nice when you go to a dirt show and you go to a professional race track, to have everything organized where you can time trial, and it’s not the luck of the draw. That put us behind the eight ball right at the start. This place isn’t known for passing. If I was watching the race, I’d be disappointed, but to be in it was another thing. When you’re sitting back and you can’t pass race cars, even when you know you’re faster, it puts you in a tight spot.”

So, we took the provisional, started 30th and got to twelfth. We moved up on a race track where there wasn’t much passing going on. I’m just glad we don’t have to come here every Friday night.”

Mat concluded, “The car was decent. You had to really play the race track. You had to hope a guy made a mistake and take advantage of it. To sit out there for 75 laps, it’s the most boring race I’ve ever been in. I’m just glad it’s over. We salvaged a good run from it. I’m glad that we’ve got this place off the schedule, and we can move onto the next show.”

To quote the old R and B tune, “Mama said there’d be days like this.” However, the team survived; the car rolled onto the hauler in one piece, and they’re still in the hunt. Coming off two good performances at Cornwall, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future.