First Late Model Stock Start!
Jacksonville, NC - On 27 May 2022, the Tech Racing crew consisting of Thomas Chappell, Jerry Chappell, Gwen Chappell, and Zack Chappell headed out to Goodyear All-American Speedway for the Remember the Fallen Memorial Day race. Loaded with a fresh car, the team was optimistic! Daniel Dean Jr. met them in Jacksonville, with the plan being to test all day Friday, practice Saturday morning, and go racing Saturday night.
Well, Mother Nature had other plans. While the forecast looked daunting in the earlier days of the week, it quickly waned off the closer it got to race day. Unfortunately, the rain still prevailed on Friday, and GAAS was forced to cancel Friday practice. This was a big blow for the team, as Tech Racing has limited starts at GAAS, and this would not only be Dean’s first start at this track, but would also be his first start in a late model stock, first time on McCreary tires, first time on bump stop suspension, and first time in a “big car” in a wheel-to-wheel environment. This made Saturday morning practice even more crucial.
When Saturday came, the team was focused and had their eyes set on their one goal: make all the laps. Late Model Stock is a higher class than what they would be running all year at Orange County Speedway, so they only needed Dean to learn all he could so he could bring those lessons learned to the Charger class at OCS. First practice session of the day was more eventful than intended. Running on old McCreary tires, grip was hard to come by. Dean drove into turn 1 hard, and after about 5 laps, he quickly found out that he misunderstood the brake marker crew chief Thomas had mentioned, and realized he was driving in about 5 car lengths too deep! Around came the tail of the car, and despite Dean’s best efforts, he could not slow the car enough before he backed into the wall.
The team sprung into action, and after a quick assessment, they found the damage to be minimal! Dean ran throughout the rest of the day, slowly finding his rhythm. As the day rolled on, the crew was accompanied by more and more family and friends, and by the end of the night they would find a packed hauler.
A total of 12 late model stocks rolled off at the start of the night for race 1. It was uneventful for the most part with a 50 lap green flag run. Dean would finish 8th, struggling to find more speed. After Thomas spearheaded a few adjustments, the team enjoyed a feast Gwen had prepared, and waited for race 2.
As the night started coming to an end, the late model stocks yet again rolled onto the racing surface double file. Dean stayed towards the back, keeping the pack close in his windshield and following their lines. After a few eventful cautions and restarts, Dean dove into turn 3 when it finally clicked in his head. Dean had struggled with the bump stops all day, but in that moment he finally caught on to how he was supposed to be driving that package. With about 25 laps to go, it would be a challenge to catch 5th and 6th, but Dean drove on. Unfortunately, it was too little a bit too late, with the car and tires having already been spent. Dean finished out the last race in 7th.
After a protest brought an illegal engine to the surface, the winner of both races that night was disqualified, bringing Dean’s finishes to 7th and 6th respectively. The team learned a lot about their driver’s tendencies and preferences, and Dean learned what areas he needed improvement in. Most importantly, he brought the car home in one piece, and having met their ultimate goal of making all the laps, the team chalked the night up to a success.
Dean now shifts his eyes forward, bringing the experience he gained from running in the higher division to the high banks of Orange County Speedway on 11 June.
