Team Sticker Dude Race Report - Crandon Brush Run
June 26, 2006 Lake Zurich, IL Team Sticker Dude Race Report ? Forest County Potawatomi Brush Run The first week of summer means it time for the first trip of the year to off-road racing?s ?Big House,? Crandon International Raceway. The weather was slightly damp and a touch on the cool side, but the racing was as hot as ever as the competitors and fans of the Lucas Oil Championship Off-Road Racing series would expand the population of Crandon, Wisconsin tenfold. After morning practice, the Sticker Dude crew quickly cleaned and inspected the buggy and mounted a fresh set of Goodyear Wranglers for the early afternoon event. As the Single Buggy group were lining up for the start, track announcer patched into Luke?s radio frequency and interviewed the ?Sticker Dude? so all at the track could find out what goes through a driver?s mind just before the start of one of the biggest races of the year. Luke Zoetmulder CORR Round 3 - Saturday Precision Gear Single Buggy Feature After morning practice, the Sticker Dude crew quickly cleaned and inspected the buggy and after much thought, mounted a fresh set of Goodyear MT tires for Lucas Oil Round 3. As the Single Buggy group were lining up for the start, Steven Federico, Luke?s spotter, had Dave, the track announcer patched into Luke?s radio frequency for a pre-race interview. The ?Sticker Dude? gave all at the track an insight what goes through a driver?s mind just before the start of one of the biggest races of the year. Luke ?The Sticker Dude? Zoetmulder and his #342 Sticker Dude Designs PF Changs Invisible Glass Attig Terminator Single Buggy were position directly in the middle of the front row for the Precision Gear Land Rush Start. At the drop of the flag, immediately there was some bumping and shoving causing Luke to be conservative as the swarm of air-cooled VW powered Buggies headed for Forest County Potawatomi Turn One. Once safely through Turn One, Luke quickly ?got up on the wheel? and began to attack the field. As the laps went by Luke began working his way towards the front of the field. During the 8 lap feature, the ?Sticker Dude? improved his position seven places. At the checkered flag, Luke was awarded eighth place in the 20 car field. Saturday night and early Sunday morning saw more rain dampen the track. The excessive moisture on the track forced the track officials to cancel practice. This reduced the amount of time the racers needed to prep the trucks and buggies for the races later in the day. Luckily Mother Nature cooperated as the rain stopped and the track dried out making for perfect racing conditions. Luke Zoetmulder Sunday - CORR Round 4 Northern Lights Single Buggy Feature Luke ?The Sticker Dude? Zoetmulder went into Sunday?s race with added confidence thanks to Saturday?s strong performance. At the start, Luke came out of Potawatomi Turn One in eleventh place. The limited displacement buggies seem to spread out more than they did in the previous round. Undaunted, again the ?Sticker Dude? went to work on the buggies that were just ahead of him. This round Luke was able to improve three spots and came home in 8th place. After four rounds of racing Luke Zoetmulder is in ninth place in the Single Buggy Championship points standings and is a leading contender for the Sportsman Rookie of the Year. ?This weekend I really concentrated at hitting my marks on every lap and every corner. The Goodyear Wrangler tires really help put all the Attig built power to the ground. My spotter, Steven Federico was a great help with the traffic and keeping me focused.?-commented Luke Zoetmulder. Currently Luke Zoetmulder sits in 8th place out of 21 drivers in the 2006 Lucas Oil Sportsman Single Buggy Championship. Steven Federico Saturday - CORR Round 3 Lucas Oil Pro-Lite Feature The overcast skies that were overhead all Saturday finally produced a light rain as the Pro-Lite field began to line up for the start of Round 3. Quickly Team Sticker Dude drivers Steven Federico and Lee O?Donnell added another stack of Racing Optics tear offs to their helmets. Steven Federico and his #24 PF Changs, Invisible Glass, Stick Dude Designs Toyota Tacoma Pro-Lite had a second row starting position due to his performance in Chula Vista. As the field came out of the finish line corner, Steven was mid pack in 10th place. Heading into the switchback, Steven made a great pass on the ?switch,? but caught a rut on the ?back? sending Steven into a violent roll. The shunt destroyed the entire PF Changs Invisible Glass fiberglass body. Somehow Steven shook off the cobwebs out of his head, refired the truck and continued on with the race. The truck with all its body panels gone still ran a strong race. Unfortunately, the entire field of 24 trucks was well in front of him. At the finish Steven was credited with 19th place. Steven Federico Sunday ? CORR Round 4 Skyjacker Pro-Lite Feature Again Steven had a second row starting position. Once again Steven knew he has to pass as many trucks as possible by Turn One to have a chance at a Top 5 finish. When the green flag dropped, Steven charged by several competitors and held the twelfth spot as the fielded went through BorgWarner Turn Two. Right behind Steven was rookie #77 Dan Vandenhuvel Jr. Steven kept the pedal to the metal and gradually picked of several competitors as the laps came to a close. The entire time Vandenhuvel kept pace with Steven, but unable to get close enough to make a clean pass. This seemed to wear on the #77 as race officials warned him of his over aggressive driving. As Steven Federico and his #24 PF Changs, Invisible Glass, Stick Dude Designs Toyota Tacoma came across the finish line in 6th place; Vandenhuvel gave Steven?s truck a hit in the right rear, spinning Steven?s truck. The CORR race official assessed a rough driving penalty to the #77. Afterwards Steven commented about his weekend. ?Starting in the second row with such a large field of trucks is a real challenge. My aggressiveness on Saturday really could have been a real setback. My Crew Chief A.J. along with Charlie, and Henry really put in some long hours to get the truck ready for Sunday. We were able to get a top10 out of Sunday, and after all we have been through this year, that?s an accomplishment.? Currently Steven Federico sits 16th place out 30 drivers in the 2006 Lucas Oil CORR Pro-Lite Championship. Lee O?Donnell Saturday - CORR Round 3 Lucas Oil Pro-Lite Feature After replacing the clutch late Friday evening, Lee and after an early morning tech inspection, Lee #23 PF Changs, Invisible Glass, Stick Dude Designs Nissan Frontier had to go through Technical Inspection Saturday morning. This prevented Lee from practicing before Saturday?s race. When the green flag dropped from the Precision Gear Starting Tower, Lee smoothly made his way into 8th place as the field came out of turn one. The huge field of Pro-Lites made for some real competitive racing. The light rain that was falling seemed to work to Lee?s advantage as his Goodyear Wrangler Tires really hooked up to the track. Quickly Lee moved into sixth place and begins to battle with another Nissan driver, Art Schmidt. The two trucks run close together the entire race. At the checkered flag, it was 1st Kyle Leduc, 2nd Chad Hord, 3rd Randy Eller, 4th Art Schmidt, and 5th Lee O?Donnell. Lee O?Donnell Sunday ?CORR Round 4 Skyjacker Pro-Lite Feature As mention previously, Mother Nature cancelled the Sunday morning practice session. Lee was looking for another top 10 finish after a solid finish on Saturday. At the start Lee took his front row starting position and came down the front straightaway in seventh place. On lap 4 Lee made the pass on #54 Robert, and held the sixth spot all the way to the finish. The last five laps did not see a change in position among the top 6 the final five laps. At the finish it was 1st Jeff Kincaid, 2nd Chad Hord, 3rd Art Schmidt, 4th John Marking, 5th Rodrigo Ampudia, 6th Lee O?Donnell, and 7th Steven Federico. ?We really stepped up program this year with the new Nissan Frontier,? commented Lee O?Donnell. ?The truck handles incredible and we have made some improvements with the engine department as well. Having Steve as a teammate helps us both on and off the track. I can?t say enough about the Goodyear Wrangler tires, they always work great everywhere we run, especially Crandon.? Currently Lee O?Donnell sits 7th place out of 30 drivers in the 2006 Lucas Oil CORR Pro-Lite Championships. Team Sticker Dude Racing would like to thank all their supporters, including: PF Changs, Sticker Dude Designs, Invisible Glass, Goodyear Tires, American Racing, Mechanix Wear, Nielsen Enterprises, Phil?s Inc ? Truck Stuff, Racing Optics, Precision Gear, Toyota, Nissan, Fresh Air Systems, Autometer, K & N Filters, & MSD Ignition. Next Race - July 8-9 ? Island Inn Casino UP Off-Road 100 ? Bark River, Michigan.