Team Sticker Dude Racing - CORR Report - Bark River
July 11, 2006 For immediate release Lake Zurich, IL Team Sticker Dude Racing ? CORR Race Report ? Bark River, MI Team Sticker Dude Racing headed to Bark River, Michigan Thursday night so they could participate in the race display, Friday morning, at the Exxon Service station that?s on Highway 2 in downtown Bark River. Once again Steven Federico, in an effort to maximize the exposure for the team?s sponsors, co-hosted the live remote 97.1 FM ?morning drive? radio show. After a quick practice session Friday afternoon, Lee, Luke, and Steven were ready for the Bark River Lions Club UP OFF-Road 100 presented by Chip In?s Island Resort & Casino and BOSS Snowplow. Luke Zoetmulder ? Single Buggy Saturday Round 5 The 26 Single Buggy field lined up slightly staggered across the entire width of the starting grid. Luke had a great starting position just seven spots from the pole position. At the start Luke Zoetmulder and his #342 Sticker Dude Designs Invisible Glass Goodyear Tires Attig Terminator Single Buggy skillfully avoided all the major problems, but found himself further back in the pack than he liked. As Luke went over the ?hill? onto the back portion of the track, the Goodyear tires were really allowing Sticker Dude to move towards the front. As Luke hit the double jump, the buggy got sideways coming off the first and spun hitting the second jump. As the Luke was spinning another competitor made hard contact with the front end of the #342. The contact broke the steering and suddenly ended his day. ?The start was absolute mayhem. Somehow I got the through the start without a problem. When we came down the backside of the hill, we were all running so close together, I couldn?t take the good line over the double jumps. The spin and contact ended our day early. We will get it fixed and be ready for Sunday, ? said Luke Zoetmulder. Sunday Round 6 This time around Luke started in the ninth position on the starting grid. At the drop of the flag, Luke was able to get a better jump and came down the front straightaway in the top 10. The rest of the race Luke kept attacking the track enabling him to up the leader board. At the flag, Luke Zoetmulder came home in seventh place. ?Today I was able to get a rhythm going out on the track. The natural terrain here at Bark River is a challenge in itself. It was great to run in the top 10 all race long especially with the huge field of racers we had this weekend,? commented Luke ?The Sticker Dude? Zoetmulder. After six rounds of competition in the Midwest CORR Sportsman Single Buggy division, Luke Zoetmulder officially is in ninth place. Next Race ? Round 3 & 4 ? West Cost CORR Sportsman Single Buggy division, Chula Vista, CA. Lee O?Donnell ? PRO-Lite Saturday Round 5 Lee got a great start on Saturday. The #23 PF Changs Invisible Glass Sticker Dude Goodyear Tires Nissan Frontier came out of Turn One in fourth place. Quickly, on the opening lap, Lee got around #9 Chad Hord for third place. Suddenly on lap 2 the engine just quit ending a very promising day of racing for Lee O?Donnell. Once the truck was towed by to the Team Sticker Dude support trailer, the problem was terminal. The crew found a broken camshaft, which also damaged other parts of the engine. Unfortunately Lee, racing on a limited budget, does not carry a spare engine to the track. This ended the weekend for #23 Lee O?Donnell. ?The truck was really fast today. By the second lap only LeDuc and Kincaid were in front of me,? commented Lee O?Donnell. ?I thought we had a great opportunity for the win. Luck wasn?t on our side today. Afterwards we found out that three other Nissan teams had similar failures during the race. I?ve basically a week to get a new motor together and prep the truck before it?s loaded in the trailer for the three-day haul to San Diego. I don?t know what kind of powerplant will be under the hood, but the PF Changs Invisible Glass Sticker Dude Designs Goodyear Tires Nissan Frontier will be at the line for round 7.? This setback puts Lee O?Donnell tenth in points with ten rounds of racing to go. Steven Federico ? PRO-Lite Saturday ? Round 5 Steven Federico and his #24 PF Changs Invisible Glass Sticker Dude Designs Goodyear Tires Toyota Tacoma lined up sixteenth out of twenty-four, for the staggered landrush start. For this starting point the concrete wall on the outside of Turn One starred Steven right in the face. After his incident in Chula Vista, Steve wanted nothing to do with anything made of concrete, especially a wall. The green flag dropped and Steven found himself doing a little ?rubbing? with his teammate Lee O?Donnell. Realizing the race is 11laps and not 100 yards, Steven wisely backed off and tucked in behind O?Donnell. By the third lap, Steven was in 5th place. Then the rain came and visibility became a major priority. Steven had loaded his helmet visor with 28 Racing Optics tearoffs and was ready for the rain. Unfortunately when Steven grabbed for a tearoff, the hardware on the shield fell apart and all the tearoffs disappeared. Now all Steven could do would to race with his shield up and use his arm to try to deflect whatever came at him. During this mayhem, Steve lost a few positions. The last few laps was a race against Mother Nature more than his fellow competitors. At the finish, Steven came home in seventh place. Sunday ? Round 6 As field was lined up and seconds from going green flag racing, CORR officials told everyone to turn off the engines. Fortunately Steven?s spotter came on the radio and said that the officials were going to water the track another time. When the track crew was finished the track looked like it was extremely slippery going into Turn One. Again the field was checked and the green flag fell, and 23 Pro-Lite trucks headed down the track into Turn One. As Steven reached the corner, #30 Mark Oberg smashed into and over the front end of Steven?s #23 Toyota Tacoma. The next three turns were just as slippery as trucks were everywhere, getting sideways, searching for any kind of traction. During the melee one of his tires was punctured, when sometime sharp from another truck caught the tire. This relegated Steven to stop in the pit for a fresh tire. Quickly A.J. and the crew replaced the tire and continued on. The stop put Steven a lap down, a lap that he couldn?t make back. Looking to salvage any amount of points, Steven kept charging. At the finish he was credited with a fourteenth place finish. ?This weekend just wasn?t ours to have. The shield problems on Saturday, and then the wild start on Sunday, I be glad just to have an easy trip back home. AJ and crew really did their best to get me back out after the flat. It was the first time we ever had a puncture since coming to the Pro-Lite division. The Goodyear tires with their triple wall technology are awesome, I wouldn?t go racing with any other brand.? ? commented Steven Federico. Currently Steven Federico is twelfth in points with ten rounds of racing to go. Next Race for the #23 & #24 ? July 22-23 ? Chula Vista, CA Luke, Lee, and Steve would like to thank all their supporters including: The Sticker Dude, P.F Changs, Invisible Glass, Goodyear Tires, Mechanix Wear, Toyota, Nissan, American Racing, Racing Optics, and Phil?s Inc. -Mike Reusche, marketing MTG. www.federicoracing.com