Federico Racing TORC Report - Bark River
Federico Racing Has Tough Bark River Weekend Wilmette, IL (July 15, 2009) ? After finishing on the podium at the Spring Crandon Run, Steven Federico had a quiet sense of confidence going into the inaugural Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL weekend of racing at Bark River International Raceway. The technical changes Ricky Johnson and the Bark River Lions Club made to the high flying track really seem to fit Steven?s driving style. The only uncertainty was how the USAC-style rolling start would unfold as the field headed down the starting area funnel. Saturday - Round 7 That uncertainty behind the rolling start reared its ugly head for the PRO-Light race. Steven?s fourth row starting position immediately made getting a great start a major priority. When the green flag fell, the field of PRO-Light trucks quickly fanned across the track and just a quickly squeezed back together as everyone came through the first turn. Quickly the #24 Invisible Glass P.F Changs TRD Toyota Tacoma improved its position as tires, bumpers, and fiberglass all came together. In the middle of the snarling trucks, the #24 Toyota got tagged in the right rear tire, immediately causing a flat. Fortunately, the hot pits were relocated just after the finish line table top allowing Federico Racing crew to replace the tire almost immediately. After a quick tire change, Steven resumed racing still on the lead lap, but only hundred yards in front of a hard charging, Chris Brandt. Now the plan was to do whatever possible to stay in front of the leaders until lap five, when the competition yellow would allow Steven to catch up to the back of the pack. On lap four all hopes of staying disappeared when the Invisible Glass Toyota spun by #9 Hord, allowing the lead trucks to put Steven a lap down. When racing resumed on lap six, Steven continued to drive hard crossing the finish the first truck one lap down in seventh place. ?Even with the quick visit to the hot pits, my guys didn?t panic,? noted Steven Federico. ?They got me back out with a good shot at staying on the lead lap, but after the spin I knew a podium spot was gone.? Afterwards, Steven mentioned to his crew that the truck didn?t seem to corner properly after the tire change. After A.J., Chris and the rest of the crew went through the truck, the problem was found. The replacement tire was for the other side of the truck. The wrong grooving prevented the Toyota Tacoma from properly drifting through the high-speed corners and getting all the Goodwin Performance horsepower to the ground. Ultimately this was the cause the spin on lap 4. ?Our goal since the first race in Dallas was to stay in the top six in points, and fight for the championship,? continued Federico. ?As Jeff Kincaid always told me the first race is most important. Well, the first race in Texas we didn't even make it through the first turn, Hard contact in the right front broke the pitman arm of the truck, giving us a last place finish. This was a huge setback, and we?ve been fighting to get back in to the starting grid inversion ever since.? Sunday ? Round 8 The starting grid put the #24 Toyota on the front row pole position. When the field came down the front straightaway, Steven was in fourth place. By the second lap, Steven realized the engine was down on power. Undaunted, the Illinois native kept pushing his truck to the limits. Heading for the mandatory yellow, Kincaid makes the pass putting the Orange #24 into the fifth spot. When the field went back to green flag racing, the Invisible Glass Tacoma lost power in one of the cylinders. Steven Federico?s pace was drastically reduced as his nursed his truck to a sixth place finish, still on the lead lap. ?My crew really had this Toyota really setup to handle all the new twists to the track,? remarked Steven Federico. ?The flat tire was just a racing incident. It takes a little bit of luck to get through Bark River?s first without incident. At first, I thought I could stay on the lead lap, and get caught up when the yellow came out, but the reverse grooving on the replacement tire and the tap from another competitor, ended my chance. Saturday just wasn?t our day. We were planning to have our Goodwin engine rebuilt after this weekend; we just ran it about six minutes too long. Thanks to everyone that came out to watch us race this weekend. We have a great fan base here in Michigan; I just wished our results were better.? After eight rounds of racing in the 2009 TORC PRO-Light Championship, Federico Racing is currently in sixth place in the eighteentruck field. You can watch the entire PRO-Light ? Round 7 race online at: http://www.torcseries.com/videos_prolight-barkriver.php You can watch all the Round 8 action, this Sunday, July 19, 11:30am eastern, on ESPN2. Next Race: August 8-9, Bark River Michigan Federico Racing thanks all there associate partners including: P.F. Changs, Lost Dunes Golf Club, Hankook Tires, Invisible Glass, Racing Optics, Mechanix Wear, RH2, Phil?s Inc. Steven Federico still has marketing opportunities available for the 2009 Traxxas Off-Road Championship Series presented by AMSOIL. Interested parties can contact Steven@ ltmi@aol.com About Federico Racing Steven Federico, Owner/ Driver of the #24 Invisible Glass P.F. Changs Toyota Tacoma is a veteran of short course off-road racing. In the 90?s you could find Steven competing in the SODA series that saw the Wilmette, Illinois native travel throughout the Midwest and southern California. At the same time he took his talents indoors and competed in various baseball and football stadiums throughout the United States. In 2008, Steven finished second overall in the PRO-Light Championship. - Mike Reusche, MTG ? Race Report