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01 May 2009 Clarksville, Va Press Release While the 2009 season hasn't exactly started off the way Laura Hayes anticipated, she continues to learn and improve every race with her new team and new track.
After a successful first season in late models in 2008 which included earning All American Speedway's Rookie of the Year honors, coupled with success in all of her former race endeavors, Laura expected a lot out of herself when coming to South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va. With a new team, a new track and a new car, Laura has had to make some major adjustments, which have proven a challenge so far this year. "Since the start of my career, when I was 8, my dad and I have always worked together and we were a really good team. I know he can't always be my crew chief but not having him at the races has taken some getting used to. And while I've always been known for my ability to describe the cars actions and in deciding on necessary changes, developing the necessary report with a new team takes time," Hayes explains. Bad weather limiting the team's pre-season testing further set them back at season's start.
With 5 races in the books, Hayes has finished 16th, 12th, 14th and has a pair of DNF's due to a first lap wreck, not of her doing, in the first race of twin 75s.
Hayes commented on her finishes so far, "I'm not pleased with my recent finishes. I know we can do a lot better. It has taken a while to get the car handling correctly to suit my driving style. From what I understand, the driver of the car last year man-handled it and I have a smoother, more of a finesse style of driving, so our personal setups are quite different. We have been making changes every time out and right before the last race we completely changed the entire front suspension and steering. After testing with this setup, we were happy to see significant improvements. I believe we have now made some major strides and we'll be a contender in the near future. "
The move from the west coast to the east coast has been a huge learning curve for Hayes. South Boston Speedway is considered one of the most competitive short tracks on the Atlantic coast, if not the entire country. "SoBo is a difficult track for a new driver to quickly learn. It's probably the most challenging track I've ever raced on; it's taken me a bit to adapt but I do believe this has helped me grow as a driver. The track changes greatly, and isn't always the same throughout the day; so you and your team have to be on top of your game and make the correct changes to the car. And the competition is unbelievably tough. I'm racing with some of the top drivers in the country, including last year's national Whelen Late Model champion as well as numerous former track champions. You never know who will win but there's a lot to learn from these talented racers. "
With the combination of a challenging track and the high level of the competition at SoBo, Hayes is achieving her goal of improving every race. The April 25th race provided great improvement for Hayes and her team, even though the final results didn't necessarily show it. Thursday before the race, the team headed out to the track for testing but nothing they threw at the car seemed to improve the handling. Not to be defeated, team owner/crew chief Steve James, son and talented crew chief in his own right, Jody, and the rest of the crew put their heads together and came up with a setup that included a complete change of all the front suspension and steering components. They accomplished this change at the shop that night and were back on the track for practice on Friday. From the first time on the track they knew they had hit on something good; the car turned and rolled through the corner like never before. On Saturday, race day, the car continued to show its improved handling; Laura picked up 3 tenths in her qualifying time compared to the previous race. And even then, they knew there was more as the car tightened up greater than predicted on the new qualifying tires. The entire field was extremely close this race; fast time was a 15.75, 5th fast was a 15.88; Laura turned a 15.95, only 7 one-hundredths slower, but it was 14th quick. "You could throw a blanket over the whole field, it's really tight and that just proves how close the competition is at SoBo, " commented Hayes.
During the 150 lap feature, Laura was able to run times as fast as the top 5 cars and she was racing her way towards the front. On most nights, the track tightens up when the sun sets but on this 96 degree day, the track remained greasy and slick. Based on past experience at SoBo, the team decided to loosen the car up before the feature; unfortunately that night this proved to be the wrong direction. As the race progressed, the handling worsened and the car became a handful. As Laura was racing for position, she unfortunately spun in turn 3. "I wasn't very happy with myself. We were doing very well and had a chance at a 6th place finish or so and I pushed the car past its limit. I hate it for everyone because they all worked so hard this week. " Laura was able to battle back to a 14th place finish in the 23 car field.
After the race, Laura commented, "I'm looking forward to our next race and I think we're going to do very well. We have a car to work with now and I believe we can contend for a top finish. I definitely think that I learned more this race than in the previous shows this year and I'll be ready to apply it to our next show. I really want to thank Steve and Jody James for all their hard work and not giving up on me. I also want to thank Drive for Diversity, Peoplefinders.com and everyone here in Virginia who have taken me in and helped make my transition from the West to the East much easier. I especially want to thank Joe and Sheryl Pelella for all that they have done for me."
Laura Hayes Racing is made possible by:
Peoplefinders.com, Drive for Diversity, K&N Filters, GoneRacin.com, H.R. Ramesy Construction, Bowen's Mini Mart, Clarksville Auto Supply, Larry's Paint Body & Signs, PHI-Phil Hayes Inc., Team MMI, Outlaw Graphics, FRE-Finishline Racing Equipment, A&E Racecars, Clark's Automotive Race Engines, Bell Helmets, Sparco
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