Weyauwega 2016 - Sterne Racing

Fire On Ice at the Waupaca County FairgroundsWeyauwega, WI
USSA Prostar Champ 440 - 2nd / 11 racers
TLR Cup Rd 8 - 3rd / 12 racers
Another weekend down and another one for the books after we travelled to a “home”
track for us, a mere 3.5 hour drive up to Weyauwega, WI. This has been a track we
have been racing at since I started racing junior sprinters and the Fire on Ice crew
always does an amazing job putting together a great track for us to race at and for the
fans to catch some great oval racing on the flat half mile track.
Friday morning fellow pro champ racers
Matt Schulz and Matt Ritchie joined me
in spending some time talking to
students at the local Waupaca High
School during their lunch hours. A lot of
the guys were interested in the sleds that
we race and compared them to sleds
they have of their own, and some said
they would see us at the race track which
is always the goal to get more people out
to the track and involved with the sport.
Getting back just in time for hot laps
Friday afternoon, we got the sled out on the
track to get the handling dialed in and get some data. Making the transition from the
high banks in Alexandria to the completely flat turns here took some time to get the sled
to turn without losing too much speed.
Saturday morning we went straight to green flag racing and
finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the qualifying rounds. As the
track got rougher we chased to keep the handling how I
wanted it which would make our holeshot even more
critical for the final. We qualified 5th on the front row for
final, which would be 15 straight laps. The first start we
ripped an awesome holeshot put us first into the turn and
down the backstretch, but it was called back because
someone jumped calling for a full restart. The second
restart we had another good holeshot put us in 2nd into the
first turn and battled with Matt Schulz for the lead until he
eventually got by putting us back to third. We ran a close
third for about half the race until a red flag came out
because Matt Schulz, who was leading at the time, pulled
to the outside of the track with a broken sled. With 8 laps
complete and 7 to go we would restart 2nd and would
battle for first before finishing a close 2nd at the end of 15
laps. This race wouldn't be considered a TLR Cup race and no points would be awarded
to the finishers, but it gave us some confidence heading into Sunday’s race which would
be the 8th of 9 rounds of the TLR Cup Tour.
After chilly temps and a lot of wind all day Saturday, 20 degree temps on Sunday felt
like a heat wave. Sunday’s race program would be pushed along just as fast as
Saturday’s was which would mean there wouldn't be as much time in between heat
races to make adjustments to the sled. We finished 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in the qualifying
us 3rd on the front row for the final. With the track as beat up as any track I’ve raced on,
it would come down to who has the most endurance, both the driver and the sled, to
outlast the bumps and ruts in both turns. Having troubles with our starts all day, we got
buried on the holeshot and were pushed back to 5th in the first turn going down the
backstretch. Battling with new champ racer Matt Goede on the #28, we pulled up to 3rd
and set sails on the 2nd place sled of Matt Schulz but the rough track only allowed me
to make up a little bit of ground and we settled in for a mother podium finish crossing the
line in 3rd place. Another 15 straight laps this weekend tested my endurance on the
rather rough track, which makes for some rather boring racing, but anytime we get to
finish on the podium is a good weekend. Coming up to the last race of the season in
Beausejour, MB in couple weeks we have a steady hold on 2nd place in TLR Cup
points and still have an outside chance at moving up to 1st if things fall our way in the
last race. In any case, we’ll get prepared and make the trip up to Beausejour which is
always a fun time in itself.
This week I have a lot of people to thank. Like always I’d like to thank my crew (Mom,
Dad, Tim, Dave, Karl, Johnny, Jeff, Alex, Jaime, Shannon, Nick, Sam, and Andy) for all
of the help that they bring. It makes for a full trailer at times, but also makes for a fun
one with all of those goofballs in there. I’d like to specifically thank Mike Houle again for
helping us out this weekend. Much of our success from this year has come from all the
help and knowledge he has shared with us. I’d like to thank Skip and Margo for making
the trip up to Weyauwega with their new bulldog puppy Gronk on Sunday. And lastly I’d
like to give a special shoutout to Jeff and Jaime for going out of their way Sunday night
to pick up the Seadoo Spark that we won from the previous race in Alexandria. To quote
to the words spoken to us after this Sunday’s final, we’ll “have fun on our new Seadoo.”
And lastly I’d like to recognize all of our sponsors from this year. They help out
tremendously.
MAJOR Heating
& Cooling
FAST-TRAC
CONVEYOR
DRIVE-LINE
TRUCK
REPAIR
We have a couple of weekends off before the final race in Beausejour!
To stay updated with the official results from this past weekend check out our Facebook
page and website later in the week.
Check out our Facebook page for videos & pictures from this past weekend and
upcoming promotions to win some Sterne Racing gear!
www.facebook.com/sterneracing
-Gunnar #220