THE WEEKEND WARRIORS
One Week at a Time in the Dirt
A Racers View
By: Kevin "Ohio Outlaw" Lentz
Week 6 May 12, 2005
Finally the rain stopped and the racing began. Because of the rain-outs from the weekend before, we were
ready to get an early start to Rocky Top Raceway on Friday. All we had to do was load up and get the
cooler together and we were off. Rocky Top was extremely slick all night and the evening was filled with
cautions and a lot of great racing.
We were struggling all night as we were expecting a tacky track and were way off all night. The A-Main
was filled with caution after caution and I ended up in the middle of an early race crash. The car wasn’t hurt
bad, with the exception of the hood. We took home a disappointing thirteenth place finish and prepared for
our first trip to I-77 Speedway the following night.
At I-77, I looked more like a rookie than anything else. As a team we made several pit side mistakes that
hurt us as far as start position in the A-main. As a driver I also made my share of errors. I just chalked
that night up as a learning experience. I qualified bad as I got loose coming out of turn two and never
recovered. We finished seventeenth in the A-main. I spun midway through the feature to avoid two cars
spinning and ended up getting slammed in the drivers door by another driver. How he didn’t see everyone
parked is beyond me, but I tried to stay on the track and finish the race. After another caution I retired to
the pits due to a fender rubbing my tire making it almost impossible to turn the car.
Lessons learned would be a good title for the weekend. Being a shoestring racer, I have tried to do what I
can without adding optional equipment. After Saturday at I-77, it became very clear to me that there are a
few things my car needs to be competitive. The first and most important is power steering. My rack has
been broke and I always figured I was ok without it. Well, that and I could not afford to replace it with
everything else we have been buying for the car. Well, today is Tuesday and I can tell you I will have that
on the car Friday.
This week is just getting under way and it is going to be a long week for my crew. My week only consists of
work until Thursday, then a long ride to the shop and an all nighter to get ready for Friday. My hood has a
pretty good size hole that exposes my radiator and the drivers side is completely tore apart. Other than
that we are in good shape. Just have to look under couch cushions to find the money to get the power
steering that we need to get us to the front.
On a more somber note. I would like to ask for prayers for the John Baker family. John Baker passed
away last Wednesday after a battling a long illness. Baker was the owner of Bunker Hill Welding and
Fabrication and also one of our sponsors. Bakers’ son Matt has been running the business while John was
ill and will continue to do so. Bunker Hill Welding and Fabrication will remain with us for the remainder of
the 2005 season in a more limited role. We raced with a heavy heart this weekend and I just ask that you
remember his family in your thoughts and prayers.
All in all, the weekend was pretty good. The weather was nice, the racing was good and we were able to get
quality laps. Since missing the A-main by two spots on the opening night of the season, we continued our
goal of making every race the rest of the season. We are still planning on racing for points at Rocky Top
on Fridays and bouncing around on Saturdays. I really like I-77. The track was in great shape and Mr.
Mills made it a point to welcome us to his track. Rocky Top is also a nice racy track. The staff at RTR is
friendly and helpful. I think this track has a great future. They seem to make it a point to stop by and
welcome teams and thank them for supporting them. We will get back to I-77 again this year. I have been
promising Jody Shannon that we will be making it to Florence and if things go right, we will be there on May
21.
Our more immediate racing plans are Friday the 13th at RTR and taking the 14th off. We may just pop up
somewhere on the 14th though. We will also be back at RTR on the 20th of May.
I would once again like to thank Jody Shannon and Todd Lefevers for this opportunity. I want to thank my
sponsors: Rhodes Race Wire, A-C Cleaning and Restoration, Midwest Right of Way, Bunker Hill Welding
And Fabrication, http://www.dirtfans.com/ , Fire Freeze Worldwide and American Eagle Moving. Lastly and
definitely not least the fans for their continued support of all the tracks and drivers. We are still in need of
additional sponsorship for the 2005 campaign and have many programs to fit you needs. If you would be
interested in teaming with us you can e-mail me at kalentz00@aol.com
Kevin "Ohio Outlaw" Lentz
L & W Motorsports
www.lwmotorsports.com
ready to get an early start to Rocky Top Raceway on Friday. All we had to do was load up and get the
cooler together and we were off. Rocky Top was extremely slick all night and the evening was filled with
cautions and a lot of great racing.
We were struggling all night as we were expecting a tacky track and were way off all night. The A-Main
was filled with caution after caution and I ended up in the middle of an early race crash. The car wasn’t hurt
bad, with the exception of the hood. We took home a disappointing thirteenth place finish and prepared for
our first trip to I-77 Speedway the following night.
At I-77, I looked more like a rookie than anything else. As a team we made several pit side mistakes that
hurt us as far as start position in the A-main. As a driver I also made my share of errors. I just chalked
that night up as a learning experience. I qualified bad as I got loose coming out of turn two and never
recovered. We finished seventeenth in the A-main. I spun midway through the feature to avoid two cars
spinning and ended up getting slammed in the drivers door by another driver. How he didn’t see everyone
parked is beyond me, but I tried to stay on the track and finish the race. After another caution I retired to
the pits due to a fender rubbing my tire making it almost impossible to turn the car.
Lessons learned would be a good title for the weekend. Being a shoestring racer, I have tried to do what I
can without adding optional equipment. After Saturday at I-77, it became very clear to me that there are a
few things my car needs to be competitive. The first and most important is power steering. My rack has
been broke and I always figured I was ok without it. Well, that and I could not afford to replace it with
everything else we have been buying for the car. Well, today is Tuesday and I can tell you I will have that
on the car Friday.
This week is just getting under way and it is going to be a long week for my crew. My week only consists of
work until Thursday, then a long ride to the shop and an all nighter to get ready for Friday. My hood has a
pretty good size hole that exposes my radiator and the drivers side is completely tore apart. Other than
that we are in good shape. Just have to look under couch cushions to find the money to get the power
steering that we need to get us to the front.
On a more somber note. I would like to ask for prayers for the John Baker family. John Baker passed
away last Wednesday after a battling a long illness. Baker was the owner of Bunker Hill Welding and
Fabrication and also one of our sponsors. Bakers’ son Matt has been running the business while John was
ill and will continue to do so. Bunker Hill Welding and Fabrication will remain with us for the remainder of
the 2005 season in a more limited role. We raced with a heavy heart this weekend and I just ask that you
remember his family in your thoughts and prayers.
All in all, the weekend was pretty good. The weather was nice, the racing was good and we were able to get
quality laps. Since missing the A-main by two spots on the opening night of the season, we continued our
goal of making every race the rest of the season. We are still planning on racing for points at Rocky Top
on Fridays and bouncing around on Saturdays. I really like I-77. The track was in great shape and Mr.
Mills made it a point to welcome us to his track. Rocky Top is also a nice racy track. The staff at RTR is
friendly and helpful. I think this track has a great future. They seem to make it a point to stop by and
welcome teams and thank them for supporting them. We will get back to I-77 again this year. I have been
promising Jody Shannon that we will be making it to Florence and if things go right, we will be there on May
21.
Our more immediate racing plans are Friday the 13th at RTR and taking the 14th off. We may just pop up
somewhere on the 14th though. We will also be back at RTR on the 20th of May.
I would once again like to thank Jody Shannon and Todd Lefevers for this opportunity. I want to thank my
sponsors: Rhodes Race Wire, A-C Cleaning and Restoration, Midwest Right of Way, Bunker Hill Welding
And Fabrication, http://www.dirtfans.com/ , Fire Freeze Worldwide and American Eagle Moving. Lastly and
definitely not least the fans for their continued support of all the tracks and drivers. We are still in need of
additional sponsorship for the 2005 campaign and have many programs to fit you needs. If you would be
interested in teaming with us you can e-mail me at kalentz00@aol.com
Kevin "Ohio Outlaw" Lentz
L & W Motorsports
www.lwmotorsports.com
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