Frenette Eight and Fifth In Newport "Twin 50s"

Veteran driver Rick Frenette made the most of his maiden voyage in the Godfather Motorsports/ Sirius Speedway Chevrolet Saturday night, claiming eighth and fifth-place finishes in the Super Late Model “Twin 50s” at Newport (TN) Motor Speedway.

Electrical issues limited the team to just one practice session, and Frenette qualified 14th out of 15 cars. When the green flag flew in the first main event, Frenette spent the first few laps feeling out the car’s handling, ultimately pitting under the race’s second caution period to remedy a tight condition in the corners. Crewchief Jim Gallison, Jr., added a spring rubber to the car’s rear suspension, but the adjustment worked too well, creating a loose condition and forcing Frenette to ”feather the throttle” at the exit of the turns over the final 34 laps. He still managed to work his way forward to finish eighth at the drop of the checkered flag.

“Rick gave me great feedback between races,” said Gallison, “and we determined that instead of a loose condition, we were suffering from a loss of forward bite on exit. So we put the chassis back to square one and made a gear chance to give the car more bite.” The adjustments paid off immediately in the second Twin 50, with Frenette quickly surging into the Top-10 from his 12th-place starting spot. He suffered minor body damage in a multi-car front stretch crash near halfway, then restarted at the rear of the field and dodged a minefield of late spins to finish fifth; the team’s best finish of 2011 to date. “It was crazy out there,” said Frenette afterward. “It was pretty hot in those racecars (temperatures in the high 90s and a heat index of 112) and I think a few guys lost their cool at the end. We picked up a couple of battle scars, but the car is in one piece and we’re pretty happy with the finish. We passed more cars that anyone else, and I think we learned some things that will make the car better in the future.”

Next up for the Godfather Motorsports/Sirius Speedway team is the Saturday night, August 20 “PASS Super Late Model 150” Presented by the Gazette Virginian newspaper at South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Virginia.

Newport Twin 50s -- Race One
FIN ST CAR DRIVER
1 7 2 Kevin Leicht
2 6 24 Keith Rankin
3 5 92 Mark Nesbitt
4 3 76 Jerick Johnson
5 1 80 Blake Jones
6 9 82 James Holton
7 10 2 Jeff Myers
8 14 30 Rick Frenette
9 2 O4 Jerrod Foley
10 13 3 Brian Vales
11 8 8 Ed Surrett
12 12 5 Eugene Smith
13 11 22 Mike Bargo
14 15 27 Junior Franks
15 4 9 David Flynn

Newport Twin 50s -- Race Two
FIN ST CAR DRIVER
1 2 76 Jerick Johnson
2 3 O4 Jerrod Foley
3 1 2 Jeff Myers
4 6 92 Mark Nesbitt
5 12 30 Rick Frenette
6 4 2 Kevin Leicht
7 11 8 Ed Surrett
8 8 80 Blake Jones
9 7 24 Keith Rankin
10 5 82 James Holton
11 13 5 Eugene Smith
12 9 22 Mike Bargo
13 10 3 Brian Vales
14 DNS 27 Junior Franks
15 DNS 9 David Flynn

About Godfather Motorsports – Godfather Motorsports is jointly owned by Motor Racing Network and Sirius NASCAR Radio personality Dave Moody and partner Jim Gallison, Jr. The team enjoys major corporate support from Bea’s Gift Baskets.com and a comprehensive list of technological and marketing partners including Eibach Springs, JRI Shock Absorbers, Wilwood Brakes, C&R Racing Inc., Five Star Race Car Bodies, Dynotech Engineering, RaceCom of Virginia, ASM Graphics, Pink Carburetors and X-Flex Racers Tape. For additional information on the team and marketing opportunities with Godfather Motorsports, contact Dave Moody -- mrnturn1@hotmail.com.