| June 12, 2004 - While the month of May was
packed with racing for many, Jeremy spent the month preparing both his
USAR Hooters Pro Cup and dirt stock cars. Jeremy worked hard
to get his Chevrolet Monte Carlo ready and headed to the high banks of
Salem, IN for the
BF Goodrich Tires 250 on Saturday.
The day started out with the
threat of rain throughout the day. It did not take long until the
rain came. Two very heavy rain showers during the day delayed
practice by almost four hours. When Jeremy was finally able to get
on the track, drivers spent many laps running at a reduced pace to help
dry water that was seeping onto the race surface. Finally practice speeds
picked up and he was able to start getting the feel of the car and the
high banked, concrete track. The two practice sessions were short,
but allowed Jeremy to decide what changes he wanted to make before
qualifying.
Jeremy runs slowly around a damp race track
With the threat of more rain coming in the evening, USAR officials
decided to cancel qualifying and line the field up by points. This
would start Jeremy at the rear of the field, but he was in the race and
that was the most important part.
The cars line up for the start of the BF Goodrich
Tires 250
The green flag dropped and Jeremy was immediately put to the test as
a group of cars crashed on the back stretch. He was able to slow
down and easily maneuver through the wreck. Throughout the night
Jeremy was tested as he came upon more accidents. He made it
through clean every time, achieving his goal of bringing the car home
unharmed.
Jeremy races down the front stretch of Salem Speedway
Jeremy showed his racing maturity by running his own race. A complete race was exactly what he needed to gain more
asphalt racing experience. Jeremy ran the first half of the race
with caution, then picked up the pace to finish out the race.
Making it through the night without being collected in any accidents
propelled Jeremy to finish in the 9th position. Jeremy's fuel man
cut him too close and ran him out of fuel with just three laps
remaining. Fortunately, this did not affect his finishing
position. This gave him a top 10 finish in his very first asphalt
race.
Overall, Jeremy had a great weekend at a very tough race track.
He was able to gain a lot of racing experience on the old, high banked
Salem Speedway. Jeremy and his team came out of the weekend
feeling very good about his accomplishments and look forward to more
racing through the summer.
The car gets some well needed rest after the race |
