|
Chris Raabe Clinches Rolling Wheels Championship – And Pads His Lead at the Top of the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Standings
By Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications
It was a nothing to lose – everything to gain event. Napanee, Ontario’s Chris Raabe visited Rolling Wheels Raceway Park at Elbridge, New York (Friday, October 10th) knowing a strong finish would earn him another 2008 track title and strengthen his position at the top of the Mr. DIRTcar sportsman modified championship trail standings.
The talented teen, a 12th grader at Napanee and District Secondary School displays the confidence of a racer twice his age, but that bravado doesn’t translate to a pompous attitude on the track. Instead, his style is to put the car into a position to win and then let the circumstances of the race do the rest. At just 17 years of age, Raabe provides excellent feedback to his Scott Industrial Services/TyRoute Communications-Telus/Canadian Tire/Kingston Hyundai/Kingston RV Centre/Waste Management/Brunet Plumbing/Kwik Load Products/ McColman Media/Len Corcoran Excavating #01 team and after working on their baseline set-up during hot laps and their qualifying heat, the crew was able to do some fine-tuning on their old faithful 2006 TEO Pro Car for the main event.
Starting 11th and with just 30 laps to work with, Chris Raabe needed to perform some magic to get to the front – or as close to it as possible. 6 caution flags certainly helped his cause. The team also benefited from the absence of one of their closest rivals, Dan Wiesner. After staging a tight battle throughout most of the season, the #66 team has dropped out of the hunt and slipped to 11th in the rundown.
Raabe brought the #01 car across the line with a 5th place finish and now has a 75 point cushion over Mark D’Ilario, who finished 2nd at Rolling Wheels. Greg Panunte is 3rd, 96 points behind heading into this weekend’s stop at Orange County Fair Speedway at Middletown, New York.
His 5th place finish officially earned Chris Raabe another championship – the 2008 DIRTcar sportsman modified title at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park.
2008 Championships:
Brockville Ontario Speedway
Thunder Alley Speed Park
Rolling Wheels Raceway Park
Lucas Oil Eastern Division Sportsman Tour
For more on Chris Raabe, see www.chrisraabe.com
|
|
