After fighting through small issues during the first seven rounds of the TORC Series presented by AMSOIL, Scott Douglas landed on the podium for the first time in 2017 at Bark River International Off-Road Raceway. The solid finish will definitely set the tone for a strong second half of the season for Douglas Motorsports.
When the Goodwin Competition powered hot rod came out the trailer, the team was confident that the changes to the chassis earlier in the year would pay dividends at a technical track like Bark River. The hard work at the shop paid off as Friday afternoon Douglas was second quick and the Saturday morning sessions saw the AMSOIL Rusty's Off-Road Walker Evans Racing Cooper Tire PRO-4x4 turn the quickest lap time in the class.
The Saturday start had Douglas lined up on the outside front row. When the green flag was waved, The AMSOIL PRO-4x4 was bumped around and moved back a couple of positions. Before the completion of lap 2, the #7 was back out front. Then just before the mandatory caution, a tire lost all air pressure which put the Douglas Motorsports truck in the hot pits for a tire change. By the time the replacement was back on the 900 horsepower hot rod, the rest of the field had a sizable lead, relegating the team to fifth place.
After analyzing the race data, the team made a few adjustments to the race truck and by high noon on Sunday the truck and driver were ready for the 4pm race.
The start saw the familiar #7 AMSOIL truck lined up in the fourth position, but by the time the field came out of Turn One, the off-road champion had moved up to second place. Quickly Douglas was under pressure from Kincaid and after a couple of laps, Douglas Motorsports was in third place. The remainder of the race, Scott stayed in contention for the final spot on the podium and when the checkered flag was waved the team had its first podium of the season.
"We been fighting some hard luck deals all season and this feels really good to get this third place finish," commented Scott Douglas. "My team has really worked hard all year long and I believe we've turned the corner with our effort. The truck is really handling well and it shows in our lap times. We keep making changes and the truck is definitely quick. We've got one more upgrade coming by Red Bud, so the race for the top spot will get interesting."
Douglas Motorsports has three weeks to prepare for the "Rumble at Red Bud" August 12-13 in southwestern Michigan' Harbor Country.
DOUGLAS MOTORSPORTS - Marketing Partners
AMSOIL - Rusty's Off-Road - Walker Evans Racing - Cooper Tires
KC HiLites, Mastercraft Safety, Impact Racing, Howe Performance Fox Shox, Miller Electric, Peterson Fluid Systems
Rugged Radios, Raceline Oil Pumps, Allstar Performance.
- Race Report/Pics: Douglas Motorsports
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