BRIGHTON, Ont. – May 30, 2016 – A hectic and challenging night ended with patience and perseverance as Phil Potts drove to a third-place finish at Saturday’s Fan Appreciation night at Brighton Speedway. The result is Potts’ third podium finish in four starts at Brighton this season. Potts and the entire team had a chance to meet fans at intermission and sign autographs on the front straightaway.
The night got off to a rocky start as Potts finished sixth in his heat and missed the inversion. The consequence was navigating traffic early on to get to the front. On lap eight, that ended in a turn four spin after contact with Adam Nayler and Chris Heard. Potts was sent to the rear of the field for the restart.
“I was mad, I was fired up. I’m not fired up to the point that I want to wreck anybody, but I’m fired up that I’m driving harder,” Potts said. “I’m in control enough not to wreck the car. I tell myself ‘do not wreck this car because you’re mad.’”
He appeared to channel the energy well and quickly moved through the field. At the halfway point, Potts had begun to battle with Greg Belyea for a spot inside the top-five. The battle forced Potts to try the bottom of the racetrack, which proved to be advantageous.
The high side was fast until I got to the top-six cars and then Mr.Belyea didn’t want the bottom lane, so I kind of took advantage of that and realized I was good on the bottom as well. I seemed to make up more time running on the bottom,” Potts explained.
He was then locked in to a battle for fourth with Steve Baldwin. Baldwin challenged, but Potts prevailed with the position and ultimately ended up third after Adam Turner spun on the last lap. It was a satisfying third-place finish for the Fowl Mood Race Team after coming from the rear of a very competitive field over the final 22 laps.
“The top six or seven cars are running door-to-door and there’s nowhere to go. We need 30-lap features now because I know for the first seven or eight laps I can’t go anywhere,” he said. “I pray for a dry track every Saturday night, because if it’s a wide open racetrack and you start at the back, you’re in trouble.”
After a tumultuous Saturday night, Potts’ focus will shift to improved qualifying efforts via his heat races to avoid the traffic.
“We have to be concerned with our heat races, because we’re starting too far at the back and using up too much of the car getting (to the front),” Potts said. “My heat race performances are hurting me. I’m not being patient. I’m firing before my tires are ready to go. It’s got nothing to do with the car. It’s the driver. The crew is doing their job, the driver just has to be more patient.”
Phil Potts and the Fowl Mood Racing team will return to Brighton Speedway on Saturday, June 4 as they continue their quest for the 2016 track championship.
Stay up-to-date with the Fowl Mood Racing team as they return home to Brighton Speedway this weekend by ‘Liking’ their page on Facebook at facebook.com/FowlMoodRaceTeam and on Twitter by following @FowlMoodRacing.
The Fowl Mood Race Team’s 2016 season is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors, including Vanderlaan Building Products, Brighton Recycling, Indewey Excavating and Crow Design.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media (@cjohnsmedia)
Photo Attachment: Phil Potts throws his No.29 Pro Late Model sideways in to turn one at Brighton Speedway. (Dale Calnan/Image Factor Media photo).
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