BRIGHTON, Ont. – May 16, 2016 – Early rain threatened to cancel Brighton Speedway competition for the second week in a row, but a late afternoon clearing allowed Phil Potts and the Fowl Mood Race Team to hit the track full speed after a week off.
The Brighton native started 11th for the 30-lap main event after a third-place finish in heat race competition. His starting position was a result of Brighton’s handicapping procedure which places drivers toward the back following his win on opening night.
However, Potts marched his way to to the front in a non-stop main event. It took until lap 25 before Potts passed Kyle Sopaz to crack the top-three. At that point, he and second-place runner Charlie Sandercock set out to erase a 3-second lead for Adam Turner. The gap was reduced to less than half a second at the finish and Potts likely could have made his move had the race been another five laps.
“I think I had something for both of them. Charlie (Sandercock) was really spinning his tires and I wasn’t,” Potts said. “I told (crew chief) Stuart (Archer), the car was really no effort to drive.”
The third-place result continues a streak of top-10 finishes in three starts to begin the 2016 season. Overall, Potts and the Fowl Mood team are happy with their progress thus far.
“I’m really not sure what the difference is. The only major change is that we’re not adjusting as much on the car. Maybe we were over-adjusting on the car,” Potts said of the team’s early season success. “It seems to be the car is getting faster as the race continues on. My fastest lap of the race (at Brighton) was lap 25.”
The team hopes to continue it’s success next weekend when it will double its race total with three events scheduled for the Victoria Day long weekend. The team returns to Brighton for weekly competition on Saturday, May 21 before taking in a pair of RUSH Dirt Late Model Tour races at Humberstone Speedway and Merrittville Speedway on Sunday, May 22 and Monday, May 23, respectively. Last season, Potts finished second in the tour race at Merrittville.
“It’s usually black-slick after hot laps, so it’s 100 per cent about track position. You need to have a good heat race. The heat race is probably more important there than any other track,” Potts forecasted for his return to Merrittville.
As Phil Potts and the Fowl Mood Racing team hit the road this weekend, stay up-to-date 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.
Media Contact: Clayton Johns Media/ claytonjohns@hotmail.com
