By Bill W
July 18, 2011 – After two weeks of being caught up in other driver’s accidents, it was a clear track in front of Chad Humston and the Mark Burch Motorsports #1m team on Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway. The Giltner, Nebraska driver led start to finish to record his first win of the year at Knoxville and the third in his career at the famous half-mile. They’ll try to repeat again this Saturday at Knoxville.
The team persevered in getting the #1m ready for Knoxville. The previous week, they had been caught for the second race in a row in someone else’s tangle, requiring a rebuild. The yellow “Bananawagon” was back, but the qualifying effort was disappointing (11th).
“That’s a motor we haven’t run at Knoxville, and we found out it doesn’t like it too well,” says Chad. “We don’t want to qualify eleventh; we want to be #1. We made the decision that the motor wasn’t going to handle it, so we decided to go with one that would get the job done.”
The change took about fifteen minutes as the team, and some others, worked hard in the stifling heat. “It was hot,” says Chad. “We had some stocked coolers of water and Gatorade so we made it. I’d like to thank the other teams for helping too. Russ Hall helped us drag the motor out of the trailer, and afterwards, Ricky Montgomery helped check the new one.”
Starting third in the second heat race, Chad would drive to a second place finish and a transfer into the main event. “We had time to spare for the heat,” he says. “It didn’t go too bad. We wanted to get the win, but we got a transfer, and that’s what you really need.”
Used to qualifying well, an invert of ten seldom sees Chad up front, but it was a side benefit of his qualifying lap. He hit the cushion and pulled away from the field. “We were kind of cruising around,” he says. “The car felt really good, and the motor was strong. We didn’t have to race anyone real hard, but the first corner is always the toughest one when you start up front like that.”
Despite a couple of caution periods, Chad had no peer on this night and stayed out front. “We had two or three restarts in there, and those were going good too,” he says of the performance of the #1m. “Everything worked out for us on Saturday. It was a great track, which was amazing with the hot weather they had.”
There had to be some shellshock after the previous two weeks. “I was really keeping an eye out for any cars out ahead of us,” says Chad. “We’ve had enough of that stuff for sure.”
The team hopes to repeat their performance Saturday at Knoxville Raceway. “I’m really fortunate to be a part of this team,” says Chad. “Mark, Marvin, and everyone is so great to work with. We have some great partners too. We’ll try to do it again this weekend.”
New Marketing Partners Needed and Welcomed
The Mark Burch Motorsports team is always looking to work with new partners to help them achieve their advertising goals. For more information please contact Mark at mark@markburchmotorsports.com!
Online
To keep up with Mark Burch Motorsports, check them out online at http://www.markburchmotorsports.com/!
You can also follow Chad, of Chad Humston Racing, by checking him out online at http://www.chadhumston.com/!
For weekly updates on Mark Burch Motorsports, join our mailing list by emailing “MB Motorsports” to sprntcar@hotmail.com.
Partner of the Week: Engler Machine and Tool, Inc.
Engler Machine was started in 1980 by Tim Engler. His main line of business at that time was plastic injection molds. Over the years he has diversified very widely leaning more towards “high performance products”. He now builds fuel injection systems, custom made pulling chassis, gears, shafts, specialty CNC products, racing engines and some custom machining.
Tim has been involved in tractor pulling and holds 13 national titles in that sport, he no longer pulls himself but has been influential to the success of many other pullers through his advice and building capabilities. He races winged sprint cars when time allows this is something he truly likes and wishes he had more time to do.
Currently, Tim and his staff have been developing a new mini-sprint fuel injection system. There are a handful of these units currently being dyno and track tested with great results. Look for full production of these units this summer. Please call 812-386-6254 for more information. (www.englermachine.com)
Mark Burch Motorsports
The mission of Mark Burch Motorsports is to be an innovator in the unrefined business of Sprint Car racing on dirt, while representing our sponsors and manufacturers in a professional and positive manner both on and off the track. It is our goal to develop and improve our winning spirit and carry on our winning tradition by utilizing the growth of close personal relationships throughout our organization. This pursuit of excellence is the fuel that feeds the fire of our souls.
Mark Burch Motorsports would like to thank the following Primary sponsors: Engler Machine and Tool, Inc., Wireless Amber Alerts, Wolfweld Chassis, OE Parts Megastore, Hoosier Tire Great Plains, Smiley’s Racing Products, Whitetail Paradise and Triple R Tire.
Mark Burch Motorsports would like to thank the following Associate and Product sponsors: Arrow Truck Sales – Kansas City, MO, Morgan Farms, Burnett Rock & Landscaping, Donovan Blocks, Diamond Pistons, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, MSD Ignition, Vortex Racing Products, King Racing Products, S&S Welding, Inc., Lee Power Steering, Gessford Machine, Diversified Machine, Inc., Afco, CV Products, Wulff Pumps, Schoenfeld Headers, Red Devil Brakes, Total Seal, Dyers Top Rods, Huggins Cams, Speedway Motors, Weld Racing, Harris Decals, Eckley Racing Engines, Goodridge and Shaver Wesmar Gear Drives.