From Peterson Media
Back in the seat of the Monte Motorsports No. 17 car for the weekend, Ian Madsen scored a pair of eighth place finishes while competing in the Krikke Boys Shootout at Bunbury.
With 35 cars entered in the event, Madsen’s weekend got off to a sluggish start, as he timed in 22nd fastest and put himself behind the eight ball.
“Qualifying is a huge deal at that race, and we timed in bad and really set us back for the entire weekend,” he said.
Starting sixth in his heat, the Sydney, NSW driver struggled to gain spots in the race, as he would finish fifth, putting him in the night’s ‘B’ Main, in which he would start on the front row.
Battling with Mark Wells in the B Main, Madsen pestered the race long leader, looking to gain the top spot, however, he would settle for second, and still transfer to the feature event.
After getting better in the semi, Madsen and his team tweaked on his car before the A, and he was event better in the main from his 17th starting spot.
Again glued to Wells’ rear bumper, Madsen would climb his way through the star studded field and score an eighth place finish, gaining some valuable points heading into Sunday’s finale.
Lining up fourth in his Sunday heat, Madsen would score a second place finish, and put his machine in the feature event, but first had to make a stop in the ‘Mid Pack Dash’ to set the final six spots of the lock in drivers.
Starting on the pole alongside his brother, Kerry, Madsen jump out to the lead over his older brother, and go on to win the dash to start in the 11th spot, behind the 10 pole dash cars.
Starting in the sixth row, Madsen would hang around the top-10 during the duration of the feature, and would end his weekend with another eighth place finish, and his fourth top-10 with Monte Motorsports.
“We had decent car speed all weekend, after qualifying,” he said. “Unfortunately qualifying set us back all weekend, but I have to thank all of the guys for their hard work. I also have to thank Luch Monte for giving me a chance to compete for his first class team.”
Madsen would like to thank Watson’s Express Transport, Australia Wide Towing, Lucas Oil, EJF Engineering, Mike Hughes & Partners, City Access Scaffolding, Blackshaw’s Motor Body Repairs, ButlerBuilt, and Factory Kahne Shocks for their continued support.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts- 16, Wins-2, Top-5’s- 5, Top 10’s-9
ON TAP: Ian and his team will be back in action on Saturday night at the Sydney Speedway, where he looks to increase his points lead, and tuned up prior to the Darley Challenge.
STAY CONNECTED: To keep up with Ian make sure you follow him on twitter by clicking over to www.twitter.com/IanMadsen.