By Bill W
April 21, 2014 – Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global/Miller Truck Lines #o5 team headed to Mesquite, Texas last weekend to run in the World of Outlaws return to Devil’s Bowl Speedway. In the finale, the Sunset Hills, Missouri driver shot by eleven cars to an eleventh place finish and the hard-charger award. This weekend, the team is closer to home with the WoO, running at the Salina High Banks in Oklahoma and at the I-55 Raceway in nearby Pevely, Missouri.
The two-night event in Mesquite started Friday night in time trials with a registry of 22nd quick. “The car was great in hot laps, but the motor lacked just a little bit of speed that we needed in qualifying,” says Brad. “We were a little tight, but in the heat we were lucky enough to go from eighth to fifth and make the show. That was our goal coming in, to make the shows.”
After a good heat race run saw Brad advance from eighth to fifth and a transfer to the preliminary feature, he ran 19th in that event after starting in row eleven. “To be honest, the feature was just around the bottom waiting for mistakes,” he says. “It became kind of a freight train.”
The team knew it needed some more speed for Saturday’s finale. “We knew we had to do something with the motor, so we talked to the engine builder,” says Brad. “He told us to take a shot with a few things to see if they’d work. If not, we’d go the other way next week. We tried, and clearly it didn’t work.”
Twenty-sixth quick in time trials on Saturday would put Brad back in row five for his heat race. “We made it up to seventh in the heat, but they only took six,” he says. “We were all over (Paul) McMahan for that spot. We just couldn’t get by him.”
Despite a nose wing issue on the fast half-mile, Brad advanced from eighth to third in the B main. “Sometimes running the B main isn’t a bad thing,” he says. “With the Outlaws, you don’t want anything bad to happen. You just want to make the show. We were able to get through there, but our nose wing broke with about five to go. Luckily, it didn’t hurt us too bad.”
Starting outside of row eleven, Brad used his experience with ASCS at the Devil’s Bowl to charge to an eleventh place finish. “We were lucky enough to find a groove that was taking a little bit of rubber in the middle of three and four,” he says. “The next thing I knew, we were just flying by people. It felt good to get the hard-charger of the race, but we want to qualify better this weekend and put ourselves towards the front.”
Brad hopes to improve on that as he becomes more experienced with the Outlaws. “Our main problem right now is qualifying,” he says. “With a decent qualifying lap, I think we’d be right there. We’re going to put a different motor in for this weekend and see how it works.”
Both venues this weekend offer a chance for partners, friends and family to attend. “We’re really looking forward to both races this weekend,” says Brad. “Vacuworx Global and Miller Truck Lines are both based in Oklahoma, so they’ll be able to see us in Salina. On Saturday, we’ll be ten minutes from the race shop. It’s not often we get to race that close to our family and friends, so Pevely will be fun.”
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global, Miller Truck Lines, and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.