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| Rick Rarer Photo |
From TDN Correspondent John McConnell
Sometimes, it' just doesn't go the way a driver expects. Every night is a new page in the book of a driver's career and at TDN we'd like to share some behind the scenes experiences of what a race night can be like, for better or for worse...
On Saturday, July 28th, Jeff Rine elected to be our first driver feature in this new segment so enjoy a look of all that goes on as our own John McConnell takes you behind the scenes.
Usually the measure of a good team is measured by how much that team wins. Jeff Rine is definitely no stranger to victory lane .Whether he is in his #92 at Bedford Speedway or the 2J At Selinsgrove or Port Royal Speedway, Rine is seemingly always in the hunt for the victory. Saturday night we chose to debut our new "At The Races" segment live interview broadcast with Jeff and the entire 2J team, (excerpt links can be found below).
Video: Introduction to TDN At The Races Segments
Jeff started his night off by being 3rd quick in hot laps. However, on this night, it was the highlight of the night. Rine was slated for the pole in the 4th heat race of the evening as 34 cars were attempting to gain a spot in the 24 car field to do battle for the $2200 top prize in the Moonshine Camo Rt 35 series race.
Rine fired off in his heat race easily taking the lead on the opening lap from his pole starting position. And after three laps the 2J slowed down the front stretch and turned into the infield. It was learned later on that an engine miss was the culprit as the Danville, PA driver shut it down, trying to preserve the engine. Rine and crew went to work looking for answers for the engine issue and at the time, the crew thrashed on the car and changed the battery making sure the electric system was fully charged.
Video Interview: Jeff Rine Describes his night overall at Port Royal
Rine was relegated to the b main to try and secure a spot in the starting field. Eight laps stood between him and making the a main feature. Starting deep in the bmain Jeff had to pay attention to a race car that he wasn’t sure was a 100% and try to race his way into the field. As the laps clicked away Rine drove the 2J to a 3rd place finish securing a spot in the a main.
After the car arrived back to the pit area the crew went to work again again trying to assess the issue that plagued the race car along with the regular perpetration for the a main. It was learned that a loose distributor cap was the culprit for the engine miss and issued the team were facing.
Video Interview: Jeff Rine In the pits working to resolve motor issue
Jeff fired off in the feature from the 23rd starting spot and only two cautions slowed the 25 lap race. The situation made it tough for any driver starting that deep in a stout field of cars such as the ones assembled at Port Royal on this Saturday night. Jeff was able to make some great moves and avoid cautions and bring the 2j home in the 7th spot. To move from 23rd to 7th on a slick track after a 35 lap sprint car race isn’t bad for a night's work in a gutty performance that showed Rine's resolve to make the best of not so good circumstances. Rine and crew being the professionals that a quality team is made from, know the value of teamwork, communication, perseverance and trust. The measure of a good team isn’t always measured by checkered flags but sometimes when things aren’t going as planned, they overcome adversity and work through it. And I give The Jeff Rine Racing 2J an A plus for the effort and teamwork they displayed during this night.
Flinner Impresses in Feature Victory
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| Rick Rarer Photo |
The Moonshine Came Rt 35 series race had plenty of hype and drama during the night. One of the favorites had issues from the heat race and one of the young up and comers displayed patince and maturity beyond his years. Jeff Rine, a clear pre-race favorite suffered issues related to a miss on the motor and young Colton Flinner went out and secured his 4th starting position on the 25 lap A main.
Flinner took the green flag and immediately was engaged in a battle for the runner up spot with Tim Wilson. Leader Gene Knaub took the early command of the race and set a blistering pace up front, creating a healthy advantage early on until fate intervened. The race's first caution was for Knaub as he slowed with a flat right rear tire while handing the lead to Tim Wilson. Flinner was relegated to restart second and battle with the Colby Frye as he carved his way to third and challenged Flinner for 2nd. The race's second caution flag was displayed as Flinner began to challenge Wilson for the lead with an outside move in turn 2 and Wilson attempting to keep the lead while trying to move up the track with Flinner and Wilson making contact resulting in Wilson losing the handle momentarily and the 76 of Andy Haus being collected.
It was determined that Wilson never stopped and the lap was counted so he was allowed to keep his position as the caution car was the 76 of Haus. During the Delaware double file restart Flinner chose the outside line and action ramped up as Flinner chased the 3 of Wilson and with two laps to go Flinner drove deep into turn three and powered off turn four with the lead. The final lap Flinner kept the 4t8 car up against the wall on the outside groove keeping the momentum up and securing the $2200 win.
Video: Colton Flinner In Victory Lane Interview
During post race interview Flinner was very humble in his most recent victory which was career win number 24 for the talented young driver.
Feature Results:
1. Colton Flinner, 2. Jason Covert, 3. Tim Smith Jr., 4. Dylan Yoder, 5. Tim Wilson, 6. Mike Lupfer, 7. Jeff Rine, 8. Kenny Moreland, 9. Chad Myers, 10. Roy Deese Jr., 11. Andrew Yoder, 12. Austin Berry, 13. Jerry Bard, 14. Brett Schadel, 15. Scott Flickinger, 16. Billy Wampler, 17. Dave Stamm, 18. Kody Lyter, 19. Andy Haus, 20. Coleby Frye, 21. Hayes Mattern, 22. Matt Parks, 23. Shaun Jones, 24. Gene Knaub
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