Powershift Performance

Located near the Gulf Coast on Rt 90 in Irvington, Alabama, Mobile International Speedway is a 1/2-mile paved oval track. Originally scheduled for March 10th, the race was postponed until March 24th due to predictions of a 100% chance of heavy rain both Saturday and Sunday.

Some race trucks missed the race because they were caught in snow storms and some had made other commitments for the new race date. A total of fourteen trucks ran, four of them with rookie drivers new to the Bandit Series.

Mackvader is ready to run! Let's get the 2018 season started!!!

Mackvader had a major overhaul during the off season, but developed a problem at the track that resulted in very inconsistent performance. During the Qualifying Laps the #88 was the third fastest truck behind Boles in #3 and Boileau in #16. As Moe Proffitt, #27, was coming off the track after his qualifying laps he locked up his brakes missing the exit road and sending #27 over on its side. Moe climbed out uninjured, but the truck had to be righted by tow trucks.

Mackvader ran in Heat Race 2 starting in 5th place and falling back to 6th. Although the team worked to diagnose the issue, there are limits to what can be done at the track in a very short period of time.

During the Meet and Greet each driver handed out a special bag to a young fan. Then during the One on One Challenges (the Australian Pursuit) these fans were brought forward for the opportunity to win $100 if their driver beat everyone else. Morgan's fan was Cole Richards. Mackvader was challenged by #55, but lost out when the bug kicked in. In the next race the #55 lost to the #16 when he went off into the grass, and broke his oil pan. This created a mess that had to be cleaned up before racing could continue. Boileau in #16 won this event.

Mackvader did not start (DNS) Challenge Race 1, while Morgan and crew continued to work on the race truck. During that race #27 slowed and left the track and #3 encountered issues with a flat tire. Neither of those trucks finished the race (DNF). The #55 missed Challenge Race 2 while having his oil pan repaired with a weld. The #14 and #16 trucks battled throughout with #14 leading most of the race, but #16 surged ahead taking the checkered flag at the finish!

Morgan decided to attempt the Main Race even with Mackvader under the weather. A 12-position pill was pulled that resulted in the first twelve truck positions being inverted, Mackvader started in the last row in 13th position next to #55. Early on two trucks made contact with #74 coming off the track for tire replacement and #27, which started without a hood, loosing a front fender when he was also hit by #14. A caution flag came out and Morgan was in 10th for the restart.

The #46 made some contact and headed for the pits, but soon returned to the track. The #74 and #55 made contact, resulting in another caution. The #55 left the track to replace a flat front tire and then returned to the track. The #41 was the last to leave the race with issues. Morgan was in 7th place for the restart and the 5-lap shoot out of the shortened 25-lap race.

The #88 pulled some surprises, managing to move from 13th up to 8th place during the race! This was however, the first time (and surely will be the only time) Mackvader has ever been lapped by traffic. [Trucks #54, #88, #7, #4, and #13 finished one lap down.] Can race trucks catch the flu from their drivers? Not to worry. Mackvader has two weeks to recover before the next race. We'll see you at Hickory Motor Speedway!

START/FINISH ORDER OF RACES

Heat 1 Start: 13 - 7 - 46 - 4 - 54 - 63 - 41
Finish: 63 - 54 - 7 - 4 - 41 - 46 - 13

Heat 2 Start: 74 - 55 - 14 - 27 - 88 - 16 - 3
Finish: 14 - 27 - 16 - 74 - 55 - 88 - 3

Challenge 1 Start: 63 - 54 - 27 - 7 - 46 - 3 - 88 DNS
Finish: 63 - 54 - 46 - 7 - 3 - 27 DNF

Challenge 2 Start: 14 - 41 - 16 - 74 - 4 - 13 - 55 DNS
Finish: 16 - 14 - 74 - 41 - 4 - 13

A-Main Race

Start: 13 - 4 - 7 - 46 - 3 - 74 - 41 - 27 - 54 - 14 - 63 - 16 - 88 - 55

Finish: 3 - 16 - 14 - 74 - 63 - 55 - 54 - 88 - 7 - 4 - 13 (46, 27 & 41 DNF)

POINTS STANDING

Morgan was 3rd in Qualifying times earning 90 points, dropped from 5th to 6th in his Heat Race for 159.5 points, lost to #55 in the Shootout, did not go out for his Challenge Race (no points), and moved from 13th to 8th in the Main Race for 172 points. Total points for this event is 421.5 and 14th overall.

BACK TO 2018 RACE SUMMARY

Edited Version of Livestream by Minimizer

Facebook Livestream, Part 1, 3/24/2018 by Minimizer

Facebook Livestream, Part 2, 3/24/2018 by Minimizer