Mackvader™ of Powershift Performance
Bristol Motor Speedway 2019
Bandit racing returned to Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN on Saturday, October 12th. This is an extremely high-banked half-mile oval track. Last October ten Bandits ran two demonstration races at the track with very fast speeds for the trucks (140 mph!).
Qualifying laps were run with times of 21-22 second laps. Morgan qualified 11th at 21.967 as his fastest lap, with Ricky Proffitt (#14) coming in just ahead of him in speed. This track with it's steep banking destroys right front tires on the trucks and a variety of strategies were employed to prevent blowouts such as Mike experienced at last years demonstration race.
Morgan raced in Heat 1 starting in 6th and finishing in 5th. In lap 3 #66 pushed #51 into the wall. Both recovered and no caution was issued. Darren Proffitt in #27 won the heat. Heat 2 was won by Ricky Proffit in #14 and Heat 3 was won by Mark Noble in #74.
In the Shoot Out Morgan won one race, but lost the next. In the last race #3 spun trying to beat #7 to the finish line, but Jon Lisenbee in #7 won (he was also the fastest in qualifying).
The young fans also raced big wheels (which they kept afterwards). Zack Brag representing #88 won the race!
Challenge Race 1 was won by Allen Boles in #3 starting in the front row. Starting in the last row, the #88 moved from 7th to 3rd in the race. Upon examining his tires in the pits it was pointed out to officials that Mike's new right front tire had worn down to the steel belts in the 15-lap race. Remember, in the demonstration race at Bristol the previous year his right front tire blew in lap 14. In Challenge Race 2 the #14 spun up into the wall after being hit by #16 as #16 tried to pass. On the restart #16 was sent to the back. Mark Noble won in his #74.
The A-Main Race was scheduled to be 30 laps, despite the fact that many of the drivers (including Mike) were wearing out their NEW right front tires in 15 laps. Some, including the #88, decided to just try to finish the 30-lap race and avoid the wreckage of the hard chargers who would blow their tires. Sure enough, in lap 21 the #69 spun and kissed the wall when his right front tire shredded. The caution was held long enough for the #69 to change his tire and return to the track with a fresh right front tire. Meanwhile, in a quick check of the other trucks it was determined that many would not be able to finish another lap and most could not finish the race. So, all trucks were allowed to pit and change their right front tires. The race was won by #7, Jon Lisenbee, in his first win of the series. Morgan's #88 started and finished in 14th.
Start/Finish Order of Races
Heat 1
Start: 46 - 27 - 66 - 8 - 51 - 88
Finish: 27 - 51 - 8 - 66 - 88 - 46
Heat 2
Start: 14 - 13 - 69 - 55 - 4
Finish: 14 - 69 - 55 - 4 - 13
Heat 3
Start: 74 - 41 - 16 - 3 - 7
Finish: 74 - 41 - 16 - 3 - 7
Shootout winner: #88 won one race, but Jon Lisenbee in #7 won the Shoot Out.
Challenge 1
Start: 8 - 3 - 4 - 66 - 7 - 13 - 88 - 46
Finish: 3 - 7 - 88 - 66 - 4 - 8 - 13 - 46
Challenge 2
Start: 74 - 14 - 27 - 41 - 69 - 51 - 16 - 55
Finish: 74 - 41 - 51 - 69 - 16 - 27 - 55 - 14
A-Main Race
Start: 66 - 61 - 69 - 14 - 51 - 46 - 7 - 4 - 27 - 41 - 13 - 8 - 74 - 88 - 55 - 3
Restart Lap 21: 16 - 7 - 4 - 14 - 41 - 27 - 51 - 74 - 3 - 66 - 69 - 55 - 8 - 13 - 88 - 46
Finish: 7 - 4 - 41 - 16 - 14 - 74 - 3 - 27 - 66 - 51 - 69 - 55 - 8 - 88 - 13 - 46
Points Standing
Morgan earned 78 points, bringing his total to 830 points and 8th in the points totals.
2019 Awards
Rookie of the Year = #8 Doug Hilson
Hard Charger Award = #51 Luke Whitmire
Points Total: 1st = #14 Ricky Rude Proffitt, 2nd = #74 Mark Noble, 3rd = Allen Boles, 4th = Marshall Davis, 5th = Jon Lisenbee
