10/29/2013
Ray Parent
Looking Forward to 2014
As the leaves change and the temperatures become cooler that means the end of racing season for the Tiverton, RI native Ray Parent and the Amtrol Racing Team. With the final event ending much like the theme of their season they look ahead to 2014.
Parent who competed two-weeks ago in the annual World Series of Racing at the famed high banks of Thompson International Speedway ended the weekend competing for a win only to be relegated to a 7th place finish not of his doing.
“I felt like a Ping-Pong ball out there, we got run into all over the track,” said Parent. “This is not the ACT [American Canadian Tour] racing for sure… The car was so good all weekend. Every time we went out the changes made it better. I have to give a lot of credit to Steve Desmarais and Kyle Marchand, we tried a different approach and setup this weekend and it went really well. For the first time i wasn't involved in the setup or changes on the car. It was different for sure but went great.”
Battling for the win on multiple green-white-checkered restarts Parent and eventual winner Rick Gentes made contact for lead forcing the 17RI up the track. The contact would reshuffle Parent back to in the order only for him to be run into from behind and spun-out at the finish.
“That defiantly goes with our luck for this year,” said Parent. “Running up front only to have something happen; we had a great time all weekend even if that finish wasn't what we had hoped.”
Parent’s 2013 race statistics tell a story of sub-par results with 13 top-10’s, 3 top-5’s in 19 starts. What those stats don’t reflect is how well he actually ran week-in and week-out. In five of those 19 starts Parent was battling among the top-two or leading an event on the ACT tour before some type of mechanical issue forced him to a mid-pack or worse finish. The stats also don’t say that in 14 of those starts at one point during each of those races Parent was battling amount the top-five.
“We showed consistency in how we ran and unfortunately how we finished this year,” said Parent. “It was the year of freak things happening… Wheel bleeders, sway bar, a broken belt on the motor and even running out fuel; I've never had some of those things happen to me in my whole racing career never mind in the same season…”
The consistency earned him a 7th place in ACT series point’s standings; making him the highest finishing driver not competing in all 14 races. It also earned him a 3rd place finish in the Ford Blue Oval Cup Challenge series.
While Parent is not happy with the overall season statistics, he is very pleased with competitiveness and progress his Team has shown this year. “When we came into the ACT Tour we got our butt handed to us,” said Parent. “We realized very quickly we didn't know or have what it takes to compete at that level. To go from not even qualifying for most of the races two years ago to competing for wins this year is just unreal how far this Team has come."
Parent went on to praise his supporters and Team for their effort throughout the year. "I can’t thank the Team enough for all their hard work. To all of the sponsors and everything they did to help us be competitive this year… and most importantly my wife, kids and family for supporting me all year long."
Looking ahead to 2014 Parent knows that he can go and compete for a championship with the ACT Tour and continue his quest for his first ever points paying series victory. “We may not have had the luck this year but we ran up front just about every race we entered; now it’s time to put the finishes together and compete at that next level,” Parent finished.
Next Event
Look for Welded Media’s question and answer session with Ray in the coming weeks as well some exciting announcements for the Amtrol Racing Team right here on RayParent.com
Ray and the Amtrol Racing Team would like to thank their proud partners for making 2013 a sucess: Amtrol • Carlin Combustion Technology • HydroLevel • Distinctive Auto Body • Phoenix Builders • Bayside Auto Center • Bobs Sea and Ski • Dan Davies Sales • Dominator Diesel • Five Star Bodies • Longacre Racing Products • Hedman Hedders • Ford Racing • Welded Media
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Eric LaFleche / VLF Photo
Article Credit: Jason Lubin / Welded Media
Submitted By: Jason Lubin
