6/7/2016
Brad Loyet
Brad Loyet – From the Tail to Fifth in Michigan!
Brad Loyet – From the Tail to Fifth in Michigan!
(Bill W) June 7, 2016 – Brad Loyet and the Vacuworx Global #o5 team headed to Indiana and Michigan last week with the ASCS National Series. Unfortunately, shows in Plymouth and Brownstown, Indiana were a wash. That left Friday’s event at Hartford Speedway in Michigan. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver registered a top five after restarting at the tail of the feature. This Saturday night, ASCS Speedweek kicks off in Amarillo, Texas.
Brad would start seventh in his heat. “We had a really good start,” he says. “We were able to get to third early. There was a yellow after the first lap. We followed Wayne (Johnson) into the corner and I was in on him too tight. I got in some dirty air and pushed up the racetrack. That moved us back to fourth. Still, we made the redraw. It was nice for a change to be in the redraw. Little did I know, it wasn’t going to matter.”
He would start the feature fifth, but it got off to a rocky start. “There was a crash on the first lap,” says Brad. “(Josh) Baughman was on the pole. He spun and got into the wall. We just missed that one, and started fourth on the restart. The bottom was the place to be in one and two. I thought if I got in there on the first lap and stuck it, I could drive by those guys.”
Brad was able to do just that, but couldn’t avoid a tangle. “I got an awesome start, and (Blake) Hahn was on the front row outside,” he says. “I got underneath him, and I honestly thought I would come out in the lead in two. Hahn did a slow, lazy spin though, and I was the car in his path. We got hooked together, and that sent us to the tail.”
He would put on a show from there. “I was thinking about all our bad luck this year,” says Brad. “But we had an awesome racecar…the best we’ve had all year long. I talked to my shock builder, Matt Hummel, before the feature started. He came up with a package that worked really well. We came from 20th and worked our way up to fifth. The track was a technical one. In one and two, everyone was running the same spot, but three and four, you had to hit it right to make it work. That’s where I passed the majority of the cars. We made the most out of the situation. We definitely had a car capable of winning. It’s just a shame it went down like it did.”
ASCS Speedweek kicks off at Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo on Saturday. Next Tuesday, it continues at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas before moving to Lawton Speedway in Oklahoma Wednesday, Creek County Speedway near Sapulpa, Oklahoma Thursday, Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia Friday and Lucas Oil Speedway near Wheatland, Missouri on Saturday.
“We’ve never been to the track in Amarillo,” says Brad. “We’ve made quite a few trips to The Big Texan Steak Ranch. We always planned our trip so we were there around dinnertime. I’m definitely looking forward to speedweek though. We just haven’t had a whole lot of races with ASCS. We’re buried in points right now, and we need some races to get things going. The last time we ran speedweek, we were able to win it.”
The team has also received a little more help. “We just got a new crewmember starting last week,” says Brad. “That helps us out a lot and gives us an extra set of hands. I feel like that will be an advantage for us here the rest of the summer.”
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global 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.
Photo: Brad in action in Hartford (Bob Buffenbarger Photo)
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Monroe, IA USA