9/7/2016
Sprint Source
TKS Motorsports- Long Weekend in Jackson!
The TKS Motorsports #2KS team and driver Craig Dollansky turned in a long weekend at the Jackson Nationals in Minnesota. A crash in Saturday’s prelim with the NSL was a setback, but the team bounced back, rebuilt and finished fifth in Sunday’s finale. They will take this week to regroup before taking on the World of Outlaws and the NSL next week in Spencer, Iowa and Cameron, Missouri.
Things started well enough on Saturday. Craig timed in ninth quick before winning his heat from fourth. That preceded a crash in the feature. “Saturday was going really well until we crashed,” says Troy Renfro, TKS Motorsports owner and crew chief. “It pretty much tore just about everything up on the car. The frame and everything. We don’t have the big trailer to carry a spare, so I debated about heading home and grabbing our other car.”
Enter Dale Bradley and Hysteria Chassis. “Fortunately, Dale Bradley from Hysteria Chassis was there,” says Troy. “He brings a trailer with him to the racetrack and he’s got a welder, torches, everything you need to do a repair like we needed done. I can’t say enough about Dale. We tore everything out of it. While I was heating and straightening tubes, he was welding the frame back together. We made the decision to fix that car and get through Sunday. Dale saved us quite a bit, and I can’t thank him enough.”
The team worked hard to get the car ready for Sunday’s finale. “We got up early on Sunday and finished getting everything parts-wise back on it,” says Troy. “It was a long night and a long day. I can’t say enough about my guys, Scott Parker, my intern Brad Parker and Chad Lander. They aren’t paid help. They do it, because they love it. We got things put back together. For a pretty well junked racecar, everyone did a great job. That said, that car will now become yard art, which is too bad. It’s been a good car for us. Craig really likes it, and it has run all the NSL stuff the past couple of years.”
After finishing second in his heat, Craig charged from ninth to finish fifth in the Jackson Nationals finale. “We could have had the car a little better,” says Troy. “We were a little free at the end of the race. We started ninth, and I didn’t want to make things too tight. We could have been a little better, but for a pretty junked racecar…there was a lot patched together…it was just one of those deals. Things happen, and you can’t get upset about it. You just get in there and get things fixed.”
Troy is proud of the way the team came together. “I was pretty happy about our result Sunday,” he says. “It says a lot about our team. They just don’t give up. It cost us a lot in points, but anything can happen. This is a good week for us to regroup. We would have liked to have supported the Jerry Richert Memorial at Cedar Lake, but we made the decision that we’d like to get the year finished out with the NSL.”
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