Wednesday, June 26, 2002
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Wednesday, June 26, 2002 |
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Clanton Captures Seventh Victory of 2002
Hello Citizen readers! It's so nice to have the opportunity not only to drive for a living, but also to get the chance to talk about my profession with my hometown community. I always seem to have good news, and this week is no exception. We raced this weekend in Odessa, Missouri at I-70 Speedway - a high banked and rough surfaced track. Several calls by the ASA officials nearly prevented our winning, but we persevered and captured our seventh victory of the 2002 season. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think that we have a shot at capturing our first ASA Series Championship. Currently we have a 195-point lead over our closest competitor. Anyway, back to the race. We started out a little shaky in the three practice sessions and struggled to find out why we weren't running at the speeds we had hoped for. Finally in the last practice session we put on new tires and that was the trick. We ended up with the fastest practice time of the day. Two calls by ASA officials during the race made our winning a little tougher. The first forced the No. 83 out of the lead and into the 15th position following a round of unusual pit stops. While the second decision by ASA officials penalized the No. 83 team for jumping the restart. Each time, while we didn't necessarily agree with the call, we focused our attention on the race ahead. We could've easily been distracted by our misfortune, but this team knows how to deal with both the ups and the downs of racing. When it was all said and done, the decisions didn't make a difference. Both times I was able to come from behind and recapture the lead. I couldn't have done it without the Steve Dale Motorsports crew, they give me the fastest car on the track week in and week out. This weekend we go to La Crosse Fairgrounds Raceway in Salem, Wisconsin for the last event of a five-week stretch. Following La Crosse I will get a chance to spend a weekend home in Georgia. It will be nice to finally have a chance to spend time at home with my family. The race is on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EDT and will broadcast live on The National Network (TNN). Until next time, Joey
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