8/28/2010
Eric Schulz
Cleaning House
Eric “Ricochet” Schulz and the crew took the Papik motors number 4 sprinter to a different track on a different night. I-90 Speedway just west of Hartford SD was the location, Saturday was the night. “I was confident that the night would go ok,” says Sioux Falls SD native Schulz, “but I wasn’t sure about how competitive we would be with only one race on the new car and never having it at this track before.”
After the hot lap session, Eric had a small list of things he wanted changed before the heat race. So he and the stellar ‘Ricochet’ crew went to work immediately, fine tuning the car to adjust to the track. Starting on the outside of the front row, Eric had a clear shot for the lead, and after a little jostling with the pole sitter, he was able to secure the lead. “That was one of the easiest handling setups we have tried yet,” exclaimed Eric, “all I had to do was hold the wheel straight and the gas pedal down!” After a few cautions, Eric seen the checker flag waving and pulled back to his pit stall satisfied with the win and performance of the car.
With the invert that night Eric would line up the Jack Egge’s Automatic Transmission Service sprinter in the 3rd spot, not a bad spot to start the feature from. The green flag dropped and the field rushed towards turn one with the pole sitter getting a little loose and looping the car and bringing out a caution. With the previous pole sitter tagging the rear of the field, Eric found himself now in the pole position! “I was able to get a good start, but could feel the pressure coming from behind. I knew that there was no room for mistakes” stated Eric. After a few laps one of the contenders got under the #4 and darted in to the lead, however, Eric wouldn’t let that last long reeling him back in. Later the contender was forced to retire with mechanical woes. The rest of the race was a tight one, with second knocking on the door just waiting for his opportunity to get around. After 2nd stuck a nose under Eric, Schulz knew he had to stay lower and drive a perfect race, and that is just what happened! As the checkers flew, Eric was the first to speed under them, taking home the trophy, and sweeping the evening!
This was the last non-wing race for the 2010 season, Eric is looking into making a few winged races around the area. Check back to see how he does!
