6/21/2019
Lauren Butler
Kingsport Speedway
The Edlin Motorsports team pulled into Kingsport Speedway Thursday afternoon for a little practice on the 3/8 mile concrete track. After the test session Lauren pointed out how difficult it was to get a good line but was up for the challenge. Friday morning we arrived at the track to prepare the car. While bolt checking we found issues with the track bar. After a couple of hours of redoing the track bar she was finally ready for practice.
After some more adjustments, a gear change and great coaching from Kevin Kromer during the second practice, via team radios, Lauren’s pace picked up a full second and a half. During the debriefing Lauren also stated that this was the most comfortable she has been in the car since she started racing it. Crew chief Eddie Butler laughed and said I hope so, we tore the whole car apart in the last 2 weeks in order to prepare for Kingsport. Lauren went out 12th for qualifying and picked up a 6th place starting position missing a top 5 by .400 of a sec.
During his warmup lap Keven Kromer’s engine let loose in the 77 Toyota Camry and it was done. We at Edlin Motorsports made the decision to let Kromer run Lauren's car for the first race. It was the right decision to make. Kromer is 2nd in points and Lauren is in 5th. It was more important to keep Kevin in the points hunt. Kevin started at the tail-end of the field and worked his way up to 4th place with about 8 laps to go the 53/77 developed steering box issues and blew a power steering hose which ended that race.
During the break between the races Edlin Motorsports and the K2 Motorsports teamed up to switch steering boxes to try and get Lauren out for the second race. Lauren just made it onto the track and had to start at the rear then the rain came. What a night!
This is an excerpt from the Super Cup Stock Car Series Page: “Kromer was one of the quickest competitors throughout the day, but come qualifying any chances of a positive night came derailed. The No. 77 Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute / Mission R.A.C.E.R. / K2 Motorsports Toyota went up in smoke on his warmup lap.
Without hesitation, teams came forward proposing different options in order for the Walnutport, Pennsylvania series stalwart to attempt at staying in the points race.
“I can’t say a whole lot because it just goes to show the respect that a lot of people have for you when you’ve been in the series this long and the appreciation that you get from the series and the sportsmanship,” Kromer explained, regarding the camaraderie that assembled together after hopping in Lauren Butler’s No. 53 Edlin Automotive Services / Cornwell Tools / 3C Signs / Night & Day Sealcoating / Pink Zebra / Roof Repair Experts / Motive Parts of Homestead Chevrolet. “They offered me the car and the first thing, (team owner) Eddie (Butler) came over to me and said ‘get your butt in the car’ and I said ‘is Lauren okay with it’ because I didn’t know if she knew about it. I got fitted in here and I’m waiting and Larry Berg (team owner of CR7 Motorsports) came up and says ‘come on down, you can drive this one’. I said, ‘well, I took the ride here’. Those two people are two good teams in this series and that’s what this series is about.”
Unfortunately, a power steering box failure relegated Kromer to 11th in the final order, but turned out to be a couple positions better than it would have been if he had not started at all in a series where every point can certainly count come year end.
Submitted By: Lauren Butler
