5/18/2016
Sprint Source
Carney Hoping To Rebalance After Top 15 Performance at Texas Motor Speedway
(Image Credit: Kristy McDougal)
EL PASO, Texas (May 18, 2016) Balance is everything in Sprint Car racing, and this past weekend was a little off for John Carney II and the John James Racing No. 4j, as the team squared off against the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
“I wish was had a do over,” commented Carney of the weekend. “Over the past couple weeks, we’ve had several things change. Our main engine is getting rebuilt, so we had the backup engine plus we tore up a couple wings so now we’ve got these dished wings on there and its changes the balance on the car big time so now we’ve got a car that’s just way to tight on entry.”
Making changes on the car from Hot Laps to the Heat Race on Friday, the car was still not to John’s liking, but was still good enough to transfer into a Qualifier where the team was able to improve on the car a little bit more.
“We changed the bars for the Qualifier and the car was a lot better other than the shield on my Helmet got knocked open by a rock or something. I got hit pretty hard in the eye; enough that I ended up with a black eye so that costs us a couple laps. Maybe I could have gotten by another car and avoided the “B”, but in the B-Main, we made a few more changes, and handling wise, it was just about perfect but we were still off about three-quarters of a second from where we needed to be, but I can pretty much sum that up to having to use the backup engine. In the Main, it was rubber down so we couldn’t pass even if we’d had a 1,000 more Horsepower.”
Coming back on Saturday, the draw put Carney starting second in the third Heat Race, but again, the team was chasing the setup on the No. 4j.
“We really thought were going to be good. In Hot Laps, we were ninth fastest and figured we were pointed in the right direction, but the results proved otherwise. We back up in the Heat, backed up in the Qualifier, and then backed up in the B-Main,” said Carney.
“The whole night, we kept changing things. We went one way on the shocks, and then went the complete other way. Tried a different set of bars in the rear but it was still like something was just off in the car. The engine, the wings, really just the whole combination had no balance. The car was ugly tight on entry, then it’d just spin the tires coming off the turn and down the straightaway.”
Back in the shop to go over the John James Racing/MVT No. 4j, the team will be in Oklahoma this weekend for two nights with the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Red River Region presented by Smiley’s Racing Products at the Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. on Friday, May 20 and Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. on Saturday, May 21. John piloted the John James Racing No. 4j to his first ASCS Red River Region victory at the Lawton Speedway on July 18, 2015.
For continued updates on John Carney II and the John James Racing No. 4j, fans can follow along on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=570728686284547&fref=ts.
Season So Far:
Events: 16; Wins: 6; Top 5: 10; Top 10: 10; Top 15: 12; Top 20: 14
Up Next:
5/20/2016 – Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, Okla.) ASCS Red River
5/21/2016 – Lawton Speedway (Lawton, Okla.) ASCS Red River
2016 Results:
3/4/16 – Red River Speedway (Wichita Falls, Texas): Win (305cid)
3/5/16 - Red River Speedway (Wichita Falls, Texas): Win (305cid)
3/19/16 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, Texas): 21st (ASCS N)
3/25/16 – 81 Speedway (Park City, Kan.): 3rd (NSL360)
3/26/16 - 81 Speedway (Park City, Kan.): 12th (NSL360)
4/1/16 – SNM Speedway (Las Cruces, N.M.): Win (ASCS SW)
4/2/16 – SNM Speedway (Las Cruces, N.M.): Win (ASCS SW)
4/8/16 – Jackson Motor Speedway (Jackson, Miss.): 2nd (ASCS GS/SOS)
4/8/16 – Jackson Motor Speedway (Jackson, Miss.): 3rd (ASCS GS/SOS)
4/15/16 – Southern Oklahoma Speedway (Ardmore, Okla.): Win (305cid)
4/22/16 – Humboldt Speedway (Humboldt, Kan.): 17th (ASCS RR)
4/23/16 – Springfield Raceway (Springfield, Mo.): Win (ASCS RR/Warr.)
5/6/16 – Heart O’ Texas Speedway (Waco, TX): 17th (ASCS GS)
5/7/16 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park (Beaumont, TX): 2nd (ASCS GS)
5/13/16 – Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track (Ft. Worth, TX): 15th (ASCS N)
5/14/16 – Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track (Ft. Worth, TX): 7th (B-Main, ASCS N)
John Carney Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing/?fref=ts
Sprint Source: http://www.sprintsource.com/profile/?r=1329&rt=driver
Sponsors:
J.C. Farm and Ranch, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Challenger Drilling, Rider Graphics, Safe-T-Stepper, MSD Ignition, Top Row Rowdies, Momentum Suspension Systems, Brahman Operating, SpeedMart, Eagle Motorsports, Al Parker Racing Engines, John James Racing
Submitted By: Bryan Hulbert
