In the middle of an epic heat wave Shawn Morris and team made the trek into the windy city of Chicago to take on Route 66 Raceway in Joliet IL. With temperatures into the high 90’s the TORC series descended on the half mile stock car dirt oval for Rounds 9 and 10 of the season.
With a similar layout to last season, the track was built utilizing most of the original stock car oval. Tight infield corners spaced between rhythm sections and big sweeping corners of the oval made for great racing action for the fans and a challenge for drivers.After one quick session of practice on Friday morning, the team went right into afternoon qualifying. Morris was 5th fastest in qualifying, which landed him on the outside pole for Friday night’s race under the lights.
At the green another truck got under Morris and cut the right rear tire. To keep from falling too far behind the rest of the Pro Light field, spotter and crew chief Mikey VandenHeuvel called Morris to the hot pits for a quick tire change before making a full lap. At the same time an incident on the track caused a full course caution and full restart. Although Morris didn’t go a lap down, he did have to restart at the tail end of the lead lap. By the competition caution he worked his way up six places and continued to gain ground after the restart. With 3 laps to go Morris experienced another right rear flat, which cut the rear brake line forcing a lengthy pit stop. Morris went on to finish a disappointing 14th.In practice Saturday morning Morris was the 4th fastest but only had high gear due to a melted shifter cable. The crew made quick work to replace the broken shifter cable after practice so the truck was ready to go.
“I was surprised we had that fast of a truck with having only high gear,” Morris stated. “We really just were going to practice to test the brakes after loosing them the night before.”
Before Saturday evening’s race, the Pro racers got to drive over to the NASCAR track to take part in the fan festival, display their trucks, and have an autograph session with the NASCAR fans.
“Its alway fun do do these types of displays for the fans. It really gets them to see what our sport is all about and it always generates lots of interest for them to come over and watch the races that night.”
Having to start in 14th position out of 16 trucks was not the way Morris wanted to go into Round 10. He knew he would have to drive like his hair was on fire and get through the pack of slower trucks quickly to get to the front runners. Morris used the first half of the race to pick off competitors one at a time and move from 14th up to 6th at the competition caution. Within a handful of laps he was into 4th. Diving into a tight lefthander back onto the stock car oval, attempting to make a pass for 3rd, Morris caught a rut and with a tap from Bradley Morris, went up and over. Trying to save valuable track position, Shawn Morris stayed on the throttle and as he landed and got t-boned by another truck. With severe damage to the truck, Morris kept driving and maintained 6th place. On the final lap the truck that t-boned him earlier drove through him in the same corner, spinning Morris out, resulting in an 8th place finish on the night.
“It was a disappointing way to end the weekend. I may have been pushing too hard to get to the front and made a mistake. Bradley had no where to go. I know it wasn’t his fault. I gained a lot of respect for Bradley this weekend. I thought he was an super aggressive driver but after racing with him he shows he has skills and just wants to win. No one can fault him for that. I hope he goes out and wins in the Lucas Oil Series next weekend in California.”
Up next for Shawn Morris and team is the big natural terrain motocross track of Red Bud, in Buchanan MI on August 10th and 11th.“We’re coming for redemption!”
Shawn Morris Off Road Racing would like to thank all their sponsors that make racing possible: Maxxis Tires, AMSOIL, FK Rod Ends, PAC Racing Springs, Proformance Auto and Diesel Repair, Advance Auto Parts, ProPower, Method Race Wheels, Yukon Gear and Axle, Sunoco Fuel, Impact Safety, Oakley, R2C, and Proformance Media.
In the middle of an epic heat wave Shawn Morris and team made the trek into the windy city of Chicago to take on Route 66 Raceway in Joliet IL. With temperatures into the high 90’s the TORC series descended on the half mile stock car dirt oval for Rounds 9 and 10 of the season.
