Berkley, MA – (August 11, 2008) – In their return to competition this past Saturday night, Mad Dog Motorsports (MDM) brought their #16 Pro Stock home in the third position.
Jake started the 40-lap feature event in the third position, a result of his third place heat finish. Powering by on the outside, it did not take him long to make his was past the top two cars and into the lead. Jake paced the race from lap seven all the way until lap 22.
“When we wrecked, we took that week off to go over the whole car and make sure that we had everything in working order. Vinny (Annarumo, former owner of the car and current True Value Modified driver) came over and helped us out a ton. It is obvious to see that really was beneficial. We were able to get ourselves back on track and into the top five.”
Following a lap-19 restart, Fred Astle, Jr. passed Jake to take over the lead. Jake would run in the second position all the way until lap 30 when Kenny Spencer snuck by Jake for the bridesmaid position. A penalty assessed by ARC officials to race leader Fred Astle, Jr. moved Jake into the second position on lap 33. During the last seven laps, Jake would do his best to hold onto the second position but eventually would relinquish it to Mike Brightman, resulting in a third place finish - the team’s second podium finish of the season.
“Tonight’s race had a lot of cautions (6) for a 40-lap race. Unfortunately for us, they kept coming at inopportune times. If we could have had some long green flag runs, I think that we might have had our first win. Nevertheless, to come back after our wreck and finish third is more than satisfying. I just have to thank everyone for all that they did to get us back out here. It was humbling to have so many people jump to throw a hand in,” said a grateful Vanada following the race.
Despite missing a week of racing, MDM still sits ninth in the overall point standings, trailing the John Dabrowski, by a mere 2 points. Jake is also second in the running for the Rookie of the Year title.
MDM will be looking to make up some more ground this Saturday night as they will compete at Seekonk Speedway (MA) for the 40-lap ARC-sanctioned Pro Stock race. Qualifying is slated to begin at 6:00 PM.