The good news is, Brady Loyet and the Vacuworx Global/Miller Truck Lines #o5 had a fast racecar at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas last weekend. The bad news is, while going for the win in Saturday’s Winternationals finale, the power plant gave in. That cut the Sunset Hills, Missouri driver’s point lead with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series, but he still holds an advantage heading into the last four point races in November. The team has a couple of weeks off to prepare for the stretch run. More importantly, Brad will be marrying his fiancé Cassie this weekend.
Knowing he is a curse for the draw, Brad found a friend to do the honors for Friday’s prelim. “My buddy from New Zealand drew the pill for me,” he says. “I wanted a front row outside spot. He drew the pole. I thought that was o.k. We were able to win the heat, no problem. We were in the redraw until the last heat race.”
Brad ended up one spot out of the redraw and started ninth in the feature. “It was typical Devil’s Bowl,” he says. “It was hard to pass for us…hard to go anywhere. Once we got to the leaders it was tough to get around them. We ended up fifth, one spot out of locking ourselves into Saturday. Overall, it was a good night, and we were happy with it.”
Saturday’s draw went well too. “Saturday, we got our wish and drew the second row outside for the heat,” says Brad. “We had a really good car. We got the lead right away. We almost got passed at one point, but we were able to pull away. That put us in the redraw.”
The draw saw Brad start inside row two for the finale. “We had a really good car,” he says. “We fell into third right away. About halfway through, our car was a rocket ship. It seemed everyone else was falling off.”
He would move into the runner-up spot. “I was able to get around Aaron Reutzel for second,” says Brad. “It was one of those nights where you’re sitting in the car, and everything felt perfect. I felt really calm and cool thinking we were going to win the race.”
Sometimes they run best before they go. “I was on (Matt) Covington’s back bumper,” says Brad. “He was in lapped traffic. I was just waiting for the right opportunity to get around him. Unfortunately, going down the back straightaway, something in the bottom of the motor let go. That ruined our night, but we had an awesome racecar.”
The team was able to see a silver lining despite a tough night. “Fortunately, we haven’t had a lot of nights like that,” says Brad. “Unfortunately, it happened when we were up front racing for the win. We have a couple weekends off here before we have four nights left with ASCS. Unfortunately, we lost quite a few points Saturday, but we are still leading, and that’s an advantage we have. It’s going to be a race, that’s for sure! Our engine builder is going over the motor with a fine tooth comb that we’re running for those shows. We plan to be good to go.”
Brad’s Weekly Releases
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Brad and the Loyet Motorsports team would like to thank primary sponsors: Vacuworx Global, Miller Truck Lines, and Loyet Landscape Maintenance. Associate sponsors: Maxim Race Cars, J and D Performance Racing Engines, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Meramec Heights Collision Center, KSE Racing, Weld Wheels, Penske Shocks, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Hepfner Racing Products, DMI, Saldana Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Bell Helmets, TI 64, Conroy Control, The Engine Heater, Ealey Transportation, and Speedway Motors.
Attached: Brad at Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Serena Dalhamer Photo)
- administrator on Oct 21, 2014
- Article Date: 10/21/2014