Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 4- Bubba Doubles Up for 2010

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report  - Edition 4- Bubba Doubles Up for 2010 - By Rich Vleck

 

The Broderick Racing Team entered a Western NY Doubleheader looking to put together a pair of solid finishes and perhaps pick up a second win on the season; after not meeting their expectations on Friday, they made up for it on Saturday and then added to it on Sunday.

 

Bubba made his second trip of his career to Ransomville Speedway on Friday Night.  After spending the afternoon with his friends from nearby Niagara Falls, he cruised over to the tricky facility with plenty of company along for the experience.

 

"It was like going in there for the first time since we had no notes," Bubba reflected.  "I looked over the track with Bryan Howland and got a good baseline."

 

He would charge up in his heat race from fifth up to second place on the final lap to quality for the redraw.  Picking the third tennis ball would put him in prime position for the feature, but that is where things stopped going as planned.

 

"The car worked too well in the heat because we had nothing that we wanted to change.  We fell behind on chasing the track and made a big mistake by not tightening the car up."

 

Despite missing the setup, Bubba would keep the Northeast Carpet/ Pink Monkey Water No. 5 Eagle in one piece and bring it home in 11^th.

 

The team would regroup and head down the road to Stateline Speedway, one of their best ovals.  Bubba knew that this would have to be a time to rebound.

 

Like he has on two other trips to Jamestown, Bubba dominated his heat race and won in convincing fashion; redrawing the outside pole for the feature was just about all he needed to go after the win.

 

"The heat race was fun; it proved to me why it is my favorite track.  We just had some minor things to correct on the car and we knew it would be solid."

Scott Bonnell would jump out in front at the onset of the 25-lap A-Main but Bubba was close in his tracks until the first caution on lap five.  On the ensuing restart, Bonnell broke a part and was out of the event, putting the No. 5 out front.

 

"That was a great battle with Scott because I could reach his bumper on the straight-aways and then we'd hit a corner and he'd go low and I'd go high.  I was going to hang behind him for a while when he broke.  I was lucky because it was the one time I didn't use the high line."

 

The rest of the race would go caution-free, with Bubba blasting the cushion.  Defending ASCS Patriot Champion Bryan Howland was not ready to let the 20-year-old from Brookfield, CT run away though, as he hotly pursued him the entire way.

 

"I had to concentrate and take what the track gave us.  I really felt the pressure of needing a win, and then Howland peaked underneath with four laps to go and that was scary because I thought he had reeled me in.  There is nobody better in the Patriots in the final five laps than Bryan."

 

"This is why we do this," he would later say.  "To win two times in the first seven races is where we need to be."

 

The win made Bubba the first repeat winner on the ASCS Patriot Tour this season.  It also helped to solidify his position perhaps as the series' finest short-track competitor.

 

Off the high of their second win, the team took a trip to Sportman's Speedway in Knox, PA for a special charity 410 race on Sunday.  When they showed up, 34 teams, including some elite professions were in the pits, all but three had 410 c.i. engines.

 

When Bubba took his first look at the track, he realized the small oval would suit his driving style, the perfect kind he needed to have some fun.

 

Bubba put on a clinic in his heat as he raced up from eighth to second, only to get spun out and head to the back.  He would rebound and drive back up to third and qualify for the feature by flying around two cars on the final lap.

 

"I was driving as hard as I could, but there was no bite out there.  There was a lot of dust on restarts and you just had to trust the guy in front of you to keep it straight."

 

In the A-Main, after drawing third for the third straight night, Broderick would find himself battling with Ed Lynch Jr. for fourth place, someone he has admired for years.

 

"I gained even more respect for him because he gave me a ton of room and we swapped it for fourth about four times."

 

In the late stages of the event at the 1/3-mile oval but figured since no points were on the line, he would go for it all.  It did not pay off as he spun out and went to the back; still the results were positive.

 

"I tried to make a pass on the very high side of the track like I saw Daryn Pittman do earlier in the race, but I didn't pull it off.  It still was a great show, I had a lot of fans congratulate me in the end and knowing that we could battle with the 410's made our day."

 

The team now prepares for another big weekend at a pair of big tracks: Ohsweken and Little Valley.  It will be Bubba's first trip to Little Valley, as it will be for many competitors.

 

Broderick Racing is supported by Northeast Carpet, Brownie's Towing, Pink Monkey Water, Eagle Motorsports, Mike Emhof Motorsports, Fyne Line Construction, Campbell's Painting, Jim's Welding Supply.

 

For more information, be sure to visit www.BroderickRacing.com.