Bubba Broderick Racing Report: Edition 7

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report

 

Edition 7- A Ray of Sunshine on a Rainy Weekend

 

What was supposed to be a challenging three-race weekend opportunity for the Broderick Racing Team to shine ended up being mostly cloudy, and rainy; but they ended on a positive note on the way home.

 

The No. 5 Team travelled up to Rolling Wheels Raceway on Friday, the site of Bubba's first sprint car race in 2007, but would have nothing to do on that night as action was washed out.

 

On Saturday, the weather cleared up for most of the day, but heavier storms moved in before the racing action could be completed.  Bubba did get a brief stint on the track and would walk away anxious that they couldn't turn more laps with their Eagle Chassis.

 

The Fast Track Summer Shootout utilized a unique time trial format, running in groups in their first session on the track and helping that set the grids for hot laps.  Bubba was near Patriot point leader Jared Zimbardi and the two fought for space in the three lap session.

 

"We definitely could have used a Friday Night session, because without having a separate hot lap session we did not come out of the box near where we needed to be," admitted Bubba.  "Having the wicker bill was a big change from what we have been doing this year."

 

The 20-year-old would have to start at the back of heat race two and would fight from his 10^th place starting spot to seventh, but without the aid of passing points would have to run the B-Main to qualify for the 25-lap feature.  Before that happened, though, Mother Nature, which intervened briefly after hot laps, would hit hard after the third heat race and settled in for the rest of the night.  The remainder of the event was scrapped and the special challenge was cancelled.

 

"We were able to pass some cars in the heat and it was getting some better, but we were up against it all night if it didn't rain."

 

Before the team got back home to their Brookfield, CT base, they stopped off at the Lebanon Valley Speedway, the closest venue to home, for the annual stop by the World of Outlaws.

 

"There is no place I have more fun at than the Valley.  It has a hometown crowd feel and the speeds are just incredible.  It is like Daytona on dirt."

 

Going up against the top 410s in the country, along with a myriad others, Bubba showed his meddle, qualifying easily through the B-Main and moving forward in the feature.

 

"Normally that show doesn't even have a full field, but then 29 cars show up and it made us really be on our game.  I wasn't great in time trials, and the heat was alright considering the guys in front of us, but in the B-Main the racing was great and I got to swap it was some 410 cars and get in the show."

 

Broderick was up to 17^th place from 23^rd 12 laps into the A-Main when a car spun around in front of the No. 5.  Bubba attempted to avoid the car, but made slight contact which was just enough to knock him out of the event.  Even so, his presence was felt by the large crowd.

 

"From the start, the race was like a dream.  Going 4-wide with the Outlaws is what you grow up wanting to do.  Once the race got going, we were hooked up and driving by 410s.  Everyone seemed to be in a group and that seemed to slow them down, so I just kept driving around everyone."

 

"I barely made contact with the spinning car and I hated that it happened, because I know we had a few more spots to pick off before the race was over."

 

The team is now raring to go for a big two-night, three-race weekend coming up this Friday and Saturday.  Friday will be the first trip for Bubba and the ASCS Patriot tour to Clinton County Speedway in Central PA.  The Patriots will challenge the 410 Sprint Express, a new series that runs the track weekly.  Bubba has already fared quite well against 410s this season and Clinton County is a track that should suit Bubba's style.

 

Saturday, Bubba will get two cracks at Woodhull Raceway, easily one of his favorite tracks.  He has a CNYMS win there in 2006 and has always fared well there in a sprint.  The first feature field is set, with Bubba starting in eighth, but he should still be a factor.

 

"Hopefully the outside groove is there on Saturday.  I always enjoy going there and having a ton of a laps in one place on one night should allow time to dial the car and hopefully getting back to winning races."

 

Broderick Racing is supported by Northeast Carpet, Brownie's Towing, Pink Money 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. 

 

Update

Rolling Wheels Event for Friday night has been rained out. Bubba and the team are hanging out at the track waiting for tomorrow nights event

Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 6- Rough Waters on the St. Lawrence

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report -  Edition 6- Rough Waters on the St. Lawrence - By Rich Vleck

 

The Broderick Racing Team came into this past weekend with high hopes for another win on what has already been an impressive 2010 season.  When the dust settled Sunday Night, though, they could only take solace in making the best of bad breaks.

 

Saturday Night, the team visited the Brockville Ontario Speedway for the second time this season, a track where Bubba has never finished outside of the top-10.  Another heat race start back in the pack did not phase the 20-year-old as he moved into a redraw spot and would pull the fourth starting spot for the A-Main.

 

"I was really exciting heading into the feature," reflected Bubba.  "It was a great draw for me, because I was planning to run the top anyways and I just assumed Shawn Donath, who was starting in front of me, would make the outside the line to go."

 

When the race began, polesitter Shayne Ely jumped out in front, with Donath in second.  Bubba was right behind them in third.

 

"Shayne definitely hit the setup, he was rolling the bottom and I tried it a few times and knew I had to be on the top.  My car was not good on short runs and every time I would reel them in the caution would come out."

 

Broderick was riding midway though the event when he came up on a lapped car and had to move his line up to the extreme outside to pass him.  As the leaders worked through turns three and four, the right rear on the No. 5 dipped over the banking and sent Bubba in a spin right towards the turn four wall.  The Eagle Chassis would make hard contact with an implement tire, and tip over the car.

 

"If I could have run the bottom, I would have used it to get around him.  The lapped car would push high, and then cut down low, and I figured he would do it again but he stayed on the top and I had to either go in his rear bumper or slam on the breaks, which spun me around into the wall."

 

Thankfully for Bubba, the damage was minimal and he would be able to finish the event, placing 13^th.  It was not the result he was hoping for, but knew things could have been even worse.

 

"I'm amazed I didn't flip.  I figured the rear end was going to be shot, but all it ended up being were a few small problems.  The race car wasn't junked and I knew that the car was running solid before that one mistake."

 

The next day, the team traveled about an hour up the road to Cornwall Motor Speedway, where Bubba took his most spectacular flip in his sprint car career a year earlier.

 

Broderick drew another poor starting spot in his heat, this time in a qualifier filled with top competitors.  The Brookfield, CT resident could not do much with his spot and would have to work from the back in the feature.

 

"That was probably the weakest the car has been this year.  Bryan Howland and I shared a laugh after the race about how we were battling each other in the back.  It was actually pretty embarrassing.  We found a few things wrong with the setup of the car before the A-Main and figured we could improve and bounce back."

 

Bubba did not waste much time moving forward, driving from 17^th to ninth place in the first six laps.  With plenty of racing left to be completed, it seemed as though nothing could stop him.

 

"The car was amazing, it was unbelievably fast.  I told the guys in the pits before the race that my goal was to get in the top-10 and once I was there by lap five, I wasn't ready to slow down."

 

On a lap seven restart, though, his nose wing would fold up after contact with Shayne Ely and hinder the performance on the No. 5 and caused him to slide out of the top-10.

 

On lap 12, while sliding the top wing forward to aid the ill-handling machine, two cars came together battling for third place and would block the track entering turn one.  Broderick did what he could to avoid contact, but that was nearly impossible.

 

"I was working on getting back by Jared Zimbardi, but his wing was blocking almost all of my vision, so when he slammed on the brakes I didn't have anywhere to escape.  I knew I would hit Zimbardi, I just tried to make as minimal of contact as possible.

 

After changing a flat right rear tire in the work area, Broderick would return with a bent front axle, a bent radius rod and a bent Jacob's Ladder and finish in ninth. For a second straight night, it was not the finish that the team was looking for, but their perseverance was noteworthy.

 

"The crew worked really hard to get me back out there in under two minutes.  It was a weekend that I can't be happy about, but I know we didn't lose as much ground as we could have."

 

The focus now shifts from a ¼-mile to the 5/8-mile Rolling Wheels Raceway, where Broderick will help represent the ASCS Patriots in the Fast Track Summer Shootout, which also features competitors from the United Racing Company and Empire Super Sprints.

 

"I love the track; it was the first one I ever ran back in 2007 when I was running one of Chuck Hebing's cars.  It has been have a few years since anyone has run there and I have a feeling were going to do really well."

 

Sunday Night, Bubba will hit Lebanon Valley Speedway on the way to compete in the World of Outlaws event.  Even though he will be giving up plenty of horsepower on the 410s, he still enjoys the element of speed the tight 5/8-mile presents.

 

"I really enjoy speed and no place gives you it like the Valley.  It is only a hour and a half from my home, so why not stop there?"

 

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. 

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 5 - Second Night Success

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report  - Edition 5 - Second Night Success - By Rich Vleck

 

For the third time this season, the Broderick Racing Team bounced back from a less than impressive first night of action to follow it up with a performance they could be proud of the following night.

 

The team made the long trip to Ohsweken Speedway for a Friday Night event, and were joined by 50 other teams.  With just about half of the cars getting sent home, qualifying for the event was the primary task.

 

"This was a great way to measure ourselves," Bubba reflected.  "I like having a little extra pressure to perform while not having it be a regular point race."

 

After another unlucky draw, Broderick put together a solid performance in his heat race, charging from ninth to fourth to put himself in great shape to qualify for the A-Main, but work was still to be done.  Under the Northern Summer Nationals format, a second set of heats, known as qualifiers, was required to set the field.

 

The inversion put Broderick near the front of the pack and was solidly in the top-three, however, he would lose control on the slick track and spin out his No. 5.  Broderick would charge back up to place eighth, which was still not enough to qualify directly to the A-Main.

 

"We just didn't have the car connected to the track," Bubba noted.  "When Bobby Breen got by for the lead, I tried to go back after him but the space tightened up and when I lifted off the throttle and sent car around."

 

Bubba ran the B-Main, which has become a familiar sight for him in big event at Ohsweken, where he has won one in the last two Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.  As soon as the race started though, it was clear that the No. 5 was not set up correctly for the slick track conditions.

 

"We were chasing the track all night and we tried some changes and knew right away that it didn't do much.  I was leading, but I knew that I didn't have much of one because I could hear the guys right on me."

 

Broderick was trying to hang on when he spun around the car in turn one.  Trying to stay in the mix, Bubba gassed the car, did a '360' and kept going, when a car behind him spun around and drew a caution.  Because the lap was not completed, they would revert back to the last completed lap, allowing Bubba to get the lead back.

 

"I don't even know how I kept that car going after spinning around," Bubba admitted.  "I was the luckiest guy there that night because there was no way I was going to run back into one of the top-two spots.  I was thanking God at that point."

 

After picking up the win and transferring to the A-Main, the 20-year-old found himself in a massive pack of top contenders fighting for limited real estate around the 3/8-mile.  He would card an 18^th place showing, eighth best among Patriot competitors as far as points were concerned.

 

The next night the team headed into the unknown to compete at the Little Valley Speedway.  Upon setting his eyes on the ½-mile, Bubba quickly realized that this track was much different than anything else on the tour.

 

"I was excited when I saw the track because I love speed and I felt that it could suit my driving style.  We do pretty well at the really big tracks and it looked like it would slick off, which was also beneficial."

 

Starting near the back of his heat, once again, Bubba quickly charged from seventh to second, easily making the redraw.  Like his heat though, he would have another unlucky draw, selecting the No. 8 starting spot in the A-Main.

 

"The car handled really well after practice, and it continued through the heat.  I was unsure about running the high line and didn't test it up there. After talking with Chuck Hebing earlier in the week he said that was where he ran when he won there.  The bad draw basically committed me for doing something different, even though I hadn't practiced the line."

 

On the opening lap, a major crash occurred heading into the first turn right near Bubba, who was able to scoot on by.  Unfortunately, Bubba's friend Scott Bonnell was not as fortunate, and would suffer two broken vertebrae as a result of his flip.

 

"All my prayers go out to him.  We have hung out with him a lot of late and he is a terrific guy.  I felt really bad and thought about him the entire time under the red flag.  I was also thinking about how I could have been a part of it if I didn't try the high line."

 

Bubba would have to refocus and after one more caution flag the next time around, the race would go to the end without stoppage, which is when Broderick made his moves.

 

The No. 5 Eagle went up to the top and began rim-riding his way up through the pack.  After restarting on lap one in seventh, he would charge to third by lap five and begin to challenge Kyle Moffit.  The two youngsters would put on a spirited battle, with Bubba finally getting the spot coming to the white flag.

 

"I had so much fun up on the top.  It was probably one of the top-five races of the career because the speed I was carrying just two feet off the wall was awesome."

 

A caution flag may have put Broderick in the mix to pick up the win, but without that aid occurring he would have to settle for his fourth top-three of the season.

 

"I wish we had a caution because it would have put on a great show for the fans.  Bryan was really quick but I would have liked to take a chance at him."

 

The team will now take a weekend off, with the next action occurring on July 17 and 18 at Brockville and Cornwall Speedways in Ontario.  These ¼-mile ovals favor Bubba's driving style, and should give him a great chance to be the first three-time winner on the ASCS Patriot Tour this season.

 

"I am really looking forward to these shows because we always do really well up there and hopefully can pull off another win."

 

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. 

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. 

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 3 - Trials and Tribulations of Traveling

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report -  Edition 3 - Trials and Tribulations of Traveling - By Rich Vleck

 

Traveling from Connecticut each weekend to run the ASCS Patriot tour means plenty of hours on the road.  Occasionally, the races the Broderick Racing team has on the schedule a stand-alone event that can test their determination. Upon reflection, it can define it.

 

Two weeks ago, the team traveled to Niagara Falls on Thursday Night in anticipation for a Friday Night event at Ohsweken Speedway in Southern Ontario.  Before even traveling across the border, the event was called off due to wet grounds.  Not wanting to head home empty handed, they quickly scurried down to Central Pennsylvania for a major race at Historic Williams Grove Speedway.  Once again though, Mother Nature intervened and wiped out racing action.  The team headed home until another attempt at a Canadian race the following week.

 

"That was a very, very long drive," noted Bubba. "Once Ohsweken rained out, we knew we had come this far and didn't want to go home without racing."

 

"To have the opportunity to run Williams Grove was something I really wanted to try.  We paid the membership, bought the tire, setup the car and drew the pill, and then it downpours.  It really sucked; I wanted to drive that track. It looked crazy."

 

"That was a lot of driving and we spent a lot of money for nothing.  Nobody was talking on the way home.  It was trip from hell."

 

Another treacherous forecast for a Saturday race at Brockville put racing in doubt for Bubba.  But as the headed north on I-81, things began to look better, that was, until they hit the border.

 

The team was pulled into customs and interrogated, as were a handful of other teams.  After more than two hours, they were finally set free and arrived at the track after the rest of the competitors had already run hot laps.

 

"My heart was pumping more than it ever has.  I really didn't think we were going to get in to Canada.  I knew we had done nothing wrong but it was very nerve-racking because I knew that it would throw away the championship if I couldn't make it."

 

"Once they let us through, it was like winning a race.  We had to load the trailer back up before we could leave, and I put my driver's suit on right away."

 

Behind the 8-ball, they scrambled to get heat in the motor and get ready to run a hot lap session of their own.  The No. 5 was off in hot laps, forcing the team to thrash for their heat.

 

"I was still angry over the border incident but I just had to calm down and the crew helped me realize that after hot laps.  The car was too soft and I knew we had to make some adjustments."

 

Moving from fourth to third in his heat assured Bubba a redraw position.  Drawing the No. 7 ball though would make going back-to-back a near impossibility on the narrow ¼-mile, something the maturing Broderick realized.

 

"I thought the track might slick off in the middle and that would be my only hope for a win.  If it came to me, then it came to me, but I couldn't go too hard at the start because I had to be smart getting through the pack.  I just went one car at a time."

 

Never finishing outside of the top-10 in three starts at "The BOS", Bubba quickly jumped into the top-five, taking control of third by lap 10.  The rest of the way, Bubba would hang with second-place Don Adamczyk, but could not find a way by and would settle for another solid podium showing.

 

"(Race Winner Jared) Zimbardi was totally gone, but I thought maybe I could get Don on a restart, but the car was just a little bit too tight for it.  It was still a great run."

 

The 20-year-old from Brookfield, CT now sits just 64 points out of the series lead.  Under a new point format, that is the difference from first to last in a single race; with 2/3 of the season still left, he realizes that his early-season bad luck has not crushed their ultimate goal.

 

"I know I can not screw up at this point.  There is more weight on my shoulders to do well, but we are heading to another good track for me this weekend in Stateline, and should do well there."

 

Ransomville will be the Friday Night portion of the two-race weekend for the No. 5 team.  With only one start at "The Big R", Bubba still is getting the feel for this tricky track.  He has been noting what it takes to get to win their though and is ready to try it out.

 

Bubba was arguably the strongest competitor at Stateline in 2009.  Despite not winning, he led more laps than any other driver and was a force to be reckoned with.

 

"If we can just keep plugging away with top-five finishes that is what we need.  The key for me though is to not worry about that at the track and just drive the car."

 

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. 

 

The Auto Racers for Kids Charities Bonnell's Collision Sprint Car Shootout round one was held at Sportman Speedway in Knox, PA, Sunday, June 20

.............Bubba Broderick from Brookfield Connecticut gave the 410 sprinters all they could handle with his 360 sprint car.  He ran in the top 5 the whole race, before an unfortunate spin out on the 23rd lap knocked him back to a 16th place finish.............

For the full story go to: http://www.autoracersforkids.org/Home.aspx