Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 11- Battling Traffic

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 11- Battling Traffic

 

The final single-race weekend of the 2010 season for the ASCS Patriots was held this past Saturday at Stateline Speedway.  Committed to the tour, that meant that the Broderick Racing Team would make the long trip from Connecticut to the Western Edge of New York.  Thankfully for them, the weather was perfect.

 

It would be hard to believe that Bubba would miss a race at Stateline though, where he has arguably been the best driver at the quirky 1/3-mile there over the last two seasons.

 

"Every time we went to Stateline, we have been fast," noted Bubba.  "Even the first time we went there we were good."

 

Bubba got a feel for the track on this cloudless day early in hot laps, as he would blast the cushion and put on a performance for the fans before things turned competitive.

 

"We had a different setup in Saturday that we had been using the last few weeks.  The car worked everywhere in hot laps, even in the middle. I felt like we were the fastest car.  The thing about Stateline though is that hot laps are not a very good indicator for what it will look like in the feature."

 

In his heat, the 20-year-old would start fourth and quickly move into third, which would assure him a spot in the redraw.  For the balance of the event, Bubba picked up second place and pressured the leader, while testing out some new lines on the track, as well as being cautious."

 

"The car was comfortable to drive; I was having a lot of fun.  The only thing that wasn't fun was the sun going down the backstretch.  You literally couldn't see down the straightaway and the only thing I could do was turn as soon as I hit the shade.

 

"I didn't even try the high side and when I caught up to the leader, I was thinking about going by him but figured I didn't have to do that to make the redraw."

 

And then came the redraw, in which Bubba was the first to draw after gaining the most passing points.  He pulled the No. 8 ball, the worst one in the bag. 

 

"I hate going first on the redraw," he declared.  "We've been having good redraws this year, so eventually our luck had to give up.  It just stunk because we knew it was going to be tough to get by people in the feature." Broderick was fast in the feature, but it was tough sledding behind seven top cars.  The cushion was not as supreme as it had been on prior visits, with the berm extremely high off turn four.

 

"Before our race, the track was getting slick but we could feel the moisture coming back in.  It really forced us to change our setup.  I figured I could just go right to the top, but the line didn't go as I had expected and we lost a few spots.

 

"The berm was really thick in turns three and four.  You had to snap the car sideways to not get stuck on it and that was tough because there were some really good cars running on the bottom.

 

"Once I was by myself, I could run so much quicker, but having to deal with other guys slowed me up so much."

 

The No. 5 Eagle was up to third by the time the 25-lap feature was half-way complete, but he would have Jared Zimbardi to get by for third, and that wasn't easy either.

 

"He was in the exact line I needed to be in, but he was fast too.  My only choice was to start diving to the bottom, but I didn't have enough to get by.  I tried a few partial slide jobs to get him to get off the top; it worked and I was setting up a run on the top when the caution came out."

 

In the closing laps, Bubba found himself rim-riding again to try to get by not only Zimbardi, but Tim Kelly, as the trio battled for second.  When the checkered flag flew, Broderick was fourth for his second-straight top-five finish.

 

"I got into Jared towards the end and that was my last-ditch effort to get those spots.  I felt we were at least the second-quickest car on the night but there was a lot of traffic and really nowhere to go.  I'm really happy, but then again it was really disappointing because I knew it was an event I could win."

 

Like last week, the team will make another long trip west, this time for two events at Sharon and Eriez.  Bubba won at Eriez in May and finished third at Sharon last season, and is excited to return to these two very different tracks.

 

"My goal is now to finish third in points," noted Bubba, who trails Tim Kelly by 21 points.  "Tim has been running really strong and I don't have time to screw up.  We'd love to sweep the weekend and I'm that confident because I know we are really strong at both places.  I'm going 110% this weekend."

 

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 got some air time on radio 101.9 - August 28, 2010

Listen to Bubba get interviewed on the radio at Stateline Speedway. To see the Crew & Bubba listen to the delayed broadcast go to: http://www.twitvid.com/KCWYI

Bubba in the News - August 29, 2010

......Broderick, the June winner at Stateline, drove up from his eighth place starting spot to finish in fourth after fighting hard to earn each spot........

For the full story by By Rich Vleck go to: http://www.ascsracing.com/racenotes.asp?ID=58686&yr=2010

Bubba in the News - August 28, 2010

......  The sprint group's June appearance ended with Bubba Broderick from Brookfield, Conn., in victory lane. Broderick took advantage of early leader Scott Bonnell's mechanical problems and then mastered lap traffic, winning his second ASCS feature of the season and the third of his career.

Broderick is fourth in the ASCS Patriot points. Bryan Howland of Auburn is the ASCS point leader followed by Salamanca's Tim Zimbardi and Tim Kelly from Rock Springs.......

For the full story by By Glenn Slocum go to: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/565470.html

Bubba Broderick Racing Report - Edition 10 - Ohsweken Accomplishment

Sideways with Bubba

 

In his first two seasons of sprint car competition, Bubba Broderick had always seemed to run well at some point in a night at Ohsweken, but never had the great finishes to show for it.  With one final opportunity to gear up before this year's Canadian Sprint Car Nationals, he found his way to the front and stayed there despite bad luck trying to intervene.

 

With 38 cars in attendance for the second ASCS vs. Corr/Pak Challenge at Ohsweken, just making the show was a task.  After drawing fourth for his heat race, Bubba had a quality starting spot in a show without passing points, but would have to take on a number of strong competitors.

 

"It was a different feeling without having passing points," noted Bubba.  "I normally try to win every time but now I knew I had to be in the top three.  We had a great hot lap session with a new setup and were anxious to get out there."

 

The Brookfield, CT driver would move into third early on and begin to challenge for the lead with Kyle Moffit and Dustin Daggett, each of whom had already won a race at Ohsweken earlier in the year.  Only needing to finish in the top three to earn a redraw spot, Broderick focused on holding off Alain Bergeron to earn his chance at starting on the front row.

 

"The car was really stable in the heat.  I ran the top most of the time and once Daggett peaked underneath me I had to pull a slide job to get in a redraw spot.  After I settled into third, I saw the scoreboard and knew Bergeron was behind me so I focused on finishing third, which we did."

 

The 20-year-old would grab the outside pole for the feature and was ready to make the most of his opportunity.  He and Travis Cunningham would battle hard for the lead on the opening lap, with Broderick settling in to second.

 

"Before the race, I figured the top was the place to be but the polesitter was really strong on the bottom.  The car was good, but the bottom was better."

 

On the second lap, Dustin Daggett began to challenge the No. 5 Eagle, but Bubba held steady on the top for two laps, before finally heeding way to the No. 2M.  Daggett would go on and pick up the win while Bubba did what he could to finish in the top five.

 

"Daggett pulled the same move he did in the heat race to get by me.  It amazed me how I felt I ran a perfect corner and he still went by.  He was definitely hooked up.  It was his feature to win."

 

While battling for third midway through the race, the No. 5 hit a rut and suddenly the car suddenly began to act violently for Bubba.

 

"I thought the rear end was falling apart.  I was going to pull off because it was vibrating so badly I couldn't even see.  It was all a blur."

 

The only stoppage of the race came out on lap 19 for a flip.  Under the red flag, a track crew member discovered that the right rear wheel had broken and had packed with mud.  It seemed to dissipate on the restart, but it happened once again with five laps to go, making it a living hell to the finish.

 

"I was pleased with the fifth, but I know we had a chance to finish in the top-three without that issue.  It was great to see the new setup work.  We have a good book to work off of for the Canadian Nationals now."

 

The next night the team travelled over to Merrittville Speedway, where the night was cancelled after hot laps due to rain.  It was a disappointment for the Broderick Racing Team, as another opportunity to feel out their new setup was squashed.

 

The Ohsweken showing was his first top-five finish since July 3 and sets him up perfectly for a chance to sweep the events at Stateline this Saturday.

 

"I don't like that track just because I won there, I like it because it is really racy.  The bottom can be fast, but you can make the top line work as well.  As long as the track has a top line, I think we will be good."

 

Broderick also has an opportunity to claim the Insinger Race Fuels King of the Southern Tier Series Crown.  He will need some help for that to happen, but considering how strong he is at the 1/3-mile oval; it is not out of the realm of possibilities.

 

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. 

 

Bubba in the News - ASCS Patriots Settle Southern Tier Title at Stateline Saturday

.......Bubba Broderick. from Brookfield, CT, won the Patriot show at Stateline back in June, his second win of the year. Stateline has perhaps been Broderick's best track since he started running there in 2008. The 20-year-old sits second in Southern Tier standings and will need some help to claim his first crown.......... For the full story by Rich Vleck go to: http://www.ascsracing.com/ascsnews.asp?region=10

Bubba Broderick Racing Report: Edition 9

Sideways with Bubba

 

 

Bubba Broderick entered Friday Night's event at Black Rock Speedway knowing that even though he had never fared well results wise at the track, he had never got a crack to show his true potential.  Just one good draw is what he wanted, and that is just what he got; but more disappointments would be ahead

 

The Broderick Racing team made the long trip to Dundee Friday for the $4,000-to-Win A-Verdi Championship.  Bubba often found himself starting towards the back, but a great draw for his heat would land the No. 5 Eagle on the pole for heat race two.

 

"Finally we got a good draw there," declared Bubba.  "It certainly wasn't me drawing.  For the second straight week I used someone else.  The unfortunate part was that Bryan Howland and Tony Stewart were in the race but then again it was a good chance to show off."

 

Coming to the green flag though, Broderick was deemed to have accelerated too early and was placed back a row for jumping the start.  Bubba was understandably not happy, but was determined to rebound from it.

 

"I hated getting shuffled a row back but with Tony now in front of me, I knew I was in the quick line because he is really strong on starts."

 

Broderick fought hard on the bottom of the track with Bryan Howland for the runner-up spot, which was in effect going to be for a spot in the redraw.  As the two were side-by-side coming to complete the second lap, they had to divert their course and avoid a major wreck.

 

Tony Stewart's No. 14 had collided with a damaged car in turn two and was barrel rolling in front of Bubba and Bryan.  Howland, on the top, dove onto the pit lane, while Bubba was able to get the car slowed down to move by on the inside.

 

"I saw the car from the middle of the frontstretch, but I guess I never saw him turn right in front of Tony.  I was right behind Bryan as we entered the corner and I had to drive through the low line for the first time on the night."

 

Broderick would complete the heat race solidly in second, which was good enough to make the redraw.  Drawing a number four would give him that quality starting spot for the A-Main he had been looking for at BRS.

"The car wasn't great in the heat and we tried to tighten the car up for the feature and hoping that we landed on the perfect change.  I liked starting on the top and felt that we could pull out a good top five finish."

 

Things were still not right with the Northeast Carpet/ Pink Monkey Water entry from the start as he was tight on entry and loose through the corner.  To compound the problems, by the third lap a flat right rear tire materialized on the No. 5 for the third straight feature.  Bubba wasn't sure if it was flat yet but after a lap 7 caution he was sure it was going soft and put the crew to work.

 

"I was so upset sitting in the work area.  I just couldn't understand how this string of luck with flat tires has been.  Bones (Crew Chief) asked me if the car was tight or loose and I wasn't even sure because the tire had been going down.  We made a torsion bar adjustment right before the two minutes were up and that loosened the car up."

 

Broderick ran the final 18 laps battling with Tim Kelly, but would struggle off the corner and would fight his way back to a 12^th place finish, but again left the Finger Lakes venue wondering what could have been.

 

"Our team had a talk and just said that this luck has to turn around, it just has to.  We never had a flat before last weekend in my career without contact with another car.  If flat tires come in threes, hopefully our third win is around the corner."

 

The team will now take a week off before a weekend in Southern Ontario racing at Ohsweken and Merrittville Speedways.  This will be a great way to gear up for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals which is just over a month away.

 

"Ohsweken is a place we've never been great, but still one of my greatest accomplishments is backing the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals A-Main both times we've gone there.  I want to really get a hold of the place so we can go after a top-10 in September."

 

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. 

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report: Edition 8

Sideways with Bubba

 

Bubba Broderick Racing Report

 

Edition 8- Bad Luck at the Bull Rings

 

The Broderick Racing team entered this past weekend with high hopes that they might be able to capture their third win of the 2010 season.  With three races at two tracks that suited Bubba Broderick's driving style, his chance at having things go right were good.  In the end though, what could go wrong just about did.

 

Friday Night, the team travelled for the first time ever to Clinton County Raceway, located in the heart of Central Pennsylvania.  The tight 1/3-mile suited Bubba's eye, but with 45 cars in the pits, things were competitive to say the least.

 

With a quality draw for the third heat race, the Brookfield, CT looked to get to work on a top spot for the feature. Challenging for second early in the event, the top wing on the No. 5 slid back when the wing slider broke and severely tightened his Eagle.  Broderick was able to hang on to third, which was good enough to qualify for the feature, but had a mountain to climb in the A-Main.

 

"I was stuck on the bottom on the start after practicing on the top but I didn't lose a spot getting up there," noted Bubba.  "I was setting up to pass the No. 11 when the caution came out.  I slid the wing back a tighten up the car a touch but when I hit the backstretch on the restart the wing slid back on me and the car became way too tight.  I didn't realize that was the problem until I got back to the pits.  We might have had a chance at the redraw but that set us way back."

 

Despite starting near the back, the 20-year-old began to drive up through the pack, moving to ninth place by the third lap.  Just after the restart though, Broderick's left front made contact with an implement tire lining to bottom of the track, which would break his front end and a few laps later would be sliding through the infield.

 

"The car was getting such a good run on other cars but they were side-by-side, so I saw an opening on the bottom on the fourth lap and just hit the tire.  The official told me under a red flag that my front axle was bent but I figured it must be alright if I was passing cars.  It was very tough to drive and with about 10 to go I broke the torsion arm off and I went for a wild ride.  I was just glad it didn't hit anyone or anything."

 

While a number of bolt on parts would need to be replaced that night, the team knew they had two good chances to win at Woodhull on Saturday, one of Bubba's best tracks.

 

The first event of the night was the rain-delayed feature from May, in which Bubba started eighth.  By lap five, Bubba had found himself in fourth and moving up fast when a car slowed in front of him on the top of turn four to bring out the caution.  Bubba went to avoid the stopped car and spun around his No. 5.  Broderick through up a cloud of dust as he stayed in the throttle and was able to drive away and thus was able to get his spot back.

 

"The set of corners earlier the car pushed and when I went into turns 3 and 4 it pushed when I slowed to avoid that car, and I figured that's all it was.  I was so pumped to have the spot back and thought everything was alright.  Up until that point the car was really fast."

 

Broderick appeared ready to rim ride farther forward on the restart, but evidently a right rear tire had been punctured just before the caution and was leaking air.  He would limp around the track the next five laps awaiting another caution.  When leader Chuck Hebing lapped Bubba, he took it to the infield and was done for the race.

 

"I should have recognized under the caution that the tire was flat and ducked into the pits too change it.  Once I realized it under green I didn't want to draw a caution, but I guess that would have saved us."

 

In the regularly-scheduled show at Woodhull, Broderick drew the pole for his heat but would finish second behind 2009 race winner Bobby Breen.  It would be just enough to keep Bubba out of the redraw and send him to the dash.  In the dash, Bubba was solid again in second and would earn a 10^th place starting spot for the stacked A-Main.

 

"We got to try something different for the dash and it didn't work out well but it was something we realized was not the right setup.  We knew we still had a good setup in our book for the feature."

 

As the field was getting set to come to green though, he developed a flat left rear tire and would have to head to the pits and vacate his starting spot.  The crew would change the tire in under a minute and Bubba would drive from last towards into the top-10 by lap eight when the red flag came out.  Broderick knew the spare tire had loosened up his car but continued to fight the rest of the way.

 

"I was so mad inside the car.  I couldn't believe that I picked up a flat for the second time after no contact with anyone or anything.  The rest of the way we were pretty good, but it wasn't the setup we preferred to have."

 

In the end, Bubba would cross in ninth, sandwiched between Bryan Howland and Jared Zimbardi with whom he engaged in a spirited battle during the final few circuits.  It was once again not the finish he wanted, but he still did drive forward.

 

"It was a lost opportunity for us.  It was the kind of night where you couldn't assign blame to anyone, it was just racing."

 

Broderick now realizes that his championship hopes are now slipping away and is focusing on winning more races, like the big show at Black Rock this Friday that pays $4,000-to-win.

 

"I've never had a chance to start up front there.  I need a good draw for a change there because we have a lot of notes from there and the car has run well in the feature, but it is always fighting from the back.  I want August to be different."

 

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.