Races in Arizona/Nevada up Next for Duty

John Duty Racing PR
October 13, 2007 - Portland, OR.

With Knoxville in the rear view mirror, John Duty Racing will be taking the month of October off while preparing for upcoming events in both Arizona and Nevada.

First up will be the Western All-Stars Super Late Model Series sanctioned Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona. The ½ mile speed plant will play host to a pair of WAS events, a $3,000 to win event on Thursday November 8th and a $5,000 to win event on Saturday November 10th. This will be Duty's first trip to this historic Arizona track and he is excited about the trip.

Friday November 9th will see Duty make a return to Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, AZ for the unsanctioned $2,000 to win event. This will be Duty's second appearance at CAR in 2007 as he contested all 4 nights of action in the 2007 Wild West Shootout held at the central Arizona oval.

Following the events in Arizona, the team will make the trek back north to Las Vegas, Nevada and spend the week there preparing for the Duel in the Desert event at the ½ mile Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 16th and 17th, 2007. The Feature on the 17th will pay $5,000 to win. This will be Duty's second appearance at LVMS as he competed in the Las Vegas Dirt Classic events in March of 2007, sanctioned by the Western All-Stars Super Late Model Series, and finished 10th and 12th respectively in those two events.

John Duty Racing would like to thank its sponsors for their support in 2007: Don Frank Floor Coverings Co., Ken & Mo Stokes, Rocket Chassis, Taylormade Proformance, Little Darlin's Child Care, Oregon Motorsports Inc., and Elite Cabinets Plus, LLC. John Duty Racing is currently seeking additional sponsorship for the 2008 season, so any inquiries can be made via email at c.cassell@earthlink.net. For the latest information, announcements, updates, or for more information on John Duty and where he will be racing in 2007 and the upcoming 2008 schedule, please check out Duty's website at www.johndutyracing.com.

Catching Up With John Duty Racing:

John Duty Racing PR
October 12, 2007 - Portland, Oregon

All of us at JDR would like to apologize to our fans and sponsors for the lack of updates on the website this summer. It has been a somewhat crazy summer and very busy, but hopefully we can have things updated again on a regular basis from this point forward. Again, please accept our sincere apologies and thank you for your support.

Below will be some brief summaries of the events Duty competed in since our last update. Unfortunately, the team had a 2 month break from the middle of July to the middle of September due to engine problems suffered at the Western All-Stars Super Late Model Series (WAS)even at Great Basin Raceway in Ely, Nevada, but returned to action in mid-season form and is fresh off a trip to Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway for the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals.

May 5th:
While being forced to skip a planned trip to Bakersfield (CA) Speedway on April 28th due to not having everything ready to go with the team's new engine, they were able to get everything ready to go for Duty's first 2007 appearance at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon. This would also mark Duty's first race with his new Hendrens Racing Engines build 410ci SB2.2 engine. The team arrived late due to attending son Justin's baseball game and was forced to start shotgun in the C-Main. Starting last in his heat race, Duty easily worked up to 2nd in shaking down the new engine. Starting at the tail in the C, Duty picked is way thru lap traffic and took the lead in just 7 laps and cruised to the win. Transferring on to the B Main, Duty started 15th and picked his way up to 7th on a track that had quickly turned into a one-lane racing surface.

May 12th:
Duty traveled south 15hrs to Kings Speedway in Hanford, California to compete in the WAS event there. This event marked the first time since they started working together that Duty was without the services of longtime crew chief Craig Cassell as Craig was in Ohio attending his sister's college graduation. After qualifying in the middle of the field, Duty ran 5th in his heat race as he struggled with a tight car on the extremely rough conditions. That put Duty in the B-Main and he ran 7th there. Starting toward the rear of the Non-Qualifiers race, and after making some significant adjustments to his Rocket Chassis, Duty was able to work his way up to 2nd and pressuring the leader when the 15-lap event was shortened to 7 laps, thus forcing Duty to miss the Feature by one spot.

May 26th (Memorial Day Weekend):
After work commitments prevented Duty from making a planned trip to Bakersfield, CA to compete in the WAS event there, the team decided to contest both nights of action at Willamette Speedway. A poor draw in qualifying relegated Duty to the B Main. Duty proceeded to dominate his heat race and easily work his way up to win the B Main from the back of the pack. Starting 17th in the Feature, Duty was able to pick his way thru traffic on what had become a one-groove surface to score a 6th place finish.

May 27th:
The 2nd night of the weekend again saw Duty in the B Main after just missing the Feature by timing in 17th. Duty finished 4th in his heat race and was once again faced with a difficult surface to pass on for the B Main. Duty had a good car and was able to methodically work his way up to 5th (from 16th) at the end after being held up my slower traffic.

June 2nd:
What turned out to be a very bad night for Duty was also a good test of safety equipment. The team decided to compete at Willamette Speedway again in order for Duty to get a feel for his new UltraShield full-containment seat that he purchased from noted and longtime DLM setup man and crew chief Ronnie Stuckey of Mississippi. Duty missed the Feature due to a bad draw in qualifying and wound up in the middle of the B Main. After running 4th in his heat race, Duty received contact from another car on the first lap of the B Main which sent him across the track, thru an oil-slick left by a wreck in the previous race, and into heavy contact with the turn 4 wall that resulted in the car stopping very abruptly. The car received minor frame and major suspension damage to both the front and rear. Duty himself received minor injuries to his right wrist, R shoulder, neck, and back. The injuries were lingering, but could have been much more significant if it were not for the well constructed and well designed UltraShield seat. The hit was hard enough that it bent the new seat.

June 16th:
After effecting repairs to the teams Rocket Chassis from the wreck on 6/2, the team traveled to one of Duty's favorite tracks, Reno-Fernley Raceway in Fernley, NV for the WAS event there. After timing in 11th quick, Duty started 3rd in the 3rd heat and finished 2nd on a very abrasive surface which earned him a spot in the dash. After drawing an 8 for starting position, Duty worked his way up to 6th at the finish of the dash on a surface that was quickly laying rubber. While running 7th in the early going, Duty was forced to stop on track for a spun car and that resulted in him being sent to the rear of the field for the restart. Duty restarted 20th and proceeded to work his way toward the front on the rubbered up surface. With about 5 laps to go, Duty shot from 9th and a ½ track behind the leaders to 5th and right on the tail of the lead 4 cars at the finish. Tire management and fuel burn-off really helped to aid the car's performance in the late going.

June 23rd:
After a strong performance in Fernley, Duty decided to compete in the Willamette Speedway Mid-Season Championship event, a $2,007 to win race that utilized a special format from their regular program. The event locked in the top 12 drivers in track points into the Feature and then rounded out the field with the fastest 6 cars from time trials and two transfers from the B Main. After timing in 3rd quick out of the 36 cars that took time (48 cars total), Duty proceeded to lead all 4 laps of the Dash in the first "Rocket only" dash at WS. Following a 3rd place finish in his heat race, Duty rallied from the 15th starting position to 7th at the end of the event, and passed more cars than any other driver in the event.

June 30th:
The team again made the 15hr trek south to Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA to compete in the $5,000 to Win Gary Jacob Memorial Race which was a WAS event. Duty timed in 18th quick out of the 48 cars in attendance and finished 5th in his heat race which put him on the front row of the B Main. The team made some improvements to the car's handling and Duty dominated the B to earn a transfer spot in the 50 lap Feature. Starting 17th, Duty fought a tight condition most of the race which was amplified by a deflating RF tire from about lap 10 on (finished with 3lbs of air pressure). After getting spun out of 9th position in turn 3, and falling ¾ of a lap down to the leaders, Duty was able to rally back up to the rear of the field by the next of many cautions. At the end Duty was able to survive with a 12th place finish.

July 13th:
The team was faced with unusual track conditions upon arriving at Great Basin Raceway in Ely, Nevada for the WAS events there. Over-watering of the track left the surface extremely wet and eventually very heavy and choppy. The team struggled with the surface in qualifying and timed in 26th out of 32 cars. Starting 6th, Duty was able to work his way up to 4th and into a transfer position in his heat race. Starting 15th, Duty was able to pick his way up to 9th at the end of the 30 lap Feature.

July 14th:
Duty's up and down season took a big downward turn as the team suffered engine problems on the first lap of hotlaps. With no spare engine, the team loaded up and made an early trek home.

No events contested between July 15th and September 7th. Delays in getting parts for the repairs and in the shipping of the engine back from North Carolina, along with having the team's spare engine still being freshened, led to Duty missing events during this period. While faced with this down time, the team went thru their Rocket Chassis and put a new body on the car in preparation for their planned trip to Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway in late September.

September 8th:
Upon taking delivery from North Carolina the teams repaired Hendrens power plant, Duty decided to shake the car down at Willamette Speedway. With this being Duty's first time on track in 2 months, he quickly got up to speed by timing in 8th quick out of 42 cars. After finishing 2nd in his heat race, Duty was able to bring the car home with a solid 7th place finish after struggling with a tight condition from the mid-point on.

September 15th:
The team decided to get in one more race before their planned trip to Knoxville, so they again competed at Willamette Speedway. Again, quickly getting back into mid-season form, Duty timed in 4th quick out of 40 cars and had a commanding lead in the Dash before catching a muddy spot in turn 2 and almost spinning out. Duty ended up 4th in the Dash and finished 2nd in his heat race. Starting 13th, Duty quickly worked his way up to 5th by lap 15 and was 4th by lap 20. The top 4 cars blasted around the cushion as they worked up to lapped traffic. Working lap traffic well, Duty was able to make the pass on the final lap to bring the car home with a 3rd place finish.

September 27th:
The first night of the 4th Annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals at the legendary Knoxville (IA) Raceway saw Duty competing with 58 of the finest teams in the country. Suffering from a tight condition thru the middle of the corner, Duty timed in 40th quick out of 59 cars and struggled with the same condition in his heat, but wound up finishing 8th which put him starting 18th in the B Main. The team was able to make some progress on the car and Duty was able to work up to 13th at the end of the B Main, but missed transferring into the Feature.

September 28th:
After making some significant changes to the car, Duty was still fighting that same tight condition, but was able to improve dramatically in qualifying and timed in 26th out of the 53 cars in attendance. Unfortunately the team went the wrong direction with their changes for the heat race and Duty struggled and came home 9th which would put him starting in the 2nd row of the C Main. After again making adjustments, the car was much better for Duty in the C Main, but the wrong choice on compound left Duty struggling for forward bite and he finished 3rd and one spot out of a transfer to the B Main.

September 29th:
The final night at Knoxville saw just main events being competed. Duty's starting position (as everyone else's) was determined by his highest point total from the previous two nights of competition, and by failing to make it out of the C Main the night before, Duty was forced to rely on his first night's total. That total would put Duty on the outside of the front row for the C Main event. After again making some important changes to the car, in a direction that they hadn't yet gone, the car was much, much better in their hotlap session. After some track prep, the officials opened the track for a second hotlap session and the team took advantage of that by making a few more adjustments and proceeded to finally get the balance of the car right. Duty then proceeded to go out and lead all 15 laps to win the C Main and earn a transfer position into the B Main. Starting 21st in the B Main, Duty was unfortunately caught up in a wreck on the 2nd initial start in turn 2 which punctured the radiator and ended his night. All in all, the team learned a lot of information and made significant improvements to the car over the course of the weekend.

John Duty Racing would like to thank its sponsors for their support in 2007: Don Frank Floor Coverings Co., Ken & Mo Stokes, Rocket Chassis, Taylormade Proformance, Little Darlin's Child Care, Oregon Motorsports Inc., and Elite Cabinets Plus, LLC. For the latest information, announcements, updates, or for more information on John Duty and where he will be racing in 2007, please check out Duty's website at www.johndutyracing.com.