Roller coaster of a night for Team Lineman at NES.

 

Early heat race accident saw front end damage, plus a left front flat

on the USA-1 Modified. Fred Hahn Photo © 2010

 

July 31st Racing Update:   The strangest things happen on the racetrack, and coming off a great 2nd place finish just 2 weeks ago Bob Lineman Jr. had a full head of steam and motivation that he brought with him before the start of the nights heat racing events. Sometimes a great run can be a bad thing, you kind of think I can make this move, or that move and I'm going to storm to the front of the pack. Maybe you think as a driver I have finally figured this track out and now I feel confident to race my way to the front and not sit back and bite my time. Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure, it could have been a combination of all the thoughts above, or it just could have been a racing accident.

 

Lets jump right into the heat action, and action there was plenty of, as the USA-1 Cenco Heating Oil machine and it's driver got a little over excited and tried to put the inside nose of the car down low to gain a few spots but that plan didn't take hold. Instead the next thing Lineman Jr. remembers is getting his front end pinched because he just didn't have enough to make the pass and clear the car on his outside. The contact saw Lineman tag the inside guide rail and then the car spun around backwards and came to a rest.

 

After pulling away from the inside guide rail Lineman raced on 3

 tires for the remainder of the heat race. Fred Hahn Photo © 2010

 

Lineman pulled away under caution and could tell right away that he had suffered some pretty bad front end damage, plus he had a left front flat tire. Instead of going pit side and not getting back out onto the track in time Bob decided to race with a flat, and damaged front end for the remainder of the heat. Although he didn't qualify Lineman finished good enough to give him a 3rd place starting spot in the consi, in which Bob totally rebounded and easily picked up the win.

 

Feature time came and Bob started 21st because of going through the consi to make the show. Lineman quickly started picking cars off during the event, and before you knew it Bob was up to 17th and on his way for 16th which he would take in another lap. Lineman surged into the 11th spot with 2 laps remaining and was making a move for the 10th spot when the car behind him got into the rear of the USA-1 and unfortunately got his front bumper stuck under the rear bumper of Lineman's. The track safety crew untangled the 2 cars but with only a green, white, checkered remaining Lineman pulled the car into the pits for the night to avoid anymore on track activities.