6/27/09
- GOOD NEW FOR A CHANGE!!!!
Wow it was great to finally have
a night where the dirt modified drove and hooked up for a change thanks to the help from Scott Worn and Michael
Hudson. The new spring and shock package made a huge difference along with the change from a J-bar to a short
bar. The new steering box was a great addition as well. The track was very slick in the heat race which made passing
all but impossible, however by feature time Ryan was able to run the car any where he wanted which resulted
in a 9th place finish after starting 12th. The good news is not the 9th place finish, but rather how the car
drove. We have also decided to convert the car back to alcohol from race gas to help close in on some carburetor
issues that we are having. Pictures will be updated in a couple of days and we will be at the track for practice on Thursday
night.
6/21/09
- RACING REPORT
After spending many hours over the past 2 weeks rebuilding
the suspension on the dirt modified, it was time to head back to Boothill Speedway Saturday night to see if the
hard work would pay off. After the hot lap session was over - it was clear that the hours spent installing
new shocks, springs, j-bar, steering box, lead weight, etc. had made a huge difference in how the car performed
and drove. For the first time this year Ryan looked and felt comfortable behind the wheel.
We were looking forward to the heat race only to have the ball joint break on the lower right front
control arm on the first lap. Repairs were made in the pit area in order for Ryan to be able to start the feature, but those
tempoary reparis could not handle the corner speeds of the fast 1/2 mile resulting in a 12th place finish on the night. As
strange as it seems we were actually excited how the car performed and looked forward to next week as our luck has to turn
around at some point. We thank God for a safe trip to and from the track plus keeping Ryan safe in the car.
6/13/09 - RACING REPORT
After the showing at Boothill Speedway last week, the decision was made to take the
dirt modified apart in order to look for the suspension problem which is hurting the performance. Many hours were put in this
week changing to new shocks, new sliders, new springs, new ride heights, J-Bar mount along with the inspection of all rear
suspension mounting brackets. Close inspection found that the right rear slider was contacting the lower bar on the right
rear 4 link - this find could be the reason beind the car being so loose in the corner.
Therefore with the
dirt modified in several different pieces, we decided to load up the
pavement modified and make the trip over to Monroe Motor Speedway. Since this would be the first time for Ryan to be on the
fast 3/8 mile in several months plus the frist time behind the wheel of the Ellis - we decided it would be best for him to
start on the rear of the field. It did not take long for his pavement experience to come back as he was tucked behing the
field as the crossed the checkers in the heat race. However, not adjusting the car for the feature prooved to be costly as
the car picked up a throttle push as the track temperatures dropped by feature time. Ryan did the best he could with
a very ill handling car then to top things off the fuel pressure waring light came on to bring a short end to the night. We
are not sure what caused the problem, but we either have a fuel pickup problem or a fuel pump going out. Even though the night
was cut short, we thank God for a safe night both on on and off the track.
6/7/09 - RACING REPORT
A last minute change in plans sent
us to Boothill Speedway and not Ark-La-Tex Speedway as was the original plan.
A
field of 17 outlaw modifieds were on hand to attack the fast 1/2 mile speedway and Ryan looked very fast in the
practice session, but usually that is a bad sign as the track starts taking rubber and the surface changes through the night.
As expected the car lost corner speed in the heat race resulting in a 8 place
finish so for the feature - adjustments were made to both sides of the J-Bar and 2 turns of wedge was put in the
right front spring.
These adjustments made the car work better in the feature
allowing Ryan to work his way up to 11th after starting 16th but the car was still too free
on corner exit so he ended up 13th at the checkers.
We thank God no damage
was done to the car or crew tonight and we made it home safe!!
6/3/09
It'S BACK TO DIRT THIS WEEK
After taking a week off to attend
the $5000 to win modified show at Fast Tracks Speedway last Saturday, its back to the dirt at Ark-La-Tex Speedway
this weekend. The original plan was to make the show at Monroe with the pavement Modified this weekend but Tim took the opportunity
to make a family visit back to Michigan so we'll get the dirt car out this time. If you are at Vivian this weekend - be sure
to drop by and say Hi!!!
6/2/09 AND THE WINNER IS.......
We are happy to announce that Elaine Pool of Shreveport, La. is the winner of a FREE
Pizza Hut Pizza for the 6/1/09 drawing. Congratulations!!!!
5/23/09
REAL TIME TESTING RESULTS IN 6th PLACE FINISH
It was back to
the pavement this week for Humphrey Racing for what actually the first pavment race of 2009 thanks to several rain outs. Late
Model Champion and Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame driver Tim Felver from Michigan did the job behind the wheel this week
with Ronnie serving as Crew Chief and spotter. Since this was the first time out for 2009 we elected to start in the back
and use the race as a testing session. What we found was a carbruetor that was acting up at high RPM, wrong final drive
gear selection thanks to taller track tires and a car that was a little more than a handful to drive. However we made some
changes at the track that allowed Tim to finish 6th. We will do more this week in the shop and return next week loaded!!!!
We thank God for a safe night of racing!!
5/16/09
CLOSE BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH
As we pulled into the pit
area tonight at Ark-La-Tex Speedway we received the word that Champion Park Speedway and Boothill Speedway had both been
rained out. What this meant was that there would be many additional cars heading towards Vivian La. When is
was all said and done - there was a 30+ field of the fastest Outlaw Modifieds in the Ark-La-Tex area. Ryan started
6th out of 7 cars in his heat race and ended up in the same position he started in at the checkers. Since they
only took the top three cars stright to the A-Feature, Ryan would have to run one of 2 Last Chance Qualifier
races. He was scheduled to start 5th out of 8 cars and thanks to a light rain shower which put some moisture on the racing
surface and caused the car to have a wicked push on corner entry, he was not able to crack the
top 4 which would have moved him on to the A-Main. So we loaded up and got home early for a change. We thank God for
a safe trip there and back plus keeping Ryan safe to race another night!
5/15/09 BACK ON TRACK
If the weather holds out, the action this week will take place on the dirt at Gene Boyters' Ark-La-Tex
Speedway in Vivian Louisiana. The car is almost finished and we hope to make it the second week in a row for a good
finish. Come on out and say Hi if you can!
5/10/09 GOOD
NEWS FOR A CHANGE!!!!
After two back to back DNF's, things
finally changed for the positive tonight at Sabine Motor Speedway in Many Louisiana. A very fast field of Outlaw Modifieds
were on hand and the action started in the heat race where Ryan ended up with a 5th place finish after starting 7th. From
there, Ryan started 14th in the A Feature and by keeping his nose clean was able to drive to a final 5th place finish
scoring the first top 5 of the 2009 racing season!!! We thank God for a safe and good night!!
5/8/09 BACK AT IT!!!
After taking a couple of weeks off due to a rain out, the Pate Swap Meet at the
Texas Motor Speedway and the 10 year anniversary of Ronnie and Janice Humphrey which sent the pair to the Bahamas.......it's
back to the action this week at the Sabine Motor Speedway in Many, Louisiana this Saturday night. The original plans were
to run the SUPR show at the Monroe Motor Speedway this weekend but some last minute details forced the switch
back to the dirt modified. Hopefully the luck will change this weekend. Thanks for checking in.
4/11/09 WEEK NUMBER 2
SAME STORY
After racing 16 straight weeks
in 2008 without a single DNF - Friday night was the second straight night of the 2009 season that the Bear Creek Services
Modified took some major hits. The action this week took place at Lonestar Speedway in Kilgore Texas where the Outlaw Modifieds
shared the stage with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. There were 25 modifieds on hand to fight it out on the super fast
half mile speedway. On the second lap of the hot lap session on a very slick track, Ryan pushed up in turn one making
contact with the concrete wall with the right front wheel only then to get tagged by two other cars before the whole
thing was over. The damage was very heavy and included right front bottom A-Frame, upper ball joint, lower ball
joint right front wheel, left rear wheel, left rear tire, rear bumper, left rear birdcage, right front shock, etc. Thanks
to the help from Gene Humphrey, Greg Heron, Bill Heron, Ronnie, Ryan, Amy and Alan Bargerstock the car was almost
totally rebuilt on both ends and made the call for the Qualifying race and eventually the 22 car A-Feature. Ryan started
scratch on the field (22nd) and ended up the night 14th in a car with no left rear suspesion, no left 1/4 panel,
broke J-Bar mount, door held on with plastic tie straps, etc. The car was so bad off that he was only able
to run around on the bottom and try to stay out of the way. We are thankful to God that we had a safe night
and that damage was to metal only!!
4/4/09 - ROUGH START TO 2009
Well after going the complete 2008 racing season without a single DNF - we started out 2009 the other way. A very strong field of 19 modifieds was on hand tonight at Fast Tracks Speedway and a bad draw
put Ryan starting last (6th) in his heat race. After finally finding a groove that the car worked the best in -
he was able to pass 2 cars and come in a strong 4th. This put Ryan starting 11th in the A-Main which was as
high as he would get before a crash and 3 car pile up in turn one caused the damage you see in the attached picture.
What hurts is the right front tire was a brand new $100.00 tire, $50 front bumper, $70 wheel.........oh well as they say.....that's
racing.
We do thank God for a safe night and give him
the glory!!
