|
|
|
08/17/2012 |
|
|
MARK BAKAJ HOPING TRACK EXPERIENCE WILL HELP HIM LAND
FIRST TOP-5 FINISH IN SHARK CYCLE 80 AT STAFFORD |
 When
the Valenti Modified Racing Series returns to Stafford Motor Speedway for
the Shark Cycle 80 on August 31 and the Lincoln Tech 80 on Sept. 14, one
driver who will be looking for a breakout performance is Mark Bakaj. The
former SK Modified® and SK Light weekly competitor at Stafford made the
transition into the VMRS for the 2012 season and he has four top-10 finishes
in the first 8 races and currently sits 8th in the points standings. While
Bakaj has yet to notch a top-5 finish this season, he is hoping that his
track experience at Stafford will pay dividends and yield a top-5 finish for
him and his #7 crew.
“I think we can get our first top-5 at Stafford,” said Bakaj. “I thought
Waterford would be a good shot for us, but that race got rained out. I think
Stafford is right up there with Waterford and Thompson as tracks where we
can really have a good showing. I feel pretty confident we’ll have a good
showing at Stafford and we’ll run up front with the top guys.”
The 2012 season got off to a slow start for Bakaj with 15th and 21st place
finishes in the first two races, but he has finished in the top-10 in four
of the last 6 races with a best finish thusfar of 9th. Bakaj and his team
are still learning the intricacies of their MRS machine, but their recent
form indicates that they are headed in the right direction with their car.
“It’s been a pretty good season so far, we’re leading the rookie points and
we’re solidly in the top-10 in points,” said Bakaj. “We’re starting to
figure things out with this new car and racing the different tracks. Some of
the tracks I’ve raced at before, but it’s the first time I’ve seen them in
this car. We’re still learning about the car, for instance even though it’s
a modified, it reacts differently to a panhard adjustment than the SK car
does. My goal at the start of the season was to qualify for every show and
we’ve done that. We’ve been right around the top-10 all year so it would be
nice to start to float around the top-5. We’ve been close but different
circumstances or a couple of driver errors have kept us from getting there.”
For Bakaj, the biggest adjustment he has had to make this season is learning
how to manage his tire wear with a more powerful engine than what was used
in his SK Modified® and SK Light days.
“This season kind of brings me back to the legends car days where you had to
be more careful with the right foot,” said Bakaj. “I’m having a lot more fun
with the extra power in the car. My biggest thing is to conserve the right
rear tire for the entire race. The tires are tricky, at some of the tracks
you can use the tires up before halfway if you’re not careful with the
tires. We have a basic Troyer setup with a couple minor tweaks and after
that it’s learning the tracks and tire management. It can get a bit tricky
with getting the stagger right and a lot of the other teams have notebooks
from years past where we’re still going at it blind. Tire management is huge
with the MRS series. If you look at a lot of the guys who run up front like
McKennedy and Pasteryak, they’re so smooth and they never get the car out of
shape. Just watching them and talking with them the tire management is the
number one thing in the series. I’ve chatted with Chris a lot before the
races and we’ve walked the tracks together and we talk about the grooves and
where to try to make your passes.”
With tire management a critical part of the car’s performance, it brings up
a conundrum for the VMRS drivers. Because drivers have to start the feature
on the tires they qualify on, they have to find a balance between racing
hard and saving the tires in their heat race. In finding that balance,
drivers also have to race hard enough to be in one of the six transfer spots
in their heat to avoid having to qualify for the feature through a consi
race and put more wear on their tires.
“It helps to get a far back pick to start the heat and about halfway through
the heat you know if you’re going to pass the guy in front of you or not,”
said Bakaj. “From there, you can make a judgment call if it’s worth getting
an extra plus or saving your tires and riding a bit. It’s one of those
things where its give and take depending on the heat race and depending on
the track. Track position is really important at some of the tracks, so you
might take that extra chance in the heat race and maybe abuse the tires a
little bit to get a couple of extra spots. I usually push it at the
beginning of the heat as hard as I can. At the halfway point, I evaluate if
I can catch the guy in front of me and if I can do anything with him, or I
just maintain my position and save the tires a bit. I’m usually terrible at
picking numbers, so usually not only am I trying to pass cars to get a good
plus rating, I’m trying to pass cars to be one of the six transfer cars and
not have to qualify in the consi.”
With the VMRS partaking in back to back races at Stafford, drivers will get
a good idea of what they need in their car from the Aug. 31 Shark Cycle 80
and then apply those lessons learned for the Sept. 14 Lincoln Tech 80.
“The back to back races gives us the opportunity to have a little bit less
work to do,” said Bakaj. “We won’t have to change the gear or the setup and
we can improve the setup for the second race. Obviously everyone will have
the same advantage for the second race, but I think it will be fun and it
will make the second race better for the whole series. We can really focus
on going back and being good.”
Tickets for the August 31st Shark Cycle 80 and the September 14th Lincoln
Tech 80 are available and on sale now at the Speedway Box Office. Tickets
for both events are priced at $27.50 for adult general admission tickets,
$5.00 for children ages 6-14, and children ages 5 and under are admitted
free of charge when accompanied by an adult. Reserved seating will be priced
at $30.00 for all ages. All ticket prices include 10% CT Admission Tax.
Stafford Motor Speedway offers free parking with overnight parking
available.
For more information on the Shark Cycle 80 or the Lincoln Tech 80, or to
order tickets,
contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at 860-684-2783 or visit us
on the web at
www.staffordspeedway.com. |
|
|
Source: Scott Running / Stafford Motor Speedway
Posted: August
17, 2012 |
|
|
