Early Wreck Adds to Frustrating Season

They say there are nights that you will always remember…this was one David Elliott hopes to forget.

After a strong run two weeks ago at Sauble Speedway, David and his team were optimistic that minor repairs would have improved the handling of the #37 Pennzoil Impala enough to have it running in the top 5.

Early in practice though, David complained about brake issues again.

“After the first session, we found a problem left over from two weeks ago,” explained David. “It was something we should have caught at the shop, but at least we were able to get it fixed before qualifying.”

The #37 Chevrolet qualified in 12^th position, but the team was happy with the effort.

“We were less than half a second off the pole,” said David. “That’s as close as we’ve been all year and it shows that were finally figuring out the Delaware setup.”

The team was excited about the car’s potential during the first 25-lap feature race. Unfortunately, that potential didn’t pan out as David was caught up in a wreck on the front stretch as the field completed lap #1.

“There was smoke everywhere and I tried slowing down,” recalled David. “When the smoke cleared, the #14 was stopped right in front of me and I had nowhere to go.”

The impact only caused minor body damage, but it bent many of the steering components. The crew worked hard to allow David to turn two more laps and pick up one position before he retired the car so the team could perform more repairs.

Thanks to the crew's efforts, the #37 was ready to go when the second 25-lap feature lined up. David started at the rear and decided he would take it easy early in the race.

Although the car still had a few issues and wouldn’t roll properly through the middle of the turns, David was able to pass a few cars. While racing side-by-side with the #4 of Jonathan Urlin, the two made contact and cut down a right front tire on the Pennzoil machine.

David returned to the track and climbed up to the 11^th position, where he had a spirited battle with this father’s #9 Freedom Village Chevrolet in the closing laps. While he wasn’t able to make the pass for 10^th, David knew that an 11^th was respectable given the damage the car had sustained earlier in the evening.