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June 20-21
Crandon Raceway
Crandon, WI
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Sept 4-6
Crandon Raceway
Crandon, WI
August 8-9
Bark River Raceway
Bark River, MI
July 24-25
Oskosh Speedzone
Oshkosh, WI
July 11-12
Bark River Raceway
Bark River, MI
Professional Drivers Group
TEAM 3DCS
Demeny Racing Survives Troubles, Earns Podium Finish
After a strong finish last season, including consecutive third place and second place finishes at the concluding weekend at Crandon on Labor Day Weekend, Demeny Racing opened the 2009 season in Crandon WI, at Rounds 1 and 2 of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by Amsoil. Don and the team were optimistic after making a bevy of changes to the truck during the off-season, including upgrading to a rear-mounted radiator and three inch shocks, as SRT Stock Truck rules were changed to allow for the 2009 season.
Saturday’s SRT Stock Truck race marked the first running of the Mole Lake Casino Cup, the first-of-its-kind Stock Truck shootout. With monster payback and glory on the line, Don and the #885 Bayland Telephone BFGoodrich Tires Dodge were poised for a run at the top. When the green flag flew, Don came through Turn One near the middle of the top ten; soon the field had sorted itself out and Don found himself running third. Mid-race, Don’s transmission started to show smoke, but Scott Beauchamp and Al Konitzer, who both pushed Don for third, were unable to capitalize. Despite transmission problems, Don finished third in Round 1.
Saturday night saw Don and his crew working to repair the ailing transmission, and they were confident that they would be able to repeat Saturday’s podium performance on Sunday.
Round 2 started much like Round 1: Don and the #885 Bayland Telephone BFGoodrich Tires Dodge came around Turn One midpack. However, transmission troubles again hindered the truck’s performance and Don was reduced to battling to stay inside the top five, alongside fellow BFGoodrich Tires driver Eric Ruppel. The two battled fiercely for most of the race until engine problems caused Ruppel to fall back. Don ran the remainder of the race alone and earned a fifth place finish. After the first of five weekends for the Midwest SRT swing of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by Amsoil, Demeny Racing sits fourth in SRT Stock Truck points.
Next up for Demeny Racing is Rounds 3 and 4 of the Traxxas TORC Series presented by Amsoil in Bark River, Michigan, at the UP Off-Road 100, on July 11 and 12.
Demeny Racing’s family of sponsors comprises Bayland Telephone, Cellcom, BFGoodrich Tires, Colortech, Catco, Khaos Designs, American Family Insurance Agent Dale Antoine, and 3DCS Video.
Release by Cheyne Statezny for 3DCS Video
Bark River, MI (July 11th and 12th)-Demeny Racing was hard at work in the off season reworking the Bayland/BFGoodrich Dodge. With the help of John, Curt, Brad, and Kelly at Greaves motorsports, Don Demeny and the team reworked the front end of the truck along with upgrading the A arms. The team also rewired the truck, reconfigured the cab, and cut off unused brackets saving weight. The Demeny team took advantage of two rule changes. First, they moved the radiator behind the cab on the truck. The other change they made was putting one three inch shock on each corner. Throughout the pre season and following the June Crandon race, valving on the new shocks has been refined with the help of Fox Racing Shox improving the handling of the truck. The team also switched to BFGoodrich tires in the off season. As with the shocks, the team is refining the grooving patterns they use getting better traction every race. “It’s all about the handling. The better we can make it handle the faster we’ll go”, stated Don.
In the Saturday’s Round 7 Stock truck race, Demeny got off to a fast start coming out of the first turn land rush scrum in 3rd. “It’s all about the start. You need to get through in the top five to win here“, stated Demeny. He held down the 3rd position for two laps despite repeated challenges before taking advantage of a spin out and moving into 2nd. He held off several hard charges over the next several laps before building a lead over 3rd. Late in the race, the air cleaner broke giving the engine a hiccup but Demeny held onto the position finished solidly in 2nd. “We concentrated on Al (Konitzer) after moving up to 2nd. We’d catch him then he’d get away. I didn’t know we had a problem,” said Don Demeny.
The team revalved the shocks with the help of Fox Shox and repaired the air cleaner in preparation of the Sunday race. Don got off to a start in the middle of the pack and pinballed his way around the first turn on the outside with the rest of the field. Coming to the line to start the first lap, Don was running 9th. In the opening lap, carnage at the front of the class claimed victims allowing him to come through the first half lap in 4th. Don kept the pedal down claiming 3rd at the line going into the second lap. Trouble struck on lap two. When racing with Scott Beauchamp for 2nd, they bumped several times cutting down a left rear tire that went flat, pulled off the rim, and blew out brake lines. Don limped around the track finishing the lap in 4th. He ducked into the hot pits for a tire change. The crew changed the tire in 1:15 and got him back out as the last car on the lead lap. He soldiered on through the final six laps with no brakes salvaging a 6th place finish. After the race, Demeny remarked, “We learned we can go real fast around the track without brakes. “
Demeny’s 2nd and 6th place finishes puts him 3rd in the points race. Demeny Racing’s next stop is in Oskosh, Wisconsin July 25th and 26th for a Friday night and Saturday show. In the mean time, the team will be hard at work between races putting in a short track set up and getting ready to rock Oshkosh.
Demeny racing would like to thank their sponsors- Bayland Telephone, Cellcom, Colortech, BFGoodrich, Fox Racing Shox, Catco, Khaos Designs, American Family Insurance, and Greaves Motorsports.
Demeny racing was hard at work with a date at Oshkosh’s short technical track. The team adjusted the Fox Racing shocks to handle the rigors of a technical track, worked with Catco to set up a new third member for a lower gear ratio, and rolled out a new short track paint scheme. The paint scheme put together by Gene Demeny and Marv Rusch is a throwback to the old Chrysler muscle cars. The yellow body with the bumble bee stripe was topped off with the Demeny signature “murdered out” hood. Under the lights, the bright yellow truck stood out among the field. The final adjustment was a change to BFGoodrich All Terrains on the rear wheels to handle the clay and dirt surfaces as the track was built using the existing dirt track oval and featured a technical run through the infield. The track was a drivers track where horsepower advantages were limited.
On Friday night, Don started near the bottom of the inversion in 9th. Although in the back of the pack, Demeny showed his strength in a march to the front. At the end of lap one, he was up a place to 8th. The next lap he finished in 7th. The following lap he moved to 6th. At the end of lap four, he was in 4th. Demeny held 4th for one lap before making a strong move by Mitch Dorr for 2nd. Dorr cut around the first set of whoops before reentering the track in front of Demeny. Dorr received a penalty for cutting the course sending him to the back of the lead lap and Demeny moved up to 2nd. Demeny gave a good chase over the final laps didn’t challenge race leader Eric Ruppel until the last lap. Demeny closed to Ruppel in a caution zone setting up a shootout to the finish but Ruppel pulled away. Demeny had to settle for a solid 2nd place that moved the team to 2nd in the points championship.
At the conclusion of Friday’s strong showing Don had this to say about the new competition yellow and racing on the short technical track. “I wasn’t a big fan on the short track but once we did it we got a second to breathe , look where you’re at , check the gauges, and then off racing again. It’s a good tool to regroup everyone before going off racing again. “
“We knew in the first half of the race we needed to figure out the track and get into a position to go for the win when the competition yellow came out. We were ready to go racing on the restart. The bad part of the competition yellow is hearing noises and feeling things that might be wrong along with over thinking the strategy. From the competition yellow to the end of the race time flew and the BFGoodrich tires made a difference with the switch from clay to dirt. The truck stayed in the corner. The competition yellow is a good thing that we need to keep doing.”
Following the strong showing Friday night where the truck ran flawless and cool, the team had only routine prep to prepare for the Saturday night race. Moving up in the points, means moving back in the inversion and Saturday night Demeny started 10th. Going through the technical infield, Demeny moved up to 6th at the end of lap one. On lap three, a slowed truck on the track held him up and he dropped back to 7th. He battled Craig Metz On lap four and lost the position falling back a spot. Demeny regained momentum in the following lap passing Metz and Nick Byng to regain 6th at the mandatory caution. On the restart, Demeny lost a position falling back to 7th. Two laps later, he moved to up to 5th passing Metz and Al Konitzer. Although Demeny put in a strong run over the final two laps he was unable advance. Demeny secured a top five finish in the contact heavy second race of the weekend.
At the conclusion of racing on Saturday, Demeny Racing sits 3rd in the points championship. The team’s next stop is in Bark River, MI August 8th and 9th.
Demeny racing would like to thank Gene Demeny and Marv Rusch for the paint scheme and their loyal sponsors- Bayland Telephone Cellcom Colortech BFGoodrich Fox Racing Shox Catco Khaos Designs American Family Insurance and Greaves Motorsports.
Sponsorship opportunities and video highlights are available at Demenyracing.com.
With a Top Three and a Top Five Finish
Bark River, MI (August 8 and 9)
Demeny Racing returned to the shop following the rounds at Oshkosh where the team moved to 3rd in points. The crew did routine maintenance on the truck and put BFGoodrich Mud Terrains on all four corners with a slightly modified tire groove. Finally, they replaced the retro yellow body with the familiar red paint scheme in preparation for the upcoming rounds in Bark River, MI.
Early on Saturday morning the rain came down saturating the track and presenting a major wrinkle for Demeny Racing to contend with. Demeny pondered the possible tire grooving options, but with the Stock class scheduled as the sixth race of the day, he stayed with the original plan. With the competition yellow implemented in all classes the team took revised a strategy to the starting grid.
Demeny got off to a slower start in Saturday's Stock truck race coming out of turn one in 7th. Demeny worked through the first lap improving to 5th at the end the lap. Early in lap two, Demeny made the pass for 4th over the new front straight table top. Unfortunately, success was delayed as he overdrove the corner going into the Cemetery Loop pushing off the end of the turn. Picking through the loose mud, Demeny lost two positions before getting back to the racing line. Demeny refocused and passed Nick Byng for 5th on the following lap. Demeny kept momentum and passed Metz for 4th on the inside line going onto the front straight lap four and held the position until the mandatory yellow. On the restart, Demeny held close to the rear bumper of Dan Beauchamp. Demeny tried outside and inside for three laps with no luck. Finally, Demeny dived to the inside of turn one on the final lap as Beauchamp pushed off the racing line. Demeny and Beauchamp made door to door contact, but Demeny had the edge heading for the final turn. Beauchamp�s last ditch effort left him stuck on top of Demeny�s rear bumper in the final turn. Demeny powered across the finish line with Beauchamp in tow taking the final podium spot.
After the race Demeny had this to say, "After the competition yellow we knew where we were at and we can race after that. Oil and water temps in the engine were good. When we got back to racing it was a one groove track and with four laps left we needed to get past Dan Beauchamp. We tried outside and inside. In the last corner I noticed he tended to drift wide. On the last lap, we went outside in on him. When I stuck my nose in there I had to get past him far enough to make the line mine. After we made contact I went 20-30 feet it felt like the rear end or a shock broke but I got on it. The spotter said nothing wrong. I was hooked on Dan and pulling him across the line. Now I have send him (Beauchamp) a bill for towing him across the track. Tire groove made a difference out there today and these BFG�s hooked up."
"On the start today, we determined position in the first 40-50 feet. Then we surveyed where we were at and concentrated on racing to the competition yellow. Unfortunately due to the weather today there was only one groove which made it difficult to gain positions. "
Following the race on Saturday, Demeny racing was 1 point out of first place in the points. The team went back to the pits and consulted with Greaves Motorsports on suspension setup, tire grooving, and setting a gameplan for Sunday�s race. Once again, rain fell overnight but it was not nearly as voluminous as Saturday�s rain event leaving the track in a much drier state. At race time, the track had dried out enough that it required a splash of water to knock down the dust.
Demeny took a cautious approach to the race start on Sunday but got tangled with Craig Metz before the first turn. Demeny pulled away from the incident entering lap one in 11th. Demeny got in the groove and starting picking off potions moving up to 9th at the end of lap one. At the end of lap two, he was up to 6th. He held 6th through lap three and moved into 5th on lap four getting a strong run through the Cemetery Turn before slowing for the competition yellow. Demeny moved up to 4th on the restart lap after the race leaders tangled. On the penultimate lap, Demeny moved up to 3rd when another race leader had problems and quit the race. Demeny ran strong over the final lap and secured his second podium finish of the weekend.
"This competition yellow really sets it up for an intense finish. We need to get into position and make it happen from there. We were able to do that yesterday and today finishing on the podium twice and moving into the points lead", exclaimed Demeny.
Demeny racing heads back to the garage for three weeks of preparation before the final weekend of racing. The 40th anniversary races at Crandon, WI will have the team going all out with a shot at a World Championship ring on Saturday, the Mole Lake Casino Stock Truck Cup Race on Sunday, and the Stock Truck Points championship.
Demeny racing would like to thank Greaves Motorsports for the set up help, the cooks in the Demeny Pit Circle for feeding a crowd of 150 plus, Bill Johnson from Tenneco Automotive for coming out to the race, and their loyal sponsors- Bayland Telephone Cellcom Colortech BFGoodrich Fox Racing Shox Catco Khaos Designs and American Family Insurance.
Sponsorship opportunities and video highlights are available at Demenyracing.com.
-Josh Pyatskowit
-Photos by JP3photo.com
Demeny Racing First in Points Going Into the 40th Anniversary at the Big House of Off Road Racing in Crandon
Demeny Racing Has a Strong Showing
Demeny Racing Finishes Season 3rd in TORC Stock Truck Championship Points
Crandon, WI September 5 and 6th- Demeny Racing rolled out of the final Bark River weekend leading the Stock Truck points championship by a slim margin. The team headed back to the shop in Abrams to begin prepping Bayland Cellcom/BFG Dodge for the upcoming 40th Anniversary Crandon Race. The crew quickly set about routine prep work replacing old components with new. Gearing and suspension setups were optimized for Crandon. With the truck prepped two weeks early, it was time to testing but the weather had other plans. Two test sessions during the week were cancelled due to rain. The Crandon track scheduled a free open test session the week before the Labor Day race but rain drowned out that weekend as well. Saturday pre run was the only practice the team would get.
In the Saturday race, Demeny was lined up 12th, at the bottom of the inversion. Demeny put the truck to work gaining four positions off the famous landrush start and coming through Crandon’s famous turn one in 8th. Working hard through the first lap, Demeny moved up to fifth before disaster struck. The engine developed a bad vibration and lost oil pressure. Demeny pulled into the hot pits ending his race early. The crew immediately went to work pulling the motor. With the help of the whole crew, the spare motor was in before the last race of the day was run. The crew rested easy with the truck ready to go for Sunday’s $10,000 to win Mole Lake Stock Truck Cup race.
After the race, Demeny contemplated the hand dealt to him,” We’re currently tied for 3rd five points out of first in the points race. We have nothing to lose in the Sunday race and we’re going all out all the time. Our spare motor is a little underpowered and we have to hope the top guys don’t survive the race. The championship comes down to the last big show of the year a $10,000 cup race.”
Demeny came out of the gate 6th in Sunday’s Mole Lake Chairman’s Cup race. Demeny moved into 5th after lap one and battled for 5th most of the race. On lap eight, he gained 4th and held the position to the finish in a hard fought race. Demeny finished the season points chase in third with his 4th place finish. “We put the spare motor in and ran hard but we were a little underpowered on the long straightaways here at Crandon. Near the end, we had another transmission leak which has been a gremlin for us season long. We’re disappointed we couldn’t make a stronger fight for the championship but third is still a good showing” Demeny stated after the race. “I’d also like to thank the crew for a fast flawless motor change. I’d like to thank my parents, Gene and Mary, my wife, Amy, and my kids, Cole and Drew for all their support through the season. “
Demeny Motorsports thanks their loyal sponsors- Greaves Motorsports for all their help with the flawless chassis set up all season, Fox Racing Shox for their excellent technical support that provided great shocks all year long, Bayland Telephone Cellcom Colortech BFGoodrich Catco Khaos Designs and American Family Insurance.
Sponsorship opportunities and video highlights are available at Demenyracing.com.
