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MPL Motorsports Showcases Teamwork
During Whelen Modified Race The preparation for this event began months ago, with the #25 Modified being outfitted with special equipment and to NASCAR Whelen Modified specifications. Leaty was only one of four "local teams" to attempt to qualify for the event. After passing technical inspection, where the inspectors were especially tough on the "local teams", Leaty was ready to go out and test his car and ability against the top drivers in the Whelen Tour. Qualifying for the 100 lap main event was a two stage process. Cars were first broken into three groups and sent out onto the track for group time trials, with times being measured by transponders. Leaty took part in the third time trial and posted an extremely impressive seventh place time for the entire field, with a fast lap of 19.298. After all 31 cars had time trialed, they were broken down into two 25 lap heats, with odd number time trial finishes starting in the first heat and even number finishers taking part in the second heat. With his seventh place time trial, Leaty was placed in the first heat and started fourth out of a sixteen car field. At the drop of the green, Leaty was strung out on the outside line and fell back to the seventh running spot. Track conditions at Spencer Speedway were difficult, with only one real racing groove, making passing to the outside nearly impossible. After Leaty slotted into the seventh spot, the field stretched out and the heat became a single file race. Leaty was able to advance his position by passing another car on the inside to capture the sixth place spot just after the halfway point of the qualifier. Leaty would hold his position and finished sixth in the heat. The #25 Modified started the Whelen Modified Mason Farms 100 from the eleventh starting spot and at the start stayed low in the inside line. The race had barely made one lap around the flat oval, when the first caution would appear. It was a sign of how the race was going to go – many yellow flag laps that were all counted. The lap six restart moved Leaty up to the tenth starting position and in the outside line. After the race was restarted the #25 slotted into the eleventh spot and Leaty began calculating his charge to the front. However, lap twelve spelled disaster for the MPL Motorsports Team as a multi-car pile up in turn two took out ten of the mid-pack cars, including the #25 Modified. Leaty was caught up in a wreck with drivers who were not familiar with the different features of Spencer Speedway. Although the damage seemed minimal, it was enough to end the night for the US Army and Rochester Steel Treating Works #25 Team. "Although we didn’t get the finishing result we were looking for, I am proud of how well my entire team performed" said Leaty. "This was a great opportunity for us to gauge how well we stack up against the best in modified racing and I thought we did very well. This was a tremendous learning experience for me and my whole team and it was an honor to make my first career start on the Whelen Modified Tour. Hopefully, if we run another event, we will get the finishing result that everyone on this team deserves." The #25 MPL Motorsports Team is now looking towards this weekend’s challenge – a Race of Champions Tour 100 Lap feature event at the famed Oswego Speedway on July 19th. |
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