Cautions upon cautions & spins at Martinsville. The drivers really went for it.
33 cautions defined the chaotic race at Martinsville. At times, it seemed like some drivers had left their common sense behind before the race even started. There were moments where we barely managed half a lap under a green flag. For our team, the highlight was definitely Max Lange’s victory, even though he sustained some damage from a crash. Unfortunately, Max Heilek didn’t get the reward he deserved for his efforts, as he was involved in a crash on the second-to-last lap while running in 9th place, causing him to fall back. Michael Heilek put up a brave fight but was knocked back by the numerous accidents, making a better result impossible
Results for the NASCAR-FAN Store Threewide Racing Team:
1st place: Max Lange
19th place: Max Heilek
17th place: Michael Heilek
Race Report Max Lange #66:
Today marked the 3rd race of the PWA Oval Series on the short track at Martinsville, with 250 laps. Thanks to a solid qualifying performance, I started from pole position in the 34-car field. By the scheduled stage caution on lap 75, we had already gone through 10 caution phases. During this caution, five other drivers and I pitted to get fresh tires and refuel. Unfortunately, I made an error in the pit lane, earning myself a penalty that forced me to restart from the back of the field. From there, I had to work my way through the pack again, while trying to avoid the numerous accidents.
I managed to stay clear of trouble until lap 112, when I had to dodge a crash, which caused me to spin and brush the wall slightly. My comeback continued from P19 on lap 117. By lap 144, during another caution, I had worked my way up to 8th place. At that point, the top 6 went in for their first pit stop, moving me up to P2. By lap 175, I was able to reclaim the lead and held it until the end, securing my first win and a playoff ticket
Race Report Max Heilek #12:
I think we all knew this race would resemble more of a parade behind the pace car, punctuated by moments of chaos every few minutes—and that’s exactly what happened.
The goal was really to keep the #12 NASCAR-Fan Store Threewide Racing Mustang at least somewhat scratch-free, even if it wasn’t spotless, and, importantly, avoid any major body damage.
As a team, I’d say we succeeded pretty well, even though I started with a poor qualifying result. This left me without valuable track position and right in the middle of the dive bombs and aggressive blocking where give-and-take was nonexistent.
Over time, nearly half the field fell out of the lead lap, which helped move us forward. In the final laps, we managed to have all three of our cars in the top 12, with Max’s #66 leading the pack.
As the few remaining opportunities dwindled, the intensity at the front became palpable, and by the final lap, no one held back in typical Martinsville fashion. Moves in the field became overly optimistic, with drivers knowingly risking collisions.
On that last lap, where no caution would come out, all restraint was gone. In the 19-second lap, there were 2-3 separate crashes.
Although I managed to dodge the incidents, I had to lift slightly on the backstretch to keep the rear from slipping out. At that moment, I took a light hit from behind, which turned me around.
I crossed the line in reverse, but what would have been a 7th-place finish became 19th in the final results.
The upside is that I likely won’t receive penalty points, which keeps me in good standing for the Fair Play award. I won’t face any deductions in the overall ranking or risk a race suspension.
My sympathy goes to the race committee for having to hand out so many penalties.
In the end, the result doesn’t reflect the performance, but several strong competitors struggled with this race. And most importantly, we now have Max in the #66 securing the first NASCAR-Fan Store Threewide Mustang in the playoffs, and I hope the #12 will follow soon.
Atlanta promises a chance for the underdogs if we can keep the car clean, but it demands more driving skill than Talladega—and hopefully more respect in the field than in Martinsville, so Fred in the pace car doesn’t have to lead too many laps. We’ll see how we fare
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Race Report Michael Heilek #75:
What can I say about this race? Typical Martinsville—caution after caution. But I don’t think anyone expected it to be this bad. We couldn’t even go three laps in a row. It seems that some drivers’ egos were bigger than their driving abilities. So my goal was to keep the car out of trouble and stay on the lead lap. I only partially succeeded, as even under cautions, my car got hit. Luckily, the damage was limited. Not everyone was as fortunate, though, so with each caution, I managed to gain positions.
With five laps to go, I was sitting in 12th place with the top 10 in sight—on track to make this my best race in the current PWA-OVAL Series. Fueled by that excitement, I became a bit careless, and I locked up the brakes a few times. With just over a lap and a half to go, I got spun around. The race wasn’t stopped again, so I had to dodge the chaos on the final lap as best I could.
In the end, I’m satisfied with my 17th place, although a better result was within reach. But more than anything, I’m thrilled for Max Lange, who secured the victory for the team.
