2009 Final Points Bridgeport Speedway 14th

2009 Race Reports:
August 1st Heat 4th Feature Rain Out
August 8th Feature - 10th

Erik's Notes:

Thoughts and Updates first hand.

Its been a great two weeks for us as we finally found our base line setup and will continue to use it the rest of the year.

It may have taken us longer then what most people expected to get to this point but I wanted to make sure I knew what everything did on the car first, and then try it out. If you ask 10 people on how to do something you will get 10 different answers and I wanted to come up with my own.

The past two races have been enjoyable, I feel more comfortable in the car and I can put it where I want.

Its also nice to know when you take the car off the trailer its ready to go and the plan is already drawn up for what options we have durning the night.

I know the speed will come with some of the very minor changes and adjustments we will be making in addition to my driving skills improving. The track is always in a different condition and you have to tune the car to it for maximum performance. Some of the fine tuning we are still working on.

As far as my driving well I've had to re-learn what I already did not know. It's not as easy as getting in putting your foot to the floor and hanging on. Don't get me wrong that was fun but I wasn't winning any races.

Our engine has finally reached a point to where I know its competitive and finely tuned. I never thought I would be trying to calculate the best preforming air fuel mixture with high octane racing fuel with specifically indexed and gaped spark plugs ensuring maximum timing of the spark and pressing the envelope on performance all while not trying to blow it up and keep it cool, and all to gain .09 seconds on a 23.5 lap time.

My Goal this year has been and still is to win a race in this division and move up a division by next year. I know Ive had 13 victory lane speeches planed, sooner or later Ill pull one out of my hat.

We are in year 2 of my overall 5 year plan to end up in the Big Block Division, and in year 3 I plan on having a full time sponsor that should help us to the next level. This off season the procrastination is done with the sponsorship, as it's a must have to be competitive.

We will be taking a break for the next two weeks and getting some much needed maintenance done on some of the rear end and transmission components. Currently we are sitting 13th in points, a nice improvement over last years 20th place finish but points are not my goal this year.

It should be interesting for the rest of the season, when we return. I finished 10th last week and had a lot more throttle left in the turns. I ran a conservative race going into our break trying to pull off a top ten. I consider that done and I know the car has a lot more left when we go for it.

Look for us to return to racing on Saturday August 29th for Starlight Saturdays Hall of Fame Induction night at Bridgeport speedway with additional Demolition Derby (possibly my brother Chad maybe driving in)

See you at the Races,

Erik Renninger #51

July 11th

On July 11th Bridgeport Speedway ran a feature only to the surprise of the team. Setup for a heat race the car needed to be changed up to race later in the night and for a 20 lap feature. The team had setup the car to do some testing in the heat race and went into the feature unsure of the setup.

Erik managed to pull off an 11th place finish with his hands full with a loose car and some handling problems, but finishing 20 laps with no cautions was a great test in itself as the car did not over heat and made it the distance with out having heat problems.

On the 18th Erik raced to a 5th place finish in the first heat. After crossing the finish line the left rear of the car began smoking and Erik pulled off into the infield and got out of the car to find that the rear end of the car had broke.

After getting towed back to the pits it was clear the team was done for the night. On the bright side, a lagging problem had finally broke and during the week it was found that an issue was ongoing with the rear and could have produced some problems in the past with the car.

Going into the next week the team was hopeful that the rear end issue was cleared up. On the night of the 25th Erik lead the first 5 laps of the heat race and ran strong until a mid turn almost spin. Erik ran in a little to hard and got the car sideways and almost spun but was able to pull off a nice save and ended up finishing 4th in the heat. Erik said "so close to a win" but his frustration was obviously as the car was finally hooked up and running strong.

Going into the feature the team was confident they would pull off a top 5 as they were starting on the pole, unfortunately mother nature once again had her own plans and the rain fell and the night was over.

Look for the team to return to race action Saturday night at Bridgeport Speedway.

July 12th

Another frustrating weekend for the team as this time a steering arm broke in the feature.

Erik ran a strong 5th in the heat and produced
some competitive lap times and top speeds.

Andrea shot some footage of the heat Race and here is a link to the video:

July 4th Heat Race - See the Video

In the video Erik is racing against the top two points leaders in the division and has a few moments when he starts to gain on them. Erik says that "I can still see where I need improvement, but seeing it actually helps me out" and adds that " I just need to be more consistent and I think it will all fall in line"

Here is a photo of the broken steering arm. This piece connects the steering wheel link with the wheels. When this broke off both wheels went in two different directions, carrying the car into the wall.

June 27th

The 2009 Renninger Racing racing season has been very rainy so, in more ways than one. The season started off with a rain out on opening night. The action picked up the following week when Erik placed 4th in his first heat of the year and started 2nd in the feature. Having a strong competitivecar early in the season was a great feeling for the team.

During the first feature of the year with 6 laps to go Erik was running very well in the 3rd position and challenging for 2nd when he clipped the inside wall and ended his night,. Erik ran such a great race he deserved a top five finish, but instead dropped out of the race before finishing with a broken front axle.

The season continued to be a bumpy ride for the team when week after week it either rained or a small problem ended their night early. From brake calipers locking up to small fittings that broke loose during the race, the team has certainly had their challenges.

Last Saturday was the first race where Erik was able to run the car without any problems during the night. "Finishing the race was a step in the right direction" says Erik. Hopeful of a solid performance the team is preparing for their 4th of July show.

So far this year has been an educational start. Moving up in a division is on the teams mind but mastering the Crate 1 division is the first goal. Wayne says "it's been an exciting start" with his expectations set high he says the team has come a long way in such a short amount of time.

Wayne's ready for victory lane and sees it in the very near future.

While mastering the car setup is one thing, driving it another. The team has spent so much time in getting the car to this point, now it's up to Erik to drive it. "I've started to really pay attention to the fine details and marks on the track to really try and get around the track as fast as possible" says Erik and ads "Except sometimes or actually most of the time I don't do what I know I need to do. Erik knows he has work to do.

Date	Track	Start
7-17	New Egypt	6PM
7-31	New Egypt	6PM
8-14	New Egypt	6PM
8-28	New Egypt	6PM
9-6	New Egypt	6PM
9-11	New Egypt	6PM

Date	Heat	Feature
7/3/10	-	11th
5/15/10	8th	15th
5/08/10	7th	dns
4/24/10	-	15th

Driver Erik Renninger Crew Cheif Wayne Renninger Public Relations Andrea Renninger

Results