April 23 & 24, 2004
Eagle and Meridian, IDAHO, USA
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Written for the Citizen Newspaper, Duncan BC (by Joanne Faulkner):
This weekend in Idaho will be the second Sprint car race for Jeff
Bird this year; there were no results from the first race on March
27 in Monroe Washington as it was rained out. The #55 “Jack FM” Sprint
car has a brand new engine and new look for 2004, and the weather
forecast for Friday and Saturday looks clear and sunny. Jeff’s
Friday night race is in Eagle Idaho, so he along with crew member
(and fellow competitor) Cam McLean left Wednesday evening from the
Island. This track in Eagle is a very fast high banked 3/8 of a mile,
and Jeff’s limited Wilroc engine will have a tough time against the
high powered NSRA motors. Saturday night’s race is in Meridian Idaho
at a quarter mile flat track, which will give Jeff the opportunity
to run up front. This is not a high horse power race track which will
give the #55 Wilroc limited motor a chance against the high powered
NSRA motors.
April 23/04:
After the long drive from Vancouver Island to Eagle Idaho,
the focus to get the Sprint cars race-ready began for Jeff Bird and
Cam McLean. The JACK FM #55 car wasn’t running at peak performance
during practice, and some adjustments made for qualifying were not
ideal. Jeff’s qualifying time was ranked 8th fastest out of 25 Sprints.
Cam felt his motor was running really well, and although he was behind
Jeff’s qualifying time by half a second, he showed the big boys how
it’s done by winning the “B” Trophy Dash.
This season will be the second for Cam’s limited
Wilroc engine, which was in Jeff’s #55 car for most of last year.
This race was the first for Cam’s own home built Sprint car, proving
the long hours spent on #26 has paid off. In the Heat Race Jeff took
the lead until he was hit from behind, a dangerous manoeuvre at 150mph.
He managed to keep control of the car and finished in 2nd place.
Since the A-Main line up is based on qualifying times,
Jeff and Cam ended up side by side to start the Main event, third
row back. It was a long race, and many yellow flags interrupted the
event. With no opportunity in Sprint racing to pit stop for fuel,
several cars ran dry, including #55 and #26.
April 24/04:
The second night in Meridian Idaho, Jeff was 12th fastest in Qualifying,
which put him starting at the back of the "B" Dash. The track was
tight and small, making passing difficult. Most of the poll cars (those
starting at the front) won all the races that night. In the Heat Race
Jeff started on the outside of the second row, with Cam directly in
front of him. Cam got a great start and Jeff was able to follow him
through to move into 2nd place. Cam won this Heat race; Jeff continued
in 2nd until lap 9 of 10, but had mechanical failure going around
the 4th corner. He hit the front stretch wall hard but still managed
to maintain enough control to skid across the finish line for 4th
place.
In the pits, Cam and Jeff assessed the damage to
the #55: large chunks of concrete stuck in the tires between the rubber
and the rim, and a long stretch of rubber along the front wall, but
other than that, no body damage to car or driver! Needless to say,
#55 didn't handle well in the Main Event, but at least this time it
didn't run out of fuel!
A NOTE FROM THE "ICEMAN" TO NSRA RACERS AND FANS
IN IDAHO
Thank you to all the people from NSRA that helped Cam and I all weekend.
The hospitality and friendliness that everyone showed towards us was
really appreciated. We both really look forward to running with you
again. And all the race fans in Idaho that came down to see us after
the races, that was fantastic. In all my years of racing, I've never
seen such fan appreciation; it made us feel so welcome, although when
we went to Montana 2 years ago, the people there were also fantastic.
As a racer, it's really nice to hear from the fans afterwards, and
know that they recognize the hard work and time to get to some of
these events. Their recognition goes a long way. Hopefully we can
have another 2-day show in your state - we would love to make the
trip from Victoria BC again!
Jeff Bird, #55
iceman55@shaw.ca