RAGIN’ CAJUN CHARGES TO A NINTH PLACE FINISH ON A COOL AND HISTORY MAKING NIGHT AT ROLLING WHEELS RACEWAY PARK
ELBRIDGE, NEW YORK (October 10, 2015) – Jason and the JJR team left the hospitable and comfortable confines of Kyle and Tammy Boltz’s Jonestown KOA to head North for some high speed racing action at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. Heading up Interstate 81 as they weaved through the color splashed fall foliage, the JJR team was focused on getting their Maxim Racing machine heading forward around the big 5/8 mile oval. With Syracuse Super Dirt Week, the Finale at the Fairgrounds, happening close by at the New York State fairgrounds, the pits and grandstands were absolutely packed. It was a full house.
With 30 sprint cars registered into the pits on this night, moisture in the track and cool temperatures, it was the perfect recipe for a night of fast racing action. It didn’t take long to see fast defined, as Joey Saldana was the first car out and he broke the track record. He would not be the last. Jason was the 20th car to push out and he turned two very quick laps in the Priority Aviation Services, LLC/Pro Powder Coating #41, with the quickest lap being recorded at 16.291 Seconds. With only tenths of a second separating the fastest in the field from everyone else, his time was 16th quick overall when the last qualifier took the checkers. Paul McMahan set quick time with a lap of 15.461 seconds, which was an average speed of 145.527 mph, which makes him the owner of the record for the fastest lap by miles per hour at any track in World of Outlaw (WoO) series history.
There were three heats slated for the night, with Jason slated to start from the sixth position is the first, and fastest, heat race by time trial times. The Louisiana-born speed master rolled out onto the track as his Kistler Engines power plant fired. He pulled into his starting position with Steve Buckwalter to his inside. The front row of Paige Polyak and Joey Saldana led the field to the green as Jason was on the accelerator and into the fifth position. He was using both the high and low line around the ultra-fast surface, holding his position until Justin Barger snuck under him entering turn one and drifted up coming out of two taking the air of the Cajun Sensation’s front wing. Jason gathered it back up and blended back in in the seventh spot. With limited laps remaining he stayed fast but missed the inversion by one position, which relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown.
In the 12 lap Last Chance Showdown, Jason would start from the pole in the Fischer Body Shop/Dissolvalloy Frac Ball Revolution #41 Maxim. Scott Kreutter’s #49K was to his outside and when they came around for the green Jason stomped on the loud pedal and headed down the long front straightaway and swept through turns one of two. Building an early lead he would fly into the turns and wrap around the turns at an astonishing pace. With a sizable lead he tested each groove in preparation for the feature as he took the checkered flag and advanced to the 25 lap A-Main.
When the big block modifieds completed the last lap of their feature, the horns sounded as Philip and the JJR team made their final adjustments and rolled the car back into the four-wheeler’s front bumper to be pushed to the staging lanes. It was show time in Elbridge, New York! Every fan in the packed grandstand was anxiously awaiting the Greatest Show on Dirt. The drivers were buckled in and the engines came to life. Starting from the 15th position in the Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT)/Jonestown KOA speed machine, Jason was ready to make some tracks around this high speed oval. When the green flag waved, David Gravel jumped into the lead from the pole position as Donny Schatz followed him around the track in hot pursuit. Jason made some early moves to pick up few positions on the track before Kerry Madsen and Shane Stewart brought out the red flag as both flipped in turn four with one completed lap in the books. When the field got back up to speed, the Ragin’ Cajun got back to work as his elbows were up inside the cockpit. A few more race stoppages gave him a few moments to catch his breath and get refocused after these incredibly fast racing laps. When racing resumed, Schatz seized the lead and Jason was racing in the tenth spot as he tried everything and anything to get by Mark Smith. He was relentless and did not give up and on the last lap is carried his speed through three and four and pulled in front of Smith’s #55 as they crossed the stripe bringing home a hard earned 9th place finish. A very good run for the forty one!