LONDON, ON - Kenny Forth and his Midnight Sun Tanning Salon / Parkinson Tours / CHAM 820 ‘The Legend’ Ford Taurus arrived at Delaware Speedway on Victoria Day weekend for the Mopar 250. The event was the first of the 2005 championship season, and Forth was anxious to be running the entire tour for the second time.
The first event of the weekend was practice and the team was forced to work on the car throughout the session as a loose condition was making it tough for Kenny to handle. The crew made a number of adjustments during the two-hour session, and were able to tighten the car up with those changes. When the session ended Forth was shown as 24th quickest on the speed chart with a fast lap of 20.193 seconds. “We sorted out the loose issue and the car was very stable. I was confident that we were going to be able to have a successful weekend.”
The race against the clock was next during time trials and Forth turned in the 21st fastest lap, stopping the timer with a lap of 20.194 seconds, almost identical to his fastest practice time. “That was, by far, the best qualifying effort I’ve ever had here. I’m very optimistic about tomorrow.”
Sunday’s feature kicked off under overcast skies as Forth accepted the green from the inside of row 11. When the green dropped, Kenny started to make his way forward, gaining a few spots, to show up in 18th before heading to pit road on lap 83. Problems led to a restart from the back of the pack and Forth was able to work his way forward again. ”Our car got a bit tight as the day went on, but it wasn’t too bad at all.”
Another problem would arise a few laps later as Forth pulled onto pit road for the team to check his car over. “I thought something was wrong with the car. The car was slipping and sliding all over the place.” Another car has been leaking oil, and Forth had misdiagnosed that loss of grip as something wrong with the car. “We were looking for a broken axle, a flat tire, or something else. When we figured out that we were all right, we just changed right side tires and went back out, but it cost us a few laps.”
Forth would continue to battle on, though a handful of laps down, making laps and trying to finish as strong as he could. Only his lightning reflexes helped him avoid disaster on lap 187 as two cars spun in front of him coming off or turn two. Forth managed to keep the car in one piece and continued until the checkered flag, bringing home a 19th-place finish. “We’re pleased with the weekend as a whole. We were faster here then we’ve ever been before, and I have to pass the credit for that one onto the crew. This winter, former CASCAR driver Billy Innes and his crew chief Dave Bailey came to work with us, and it’s paid off already. Those two guys have so much experience and made our car a lot better. The other positive that we take from today is finishing. I’ve done this race four or five times before, and I’ve never been around to see the checkered flag before.”
The next event for the Forth Racing Team will be Saturday June fourth at Autodrome Ste. Eustace for the Whelen 200. “I’ve been to Ste. Eustache before, and it’s a fun place to race. It’s totally different then Delaware. There is no banking at all, and you really have to work the throttle, not like this weekend when you just mat it coming out of the turns.”
Prepared by Maudsley Motorsports
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