Shaw Motorsports: August update

The Shaw Team were invited by Nancy Hoffman to help celebrate the half century mark birthday for Paul Dudnick, owner of, Roof Trusses and Components in Rockwood and long time supporter of Shaw Motorsports. The team were invited to the home of Paul and Nancy for a BBQ and after a delicious meal cooked on the BBQ and fresh local corn on the cob, the team enjoyed the country setting around the fire where they spent time bench racing until the early hours of the morning.

The Shaw team have been having more than their share of tire problems in 2008 with holes in new tires, the cost of racing goes up tremendously. This year to date, there have been 10 American Racer tires that have gone flat, costing the team precious positions and prize money as was the case with the last segment of the Grisdale Triple Crown where a right rear started going down with just 3 laps to go, allowing the #86 to get past to take the win and an extra $800.00. Some tires have gotten holes in them by running over something sharp in the pits and with the Shaw Teams luck with tires this year, it is usually a new tire that receives the puncture. The Shaw team have asked other teams if they have had more than their usual share of tire problems and it looks like it is just a string of bad luck for the Shaw Team. Tires work out to be 20% of the operating budget annually and the frequency of failures only amplifies the negative effect on the bottom line

During the week prior to the final leg of the Grisdale Triple Crown, the Shaw crew and a few of their children enjoyed a sunny day of testing at Flamboro Speedway. The goal was to fine tune the car with some shock changes and to get a handle on how much the car would change with minor adjustments to the compression and rebound. Overall, the day was a success as chassis expert Dave Meades did find some shock combinations that made the car roll through the corners better. Ken Spira also brought his #88 mini-stock along and after getting it dialed in with stagger and tire pressure adjustments, had a few of the kids take it out for some experience behind the wheel. Samantha Shaw, Randy Shaw’s daughter, ran some good lap times for only her second time out at 13 years old and David Spira made his maiden voyage around a race track. Both kids had a great time and enjoyed the experience tremendously. Ken may have to add more cars in his fleet to satisfy the need for speed of the next generation of drivers.

The month of August was filled with several different activities, with baseball games being played on the same day as race events. Unfortunately, some games were missed but due to the help of Ken Spira, Dale Shaw, Samantha Shaw, Paul Dudnick, Carol Spira along with the co-operation from the wives and children, the members of the Shaw Motorsports crew were able to attend most of the contests. Thanks to all who have helped out when the workload was increased.

From Ken Spira