|
Josh Nelms and the K.J. Motorsports teamed up with the powerhouse T.K. racing
team and current ASA North point leader Eddie Hoffman for the weekend. "This was
an honor to be able to work at the there shop to get the cars ready to race.
They have taught me so much," Josh stated. The team worked hard to prepare 3
cars for the weekend. The first stop was Madison International in Oregon, Wi.
This was a new track for Josh as he had never seen or been too. As practice was
rolling Josh consistently picked up his lap times and found himself borderline
of qualifying on time. Josh managed to qualify 20th taking the last spot on time
for the 100 lap event. As the race started and progressed Josh was fighting some
handling issues but found himself in 16th at the halfway point. A caution flew
for a spin on lap 58 and Josh had been fighting overheating problems and decided
to park the car for the remainder of the event finishing 30th. "The goal was to
come here and shake down the car and try to qualify on time. We completed that
goal and wanted to save the car for Rockford," explained Nelms. The following
day saw the T.K. race team head to Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, IL. The
defending champ Eddie Hoffman was looking forward to the race as was Josh as he
scored a career high 4th in the event in 2007. After the 2 practice sessions
both the T.K. cars were in the top 10 of practice speeds. Josh was the first out
to qualify only to slow down 2 tenths from practice and relegated him to 24 out
of 26 cars. Car owner Dave Dotter found the problem but was unable to correct it
as the cars are impounded. Once the start your engines command was given Josh
pulled of the track and the problem was fixed. He restarted dead last and was on
the move from the drop of green with his Lisa Thomas Salons-Digital Fuel
Solutions-Image FX- BC Auto Body Monte Carlo. By lap 20 he had moved into the
top 20 using the hard to pass on low groove. Within 10 more laps he was up to
16th still charging and then a few laps later a multi car accident collected
Josh and he was done for the evening with suspension damage. Josh was
disappointed but pleased with performance of the car. "This is the best car I've
had here and am looking forward to bringing it back." Josh exclaimed. This was a
long weekend and couldn't have been done without the help of Kerrie, Mike (dad),
George, Johnny, Kari, Chuck, Mike, and everybody involved with T.K. Racing
especially Tom and Dave. A special thanks goes out to Ricky Bilderback with his
support and advice. The next race on the schedule is Aug 15th at Dixie Motor
Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan. Josh heads into the final points event for the
US Pro Cup sitting 4th in overall points and 3rd in Rookie of the year points.
With just 12 point separating 2nd thru 4th. This final event is going to come
down to the wire for Rookie of the Year. |
