We ran our first race with in the U.S. Super Truck Series on Oct 11th. The race was held at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI.
We went down to LaCrosse on Wed Oct 8th to get in some practice and experienced some motor problems. Conrad Jorgenson from Brothers Jorgenson Racing in Elko www.brothersjorgensonracing.com took a good look at the race truck on Friday and found some ignition problems. We practiced on Saturday morning and the truck ran a lot better.
Sunday morning we arrived early for the autograph session and had to stand around on a VERY cold October morning but we got to talk to a lot of race fans. The LaCrosse Fairgrounds does a great job promoting their events and every one was having a good time dispite the cold weather.
We were grided 5th for the heat race. As the trucks lined up, the driver starting 3rd had some problems and wanted to start in the rear so we moved up to 3rd starting position. When the green flag dropped, the #83 Interstate Truck Driving School truck was running great. Bill followed the leader through turns one and two and then put his foot in it down the back stretch. As the leader ( Todd Lockington#74) entered turn three he slipped up the track just a little and Collins dove down to take the lead.
Lockington turned down to try and protect his position and the two touched. The #74 spun up the track while Collins kept the hammer down and took the lead. The yellow came out and the officials put Bill at the rear of the field for spinning the winner.
Starting in the rear for the 8 lap heat race, Collins used the outside grove and worked his way back up to third for a decent finish.
Bill then started 7th in the feature with a field of 14 Super Trucks. When the green flag flew Collins worked his way up to third place by the middle of the race. 2008 Series Champion and soon to be 2009 Champion, John Wood, caught up to Bill with Conrad Jorgenson right on Wood’s bumper. Collins held the two trucks off for several laps and then slipped just a little high in turn 1. It was just enough for the more experienced Woods and he moved underneath to take the position. Collins’ spotter let him know Conrad was following Wood and Bill let him through without a fight as payback for all his help in getting the truck to run so well.
Jorgenson then beat on Wood’s bumper for several laps and finally got by as Collins stayed on contact with the battle. When Conrad got by Wood with two laps to go, Bill tried to follow but Wood held him off. Collins took the checkered flag right on Wood’s bumper to finish 5th.
Considering where Bill finished, it was a very successful first time racing with the Super Trucks. Collins had been frustrated racing against late models at Elko this summer so this event was a significant improvement. Andy Jirik, who built the #83 truck with help from Conrad, congratulated Bill on a good first race.
The last race of the year for the Super Trucks is down in Memphis on November 7th. With the success at LaCrosse, Bill is trying to get the motor freshened to make the trip.
News update on 10/29/09:
We sent the motor over to Jax Engine Specialties to have Pat Stair go through it and make sure everything was perfect. Turns out after careful examination that one of the heads was cracked. Pat had a new head shipped in and put it all together. He is heading off to the engine dyno soon to make sure everything is up to his standards before Conrad puts the motor back in. If all goes well, we will be hitting the road on Thursday Nov 5th heading for Memphis.
Bill is excited to run the truck again since we were down on power at LaCrosse with the cracked head. With full power under the hood the team is hoping to put the #83 truck at the front of the field. Stay tuned…..
You can get more information about the Super Truck Series by visiting www.usstracing.com
