Strong Run For 16-Year-Old Hunter Baize Thwarted By Late Race Incident At Lebanon I-44 Speedway
VanDoorn Racing Development Driver looks to rebound quickly at Columbus Motor Speedway
(Special from Hunter Baize Racing)
May 20, 2014
Bremen, Kentucky (May 20, 2014) – Hunter Baize and the VanDoorn Racing Development
Team know they are a strong combination within the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented
by Chevrolet Performance. Led by three-time CRA Championship Winning Crew Chief,
Butch VanDoorn as well as Driver Coach, three-time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion,
Johnny VanDoorn, the 16-year-old has all the tools needed at his disposal in order to
generate success in his second season of competition in JEGS/CRA.
What the team lacks so far in 2014 is a little bit of good luck on their side. Case in point,
the 2nd Annual Mercy Masters of the Pros 144 Presented by JEGS.com at the 3/8s
(0.375) mile semi-banked paved oval of Lebanon I-44 Speedway, located southwest of St.
Louis in Lebanon, Missouri on May 17th. The second points race of the season for JEGS/
CRA. In Qualifying, Baize timed in an impressive sixth quick and would just miss the
inversion of five, so he would start the 144-lap main from the outside of the third row.
After running as high as fifth late in the race and looking to make his move towards the podium, contact between two-time Daytona 500 winner, Sterling Marling and 14-year-old Garrett Jones with 18 laps to go left Baize with nowhere to go as he was collected in the melee. The VanDoorn Racing Development Team quickly made repairs to his #13 Kawasaki / Ford and got him back out on the track. But with so few laps remaining, Baize was relegated to a disappointing 22nd place showing.
"Once again Johnny, Butch, and all the guys at VRD gave us an extremely fast car. We were P1 in the first practice of the weekend, and were extremely happy with our speed on old tires." The Bremen, Kentucky driver stated. "We just rode in the race conserving everything up to the lap 100 break. It seemed like everyone in the top 10 took a patient approach into the first segment." He added.
"We were running fifth when the third and fourth place cars got into each other and we just had nowhere to go. We suffered moderate damage, had to pit, and finished 22nd." He continued. "Once again we didn't get the finish in the position we deserved due to bad luck. We are encouraged by the speed we have shown though and look forward to heading down to Columbus this coming weekend." He ended.
There's little time to sit back and reflect on the Missouri trip as Baize and crew will head to the 1/3 (0.333) mile semi-banked circular shaped paved oval of Columbus Motor Speedway in Columbus, Ohio this Saturday, May 24th. The Agroscapes 100 Presented by SizzleMarine.com highlights the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. Going into the weekend in the Buckeye State and despite the rough start to the points season in JEGS/CRA, Baize is 12th in the points standings just 10 points out of the top 10 and only 26 markers outside of the coveted top 5.
In addition to running for the 2014 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship, Baize will also look to make select appearances later in the season in the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS. His Driver Coach and Spotter, Johnny VanDoorn has not completely abandoned the driver's seat as the Coopersville, Michigan standout looks to make a few appearances in the ARCA/CRA Super Series later in the year.
For the remainder of the 2014 racing season all of Baize's red and black #13 VanDoorn Racing Development / Ford Fusions will carry sponsorship decals and support throughout the season from Kawasaki as well as Threaded Fasteners, Wood-Mizer Portable Saw Mills, B&K Wood Products, Sterling Lumber Company, Team Butch Racing Shocks and M.P.H Promotions.
For more information about Hunter Baize and Hunter Baize Racing and to inquire about sponsorship opportunities for the rest of the 2014 campaign, go to the team website at: www.hunterbaizeracing.com You can also follow along with Baize as well as VanDoorn on Facebook at: www.facebook.com and by searching for "Hunter Baize" as well as "VanDoorn Racing Development". Finally you can also keep up with everything on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/baize13
