The Keeppers

3rd at Midway

Ben — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:12:58 +0000

Started the Heat on the outside front row and won by a good margin. Started the Feature in 3rd place and managed to pass Petty and hold off Jackson while getting passed by Brown. I held my own and finished 3rd.

Track Write Up: The Factory Stock feature would see the first repeat winner of the season as point leader Tim Petty brought the field down to the green with Aaron Gustin along side. Petty would power ahead with Gustin close behind. On lap 2 the duo were even at the finish line as the yellow waved for Kris Jackson and Sundance Keeper for contact. On the restart, Gustin moved to the front with Petty close behind as a tight battle between Ben Solberg, Derek Brown and Mark Davis for position. With Gustin setting a quick pace, Petty and Brown began a battle for the runner-up spot with Brown moving into second on lap 6 as he began to close in on the leader Gustin. Gustin would keep the top spot as Brown closed in to 2 car lengths, but it would be Gustin becoming the first repeat winner of the season with Brown, Solberg, Petty and Sundance Keeper completing the top 5.

10 Laps with a Flat at Midway

Ben — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:17:32 +0000

Car was good during the heat at Midway…started 5th and finished 3rd. A row inversion put me on the pole for the Feature. I had a good lead right off the bat and the lead continued even after a 1st lap caution. After 5 laps my right rear tire went flat but I decided to stay out. The second place car passed me and then 3rd and then so on until I finished I think 9th. Amazing that the car handled good enough for me to actually race 10 laps with a flat tire… I will say that’s a first. M Bourey (6) took his first Midway win.

First time at Monett this year

Ben — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:43:35 +0000

The track was tacky during the Heat Race at Monett. Starting on the outside front row the car was strong and I was able to pull off an easy win. The Feature proved otherwise, starting 4th I did all I could to keep the car on the bottom of the track but just wasn’t competitive. I did all I could to just get through the race and eventually did with a 6th place finish.

3rd at Midway

Ben — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:34:37 +0000

Started the Heat on the outside front row and finished by a good margin. Due to row inversion I started the Feature in 5th. I was having a hard time passing cars as all the cars in front of me were racing on the low side. I decided to move to the high side and stayed there for most of the race. M Bourey (6) got around me however I was able to pass all other cars in front of me except Sundance who pulled off is first Midway win of the season. Fun!

Trailing arm problems at Lucas Oil Speedway

Ben — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:35:02 +0000

Another great turn out at Lucas Oil Speedway with 45 Factory Stocks. I started a very competitive Heat race of 11 cars but had the advantage starting on the pole. I lead all laps except the last as C Jackson (65) passed me coming out of turn 4. I went in too hard which caused me to slide up a little and lose momentum. Started 8th in the feature. Within a couple laps there was a caution and I was up to 5th. During the caution my upper trailing arm broke and my drive shaft fell to the ground. Another DNF.

2nd at Midway

Ben — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:27:44 +0000

Weekend racing began at Midway Speedway with a 6th place Heat Start. A few laps into the race I got sideways resulting in the front left corner getting clipped by another car. With a bent spindle I finished 4th. The roll inversion put me on the pole which was great. I lead the first 12 laps until I choose to run C Jackson’s (65) line moving up the track, which I knew immediately was a mistake and Jackson passed me on the inside. I immediately regained the bottom with one lap to go and had moved up beside Jackson for the win but a caution put me in second for the restart resulting in a second place finish for the night.

Another DNF at Midway

Ben — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:41:36 +0000

It was my first racing the backup car which Isaac has been racing so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I started the Heat Race on the pole and lead the entire 8 laps even having lost my right rear shock on the track half way into the race. I started 3rd during the feature behind C. Jackson (65) and we both quickly moved out to the lead. On about lap 4 my gear and drive shaft busted resulting in another DNF. Isaac drove my primary car from 11th place to 2nd. He was by far the fastest car on the track.

Moved up to 4th in Points at Lucas Oil Speedway

Ben — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:33:23 +0000

Another good car turn with 34 Factory Stocks. Starting the Heat in 7th place proved to be difficult pinned behind two cars for the first several laps. Eventually one of the cars found a groove that worked and was able to move forward, but it was a little to late. Finishing 5th resulted in me needing to run the B Feature. I started the B on the pole and finished by a good margin. The B put me in 18th position for the A Feature. On the first lap I passed 5 cars, then there was a caution. During the next several laps there was some contact with other cars, no one was to blame, just some slickness which caused cars on the inside to slide up the track exiting corner 2. I eventually made my way up to 8 place and maintained it even though my car jumped out of gear, one of my shocks seemed to have gone bad due to one of the contacts, and my engine losing power on the last two laps… perhaps due to the fuel pump going bad. It was a crazy but fun race.

Isaac gets First Win of the Season

Ben — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:41:15 +0000

After several cold and rainy Friday nights, Midway racing resumed. I started on the outside front row and it took 3 original green flags to get things going. Taking the lead on the first corner helped me to win by a good margin. Due to winning last time at the track, track rules require that I start 11th place. In 11th place Traffic was tough but Ieventually managed to work my way up to a strong 3rd place finish. My brother-in-law Isaac won his first race of the season in my back up car.

Back to the Track after 3 Weeks Off

Ben — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:06:15 +0000

After 3 weeks off from racing I returned to Lucas Oil Speedway where they had yet another great turn out with 41 Factory Stocks. The track messed up the lineup causing me to start pole in the 4th heat instead of outside front row of the 1st heat. The track was slick and my car had a hard time hooking up in the corners. My brother-in-law Isaac was in my heat and passed me at one point but then blew a shock allowing me a heat win where I should have finished 2nd. During the Feature I started 6th and once again had problems hooking up in the corners. I was able to hold my own for the most part but had nothing on the leaders. Finished 6th.

Write up from Lucas Oil Speedway’s website…

Tonight’s Transport Graphics Factory Stock event is exactly why industry insiders and fans call our weekly shows, “The Best Racin’ In The Nation!” Kris Jackson 65J and Troy Reasoner, Jr. 25JR held off an all star Factory Stock cast pulling away a bit and creating a near photo finish to end the night.

Reasoner is all over Jackson for the last two laps. Down the front stretch taking the white flag it looked liked one of those two-car drafting teams we heard so much about at Taladega this weekend.
Into three Reasoner goes high trying to set himself up for a dive to the inside off turn 4. Jackson holds the middle/high line that he has been working all night. Reasoner pulls along the inside down the front straight and you could have tossed a blanket over both cars at the line.

However, it was Jackson with just a bit more momentum holding off the 25JR by not much more then a bumper for the win. Bobby Maggard, Isaac Keepper and Chris Darnell rounded out the top 5.

Did I mention it was a Factory Stock all-star cast: Ben Solberg, James Flood, Allen Thompson, Bob Gustin and last years class champ Keith Webster finishes the top 10. Webster started the feature from the 19th position.

Speaking of hard charging, Roger Flood 24, came from 21st to finish just outside the top 10 in 11th and Doug Rich 28, came from 20th to finish 12th.