The idea being that we would avoid the nasty weather headed our way on Sunday and the majority of folks would be at home when the storm hit. Alan qualified early Saturday Morning on a slick track. The car was just put back together and painted for the race on Tuesday and there was not sufficient time to check everything. The car would require some adjustment to the rear sway bars. Despite this hurried setup, Alan still placed the #56 car in a solid 8th spot on the grid. At the start of the race in the early afternoon, Alan was able to pick up a few spots going into T-1 where he appeared to be in 5th. He was setting up for the exit of T-2 where he feels he has a slight advantage over his competitors. Going 3 wide through T-1 is achievable, but not this time. Since he was on the outside, some minor contact with Marc Cefalo (Planet Miata Teammate) squeezed Alan off the track where he lost approximately 10 positions. Alan would spend the remainder of the race fighting to make up the positions lost. There were some very exciting moments where Alan and Tucker Errol were 2-wide going through the Carousel, (T-6) and staying that way all the way through T-8! He managed to close in on positions 5-8 and make a couple of passes for a final position of 7th.
Saturday’s Top 10 (22 cars racing, due to several withdrawals because of weather):
1. Ken Zalner
2. Scott Brunk – new track record
3. Payton Wilson
4. Blake Clements
5. Michael Collins
6. Marc Cefalo
7. Alan Olson
8. Jonathan Boxwell
9. Al Bell
10. William Loomis