 | TOLEDO OH (6-20-03) ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Carl McCormick had never even seen Michigan Int'l Speedway when the Jacksonville FL native drove into the track last Wednesday night, but he got down to business in a hurry and recorded a solid 18th place finish in Saturday’s Flagstar 200 competing against perhaps the strongest field in ARCA/MIS history. |
"I didn’t even know for sure I would be in the car until late Wednesday Night," McCormick said. "I took care of some business at home and caught a flight to Detroit Wednesday morning."
It was probably just as well that Thursday’s on track activities were washed out by rain, because the driver was unable to reach the track before the garage closed for the day. McCormick and the #48 James Hylton Motorsports team hit the track Friday morning and ran many more laps than normal as McCormick learned his way around the lightning-fast, two-mile D shaped oval. Qualifying was held later in the day and was somewhat of a disappointment to the team as they had to take a provisional in 38th.
"We got the car driving real good and picked up just over a second from practice, but this track is all about horsepower, and all the talent in the world won’t buy it," quipped JHM mechanic Bob Durnell. Things would come together on Saturday though, as Carl skillfully avoided a couple of on track incidents which included Keith Murt’s #19 car bouncing off the left front fender and spinning out to move forward. The team kept topping off the car with fuel until they were past the halfway point and one chassis adjustment and one four tire stop set the #48 car for the run to the finish. With Car owner James Hylton shouting out encouragement every lap for the last 20 or so, McCormick ran down and passed all the cars on the same lap and sailed home for the finish.
"I really seemed to hit my stride about halfway through the race and after we changed tires the car drove really good," he said after the race. "The competitor in me doesn’t like getting beat by anyone, but you have to be realistic about things. It’s pretty hard for us to compete against Winston Cup Teams." McCormick hopes to take some more turns behind the wheel of the Hylton #48, but as a self-employed businessman, making a living must come first. "We’ll just have to see," he said.
CONTACT: Diane Durnell, crookedcreekfarms@yahoo.com
