Glen Helen finish is 'a step in the right direction'

RIVERSIDE, CA (August 7, 2014) - On a rainy Saturday night at Glen Helen Raceway the dark cloud that had been hanging over the Stronghold Motorsports team finally lifted.

It was a moment commemorated not by a clap of thunder or a flash of light but by a checkered flag, and when it waved over the MAVTV/Toyo Tires/Solar World Pro 4 truck driven by Brandon Bailey it represented what Bailey called a definite "step in the right direction."

Bailey was the fifth truck across the finish line in round 10 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, after a late-race duel with Jerry Daugherty, and while it may not have been as good a finish as Bailey wanted the fact that it was a finish was significant.

The most recent events in the short course series had not gone well for Bailey, Pro Buggy driver Larry Job and the team.

Bailey, last season's Pro 4 Rookie of the Year, had finished just one of four races at Sparks, Nevada, and Tooele, Utah, due to a variety of mechanical problems with the still-new Ford truck and his first start at Glen Helen had ended prematurely due to a driveshaft failure.

Job, meanwhile, had been dealing with chassis and engine problems while finishing just once in five starts before coming in a strong sixth on the first night of competition at Glen Helen, just north of San Bernardino, California. Unfortunately, his weekend ended with a flat tire 10 laps into the Pro Buggy main event Saturday night.

The second day didn't get off to a great start for Bailey, either, with crew chief Nick Griner and his mechanics rebuilding the front end of the truck after Bailey had been unable to avoid contact with Daugherty's spinning truck during qualifying on a muddy track.

In the evening, after watching his son Madix Bailey finish sixth in the Junior 1 Kart race, Brandon took the green flag for the Pro 4 race in eighth place, moved into the top five on the fourth of 16 laps and held on despite erratic brakes and a deflating tire until starter Jeff Hildebrandt waved the checkered flag.

"That (late race) battle with Jerry, that's the reason we do this. I was having fun," Bailey said. "We had spongey brakes throughout the race and sometimes we didn't really have any brakes, but I just didn't want to give up. I think getting in a good battle like that is good for me.

"We had some front suspension that was messed up early in the race, so the car definitely wasn't rotating like I wanted it to. I had to get a little out of my comfort zone and thank God I have a great spotter in Nick (Griner) to get me through that.

"Just to have a car to go out there to race after what happened in qualifying was remarkable, and it's kind of funny that I ended up battling with him to get that fifth place. I wish we'd had a little bit more and the brakes hadn't been soft on us, but I'm happy.

"We finished the race and I needed to do that. I can't wait for the next one."

The next races in the Lucas Oil series are August 22-23 at Wild West Motorsports Park in Sparks, Nevada. But before that, the Stronghold crew will return to the desert after a three-month layoff for the Las Vegas to Reno race on August 14-16.

That will be the fourth of six races in the Best in the Desert Series, where Stronghold is in contention for the Unlimited Buggy championship.

STRONGHOLD MOTORSPORTS 2014 SCHEDULE

STRONGHOLD MOTORSPORTS SPONSORS

MavTV * Lucas Oil * SolarWorld * Toyo Tires * KC Hilites * Stronghold Engineering * Lamb Energy * VP Racing Fuels * Go Pro * Kroyer Racing Engines * Pro Power Racing * K&N Filters * Pro Am Racing Products * Power Steering Solution * Alumicraft * Motive Gear * MSD Performance * Boot Campaign * Protect the Harvest * Fiberwerx * Sign Pros * Inland Powder Coating * Eibach Springs * American Wiring Harness * Simpson Race Products * Corona Motorhome Rentals