Brian Rickman and Eric Cooley will enter the Clash at The MAG this weekend with different situations for the 100-lap, $20,000-to-win Super Late Model race.
Cooley, who finished second in a Comp Cams race his last time at Magnolia, will continue to run short of roughly 200 horsepower of most of the Lucas Oil regulars, like Jimmy Owens and Scott Bloomquist, who won the Dream 100 last week at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Cooley’s regular Super Late Model motor is still being repaired and is slated to be delivered to his shop next week, so he’ll continue to use his backup motor.
“I was praying for it to be back this week, but one of the parts manufacturers didn’t get a part to the builder in time,” Cooley said. “It’s frustrating. I’m a sitting duck in some races.”
Conversely, Rickman, fresh off a State Series win at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, will enter the Clash brimming with confidence. Rickman, who is a handful of races into a new Rocket XR-1 chassis, hopes to break into the top 10 after failing to make last year’s feature field. Rickman started 20th in 2015 and moved as high as eighth before pulling off early due to a hole in his radiator.
“To do what we’ve done and come out of the box so fast has been incredible,” Rickman said. “We’d be tickled with a top 10, but with any race, you got to have some luck. You’re messing with Bloomer, Owens, and all those boys that race 100 times a year.”
Rickman, who is third in State Series points, said the XR-1 has good straightaway speed and he can circle through corners “so much better now.” Rickman said his early success in the car has been buoyed by Rocket’s tech team and sharing information between other Rocket drivers.
“It’s like you’re in slow motion,” Rickman said. “We just have a good package, and it’s a good race car. The biggest deal is to do what (Rocket) tells you to do, not over-engineer it and do your own thing. That’s the problem a lot of people make — not sticking to a base setup.”
Rain washed out Thursday’s practice session, and more rain is scheduled for today and Saturday. Timing, heats, and several NeSmith features are slated for tonight, while the 100-lap Super Late Model race and a $2,000-to-win Street Stocks race will headline Saturday’s slate. Due to the forecast, drivers aren’t sure what kind of surface to expect, and Rickman said he hasn’t tested the new car on a “dead slick” surface.
“It’ll be a test (if Magnolia ends up slick),” Rickman said. “We started at Meridian pretty much hammered down. It blew off in between and we were good. But that car, now, pretty much likes all three conditions. I really don’t care how the track ends up.”
Cooley, who finished 18th in the Clash last year, hopes for a surface that’s in between slick and wide open, which would help him make up some of the difference in power. The spare motor doesn’t have many laps on it, but it has history: Steve Russell and Johnny Stokes have used it, Cooley said. It’s reliable, but it lacks the technology of newer motors that would make the car easier to drive.
“We got a good race car,” said Cooley, who won a Super Late Model race at Magnolia earlier this year. “The car itself is just as good as anybody’s. As long as I don’t screw up behind the wheel, we’ll be OK.
“Just to be able to make the race and run right there with them is a booster in itself, to know you can run with these guys. It’ll build your program and confidence for the rest of the year.”
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