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Kathryne Minter Racing
Chassis -- J & J
Driver -- Kathryne Minter
Crew Chief – Sean McClelland
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Minter Races With, Without Wings at Dodge City
DODGE CITY , KS (July 22) – Kathryne Minter has been
accepting all kinds of invitations lately. Dodge
City Raceway Park invited her to race in its American Sprint
Car Series Rocky Mountain Region double-feature event, and she also agreed
to drive a midget and a non-winged sprint car at Dodge City ’s semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval.
“It was a great weekend,”
Kathryne said. “They kept asking me to go into the stands and to sign
autographs and sell T-shirts. I did that several times and then, after the
races – especially Sunday after I ran so well in the non-winged car – so
many people came by. So many of them said, ‘You were great,’ and I said,
‘Wow … thanks!’”
Minter, who has only been
racing three years, raced into 15th place in Saturday’s ASCS opener despite
dropping out due to mechanical problems.
“I actually had to pull
off because I lost my brakes,” Kathryne said. “We had brake problems Friday
(at State Fair Speedway in Oklahoma
City )
and I thought we had them fixed, but they went away completely. So I pulled
off because I’d rather be safe than sorry, and I knew we had another race
Sunday. When we were cleaning up the car, we noticed my (brake) rotor had
cracked in at least two places so we had to replace it. We’re going to
replace everything on the brakes when we get home to make sure everything
is ready for next weekend.”
A fifth-place finish in
Sunday’s Second “B” Feature kept Minter from qualifying for the main event.
“There were a lot more
cars Sunday, including some of the guys who ran the ASCS national show (in Lawton , OK )
Saturday,” Kathryne said. “When I went out there for hot laps, the track
had taken rubber and I didn’t know how to handle it at first. Our brakes
weren’t completely fixed in the ‘B,’ but I could pump them up to make them
work some. Having to think about that instead of racing made it really
tough. I was really fast in the ‘B,’ but I just wasn’t in position to
qualify for the feature.
“The track was really
nice Saturday; it didn’t take rubber like it did Sunday. I ran better that night because I haven’t learned how to race
in the rubber. After hot laps, Sunday, Bud Kaeding
(who swept the weekend’s ASCS features) came over and talked to me. He was
like, ‘Kathryne, run in the rubber and don’t go anywhere else.’ I said,
‘OK,’ and I went out and ran so fast, and it was my first time in a
non-winged car. I learned a lot about racing on rubber.”
Officials from the NMMRA
non-winged sprint car series approached Minter about racing in their event
Sunday afternoon.
“Racing a non-winged car
for the first time was so cool,” Kathryne said. “I couldn’t believe they
came and asked me if I wanted to race without a wing. They just noticed we
had an extra car, so they asked if we could come out and race with them. I
wasn’t sure about it because I had always heard they were really hard to
drive without a wing. The guy who runs the organization was really nice and
said I could run in as many hot-lap sessions as I wanted. I wasn’t sure if
I wanted to, but I went out for hot laps and I was a little intimidated,
but I learned a lot. I found out that when you don’t have a wing to carry
you through the corners, you have to let off and yank your steering wheel to
make the turns. And you have to keep turning because you don’t have the
wing. It’s a lot different.
“A guy hit me in the heat
race on the first lap going into three and we spun out. The rule in that
organization is, if you spin out or have to restart for any reason in a
heat race, you’re done. If I had been able to finish the heat race, I would
have had a better starting position in the feature and I’d have done really
well. But I was really fast in the feature and I learned a lot. It was a
great experience and I really appreciate them asking me to run without the
wing.”
Minter also enjoyed her
first experience racing a midget during her special weekend of invitations.
Ideas, suggestions, questions or comments can
be sent to: SprintCar PR.
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