The day started early and ended very late for the EROC competitors.  We did well in qualifying, with a 22.90 lap, second only to Phil Little, of Hanover, PA, who qualified at 22.62.  
     Practice and qualifying in the afternoon was followed by a bit of a wait till the heat race.  The series officials added the eight lap heat race to the program beginning with this race.  But from a points strategy and tire management standpoint, we did not want to use up our new tires on an 8 lap sprint .  So we started 5th and finished 4th, focusing mostly on set up and saving our tires for the feature. The #11 was pushing during the heat race and the series pit crew promised to make adjustments for the feature.
     The heat race was followed by a long wait till the EROC feature.  At 12:20AM we finally got on the track to start our race.  
     Starting 5th in the inverted field, we fell to 6th in the second lap.  The adjustments were right on target, however, and we began working our way forward, reaching 4th in lap 8.  
     Despite every attempt to cleanly pass the 3rd place driver, his strategy of mirror driving and erratic changes of his race line, prevented us from safely moving up in the pack.  We could have passed only if we'd  intentionally moved him out of the way.
     Instead, we brought the #11 car to the line in one piece.  Despite the frustration of being held back by a slower car, we enjoyed the evening.  Anytime you can race at Lakeland is a good time!

Next Race:  Saturday, February 23rd - last race of the night