Rollercoaster Race Ends with 18th Place Finish for Dupuis
Scarborough, ME (July 23, 2005) – Despite being bounced around more often then a ping pong ball in a clothes dryer, Renee Dupuis managed to keep her car in one piece and brought home an 18th place finish Saturday night.
Starting in the 22nd position, atleast early on, Dupuis was able to pick off positions from the cars in front of her. While contact with the #10 would cost Dupuis to lose many of the spots she had gained, it would be just the beginning of her long night.
"We've had a great car all year - except on Saturday night," said Dupuis. "We've never been to Beech Ridge with a Troyer car before and I think we just did too many things to tighten up the car for the feature. It's a shame because we had a fast car all day."
Contact with the #0 would cause Dupuis to not only lose track position, but also a lap as she righted her car and jumped back into the fray. Fortunately for Dupuis, she was able to stay with the leaders until the next caution fell, rewarding her determination with the “Lucky Dog” pass back onto the lead lap.
Though the handling of the car was rapidly going away, Dupuis was still hanging on, trying to stay out of further trouble so she could bring the car home in one piece. As had been her fortunes for most of the night however, Dupuis would find herself getting caught in another melee with the #69 and #58 and again going a lap down.
"We chose not to pit because we all thought the car and the track would come to us," said Dupuis. “It didn't happen and we got bounced around a lot out there. But we're in one piece and we look forward to getting back to some of the bigger tracks.”
After that final scrap, Dupuis was able to keep the car out of further trouble. Still, the car was in one piece, which after wrecks at Jennerstown and New Hampshire was a step in the right direction.
The Whelen Modified Tour’s next stop is Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, Massachusetts for the Tour’s only trip to the Bay State. Racing action is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM ET.
