With other tracks hosting special races, and a rain scare hanging in the balance, car counts were low at the speedway this weekend. Eleven modifieds were in attendance along with defending points champion, Paul Reeder. As always, hot laps went by smooth and the car drove perfectly. Another bad pill draw would lead Paul to a second row start in the heat. The side bite started to go away about mid-way through. Paul found himself in great danger when he over-corrected  in turn three right in front of another driver. He got it straightened out and never lost any positions to finish fourth. The right side of the car suffered major cosmetic damage, but all was fixed in time for the feature.

Hoping for a better turnout in the feature, Paul started in the eighth position. He couldn’t find any line that would work, even though he managed pass two cars. With five laps to go, the car got a lot worse. He was in good standing to take the fifth position, but the right-rear started to slip. Paul lost a little on his lap time and would soon be passed by Tim Radford to finish in the seventh position.

After a dramatic ending to last weekend’s race, Paul returned to Malden with a new state of mind. To clear the air, there are no hard feelings between both parties. We have all decided to move on from this incident and continue racing side by side.

Paul got a fast start in the second heat. Within the first lap, he went from fourth to first. After leading for majority of the race, a late charger would challenge Paul and ultimately take over the lead to give Paul a second place finish.

In the feature, Paul found himself starting fourth beside Austin Matthews. The track had turned into a one-lane groove… or so everyone thought. Paul couldn’t find anything in turns one and two, which caused him to lose several positions and fall back to thirteenth. He would ride in the back for several laps until the caution flag flew with seven laps to go. Realizing he had nothing to lose, at the drop of the green flag, Paul decided to try the top of the track going into turn one. Surprisingly, it worked as he flew around the turn. He couldn’t wait to get back around to turn one. This time he went in even faster, passing four cars in the process. All of a sudden, Paul was the fastest car on the track! Paul tracked down several more cars until he found himself in fifth. He waited patiently for the fourth place car to slip up. Then he saw it and made his move, jetting past him on the last lap to finish in the fourth position.

Everyone that Paul talked to after the race said that if he would’ve went to the top at the beginning of the race, he definitely would’ve won!

Paul currently sits fourth in the points standings.

The showing of more drivers, both old and new, wasn’t very much help to us this weekend at Malden. It may have been the first night for points racing, but it was still the same ole same ole with the activities on the track.

As usual, there wasn’t a lot of luck during pill draw as we drew the sixty-eight pill. Paul would have to start fifth in a six car heat. After driving past two cars in front of him at the start, a large gap opened up in front and behind him. There was simply not enough drive coming out of the corners to keep up with the first and second place cars. He finished third.

Eighteen other modifieds were in attendance to start the feature. Paul took the green flag in the eighth position. He rode in seventh for most of the race, following closely behind the sixth place car. Paul had several chances to spin the car out, but decided against it and checked up every time the car went too slow in the corners. The car behind Paul had been searching for a way to get around for the past few laps. Deciding he no longer wanted to wait, he got underneath Paul coming out of turn two and spun him around. I will refrain from giving any more details, but it ended with Paul getting a flat tire and nearly flipping over as he hit the berm at the bottom of the track.

Paul had to pull off the track to get the flat changed. When he returned, he was in the sixteenth position with five laps to go. Paul took down everyone in his past for the remainder of the race to finish in the eleventh position.