Performance Unlimited returns to the track

Performance Unlimited returns to the track - takes Powersource title

Denny Norton, the owner of Performance Unlimited, gets

ready for a Big 8 class stock car race in Rockford Sunday.

Though he didn't finish first, he did win the title for moving

up from 23rd place, at the start of the race, to 8th place at

the finish.

Denny Norton, the owner of Performance Unlimited in Ringwood, didn’t win the 39th Annual Spring Classic race but, after a long hiatus from stock car racing, he did win the war of attrition on the quarter-mile oval track in Rockford Sunday. The Big 8 race that finished two days of qualifying and racing, was won by Michael Bilderback in the No. 2 car. For Bilderback, it was a successful start in his effort to defend his Big 8 Late Model Series championship from 2015. He has also won the Spring Classic before.

Norton finished eighth out of 24 cars that started the race. That was a major accomplishment as he won the $100 Powersource ‘Power Mover of the Race’ title by moving up from 23rd at the start of the race.

Mechanical troubles claimed several of the 13 cars that failed to finish the 88-lap race. Collisions, however, claimed more than a few. In particular, a five-car pileup occurred right in front of Norton in the middle of the turn on the east side of the track.

“I wasn’t able to avoid the wreck entirely,” said Norton. “But I did avoid full participation, so to speak. I was able to keep racing.”

The Performance Unlimited car 96 runs in the straight of way at Rockford Speedway Sunday. Of 24 cars, driver Denny Norton finished 8th in his debut return to the sport. More than a few of the cars fell out of the race due to mechanical difficulties. It was a testament to the Performance Unlimited team's mechanical ability that car 96 went the distance - 88 laps - without a hitch.

Norton’s right fender and the hood were banged up but he was able to continue racing. That was not the case for the No. 66 car that was in the middle of the wreck. For the driver of the No. 66 car, it was the third accident of the day. The car was involved in two accidents in one qualifying race earlier in the day. In those wrecks, the other cars were eliminated from the competition.

“Rockford is a short track. With 24 cars, it’s really crowded,” said Norton. “You have to expect a fender bender or two.”

One car that finished the race was disqualified after the race, apparently, when it was determined that the car’s carburetor was improperly modified.

Norton said he was generally happy with his performance but hopes to do even better in future races. “It’s been a while,” he said. “I’m still knocking the rust off, so to speak.”

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Sap, Sun and Droppings conspire to attack your Richmond car’s finish

Who doesn't love summer time in Richmond? But this is also the time of year when sap, sun and droppings attack your car's finish. It’s a beautiful summer day in Richmond, IL, so you take the car to Richmond Carwash and give it a thorough cleaning. Or maybe you go for an entire detailing. On the other hand, you grab a bucket, sponge, brush and appropriate cleaners, drag the hose out to the driveway and wash the car yourself. Before you know it, the car is clean and shiny, almost like the day when it was new, right? But what does Murphy’s Law say about washing your car? Inevitably, if you wash your car, you can count on rain. It almost seems like, as soon as you give the car a good bath, the rain clouds start plotting and changing course to head straight for your Richmond home or wherever else you park your car. Let’s imagine that Murphy takes a pass when it comes to applying the Law of clean-car-precipitation onto your vehicle. You have the car washed but it doesn’t rain. You’ve...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog