Cleaver Racing Inc.
Monthly News
Welcome to the second edition of the Cleaver Racing Newsletter. We have had a very interesting and eventful month of May. We have been to a new track and tried some new things with the car. So far the season has been very successful for us and we hope to continue throughout the year.
May 9th we were at Farmer City Speedway where we finished 1st in our heat race and got the night off to an excellent start. For feature time we were rolling off in the 4th position due to the invert and on the second lap we lost our second transmission of the year. We ended up with a 17th place finish.
Tuesday, May 13th was a Wynns Sportsman Qualifier at Farmer City Speedway. This race is special because it is one of five qualifying races for the Wynns Sportsman National held every year during the State Fair at the Springfield Mile. We race once a year on the lightning fast Mile and everyone gears up for the qualifying races. Only four cars are able to qualify at each qualifying race. We drew a 4th place starting position in the heat race and Jason drove to a 2rd place finish. With a 5th place starting position we were looking good to get qualified for the Mile Race right out of the box. Jason came through, battling to a 4th place finish on a dry, dusty track and solidified a starting position in the Wynns Sportsman Nationals.
We were back at Farmer City on Friday, May 16th. The pill draw put us starting 5th in the heat race. Our luck seems to be turning as far as the line up draw goes. Jason raced to 3rd place finish in the heat setting up a 5th place starting position in the feature. The track on this night was again dry and Jason used some patience and a lot of good driving and brought the car home with a 4th place finish.
May 17th we decide to challenge ourselves and venture to a new track, Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, Il. The track is having a special $500.00 to win for the Sportsman cars, so we thought we would give it a try. Our class was supposed to qualify for starting positions on this night, but due to some unforseen track prep problems our qualifying was canceled. We were going to start based on our qualifying draw. This placed us 7th in our heat race, and bit behind the eight ball, being as we have never raced on the track before. However this didnt seem to bother Jason, because he flew through the field on an unfamiliar track and finished an outstanding 1st place. Needless to say we were excited, this put us on the pole for the feature. From the drop of the green flag Jason bolted to the lead and wasnt looking back, however late in the race lapped traffic slowed him up and allowed the second place car to pass him. Not giving up Jason fought back caught the leader and with two to go took it four wide in turns three and four and retook the lead. From then on there was no one that could touch him and he crossed the line the winner. An outstanding performance at a track where the driver and team had no prior experience.
Back at Farmer City on May 23rd we got the night off to a good start with a Trophy Dash win. The Dash consists of the top six finishers from the previous weeks feature. The heat race had us starting 2nd and Jason drove to a 2nd place finish. Starting 4th in the Feature on a track that was as slick as Glass, Jason drove to a determined 6th place finish. We experienced some handling problems in the feature that Jason was able to overcome and still bring home a good finish.
Farmer City is where we were at on May 30th. Again a good start to the night with a 2nd place finish in the Trophy Dash. Also, we were able to draw a good 3rd place starting position in the heat race. Jason fought his way to a 2nd place finish in the heat race. Starting 3rd in the feature Jason drove an exceptional race with an ill handling car to give us a 5th place finish.
May 31st we were back at Macon Speedway for the first time this month. We are trying a new setup on the car and it is something entirely different from anything we have tried before. Starting 5th in the heat race at Mighty Macon, Jason Brought the number 4 in with a 4th place finish. Starting 8th in the feature on the 1/5th mile high banks, Jason got off to an excellent start moving quickly to fifth place and battling for even more when he went into the turn 3 and had to spin to avoid a stalled car on the track. While sitting there waiting for a yellow we were plowed by another car and punctured the radiator. This brought a quick end to our night.
This month of May has been a great experience for the crew at Cleaver Racing Inc. For us to be able to go to a new track and take home a victory was one of our greatest thrills so far this year. Also, having qualified for the Wynns Sportsman Nationals in the first qualifying race, and being able to get that out of the way has made this month very successful. We are still trying to fine tune the new setup we have put in the car, but we are confident that we will get all the bugs out very soon. The crew at Cleaver Racing would like to say thank-you to our sponsors, WINN Heating and Cooling, The Village Tap of Riverton, Fehring Iron Works, Royal Purple racing oil, and A Advanced Antennas, we would not be able to race if it wasnt for their support. We also need to thank Janet Cleaver, Ray and Shirley McGrew, and Joyce Barr, who are our biggest fans and rarely miss a race.
Thank You,
Cleaver Racing Inc.
Jason Cleaver
Jim Cleaver Jr.
Jim Cleaver Sr.
