Thebeau Racing

Superfeature weekend was this weekend.

Single car Qualifying
Andrew fast time: 5.892 (made the A main by 0.005 sec)
Nick fast time: no time - fuel line disconnected. Just can't catch a break

B main- Nick
Started P6 out of 6
Not our day again. After getting into a wreck had to come into the pits to fix the throttle stop. Pushed him out for the car to die on him. Came through the pits again..tried to get him pushed off again to no avail. Loose spark plug connection appears to have been the problem. Finished the weekend in 12th place. Hopefully the next race day will go better.

A main- Andrew
Started P6 out of 10.
Made it up in 4th as his highest position. Got in a couple wrecks 2 calls not placed on him, the last call was on him he spun and got hit losing the left front tire off the rim. Had some help to replace it and he was able to get back out, spun again as the steering was off due to a bent front axle. Finished the race in 7th.

Next points race in a week then a little break.

Meriden 300

Qualifying did not go as planned.
Andrew running a new motor for the first time. Popped a chain.
Nick lots of trouble controlling his loose car

Heat 1 Andrew starting P6. Missed the invert. Finished 5th
Heat 2 Nick starting P1 due to the 5 car invert. Finished 5th

A main: Passing points from the heats seeded the main
Andrew P9 ->P11 (DNF)
Nick P10 -> P9 (DNF)

Day definitely did not go as planned.

Slacking off on the updates!! Finally getting caught up. Lots of rough weekends but making progress. One podium finish for Nick and Andrew has the speed, just has to stop going tail. Here are the race recaps to date.....

5/18/24 Points race #2

Both kids were in the same heat race today. 7 car field.
Andrew P5 to P5. Spin sent him to the back mid race, but he was able to make up a couple spots.
Nick P4 to P7 spin on the final lap just before the finish line.
Both kids to the B main

B main 7 car field
Andrew P3 to P2 - super fast car kept him in second place fighting for first, came up a little short but puts him #8 in the A main.
Nick P7 to P5- keeping up with the pack just didn't have the speed to make up spots. He will be the X car in the A main if someone can't make the race.

A main postponed to the rain date in July due to weather.

5/25-26/24 Points race 3 was this weekend - Lou Sherman Memorial Race.

Single car qualifying to seed the mains.
Andrew had a personal best time that barely missed the A main (by 0.005 seconds!). Put him pole in the B main.
Nick's time was not as good as we hoped likely due to a loose chain. Placed him # 7 in the B main.
Both kids in the same race yet again!

The B main had lots of excitement!
Andrew's car was a rocket, he lead the first 20 laps easily pulling away from the pack, spinning the car with 5 laps to go put him in the back of the pack. Another spin with a near head on collision with Nick (who somehow was able to squeeze between Andrew and the wall, running over his tires) put him back of the pack again with 2 to go. After making a stop in the pits he was able to get back on the track at the last minute. Frustration and adrenaline pushed him to be able to make up 2 places in 2 laps to finish 4th and take the last spot in the A main. Nick missed the A main finishing in 6th place.

Andrew did pretty well in the A main jockeying back and forth from the back slowly working his way up to 5th place with some good racing and some calls on other cats. He had a couple spins giving him 2 calls and an unfortunate no call after a crash put calls on all cars stopped on the track at the time giving him his 3rd and a resulting DNF.
Making headway with his car finally, fingers crossed he can make his way to the front of the pack.
Need to continue to make adjustments to Nick's car to find the magic combination to get his car faster and more competitive.

6/1/24

Heats (8/7 cars)
Nick: P2 -> P8
New setup - started well with a fast car running in the lead pack in 3rd. He had a good chance to place into the A main with how he was running, but about 7 laps in he was plagued with chain issues again (fixed before the B main).
Andrew: P3 - > P2. Hung in 2nd place the entire race placing him directly into the A main.

B main (10 cars)
Nick: P10 -> P6
(Missed the A main and ended the day in 12th place out of 16)

A main (10 cars)
Andrew: P3 -> P8 out of 10 started great held P3 for 1/3 of the race and got spun, but got the call sending him tail. Was able to make up a couple spots but ended up tail again and wasn't able to recover

7/6/24
Back at it after a month hiatus.
Shortened day due to weather so no heat race for the heavy WF class.

8 car race.
Andrew started P6 and Nick started P7. They were both driving well and were running in 3rd and 4th. Andrew spun a couple times and had to go tail. Andrew finished 7 out of 8 and Nick had a great race pulling off a 3rd place finish! First podium of the year and hoping for more!

7/13/24
This was shaping up to be a great race day but again it was not to be....

Both kids in same heat race. Andrew finished 2nd and made the A main (P3). Nick finished 4th and started 1st in the B main. He killed, it holding P1 and securing his spot in the A main (P7).

Andrew started 3rd in Amain. Nick 7th. 10 car field.
Nick ended up out of the race because his gas tank fell off his car. DNF for safety (P11)
Andrew was fast and was looking promising to have a podium finish. Was running 2nd at one point, got sent to the back and made it back up to 4th. Then his motor blew up. DNF (P8). Definitely another rough weekend.

7/14/24 - makeup race for 5/18. 10 car field.
Chain issues continue to plague Nick. Lost it in a wreck and it got wedged between the gear and engine. Managed to get it dislodged and on but popped off and ran out of time. DNF (P9) for the day.
Andrew was running a borrowed motor, driving well making his way through the pack ended as a DNF (P8) because he forgot to refuel from the day before and ran out of gas. Lesson learned. Remember to check the tank before every race.

Update from last 2 race weekends...

5/18/24 Points race #2

Both kids were in the same heat race today. 7 car field.
Andrew P5 to P5. spin sent him to the back mid race, but he was able to make up a couple spots.
Nick P4 to P7 spin on the final lap just before the finish line.
Both kids to the B main

B main 7 car field
Andrew P3 to P2 - super fast car kept him in second place fighting for first, came up a little short but puts him #8 in the A main.
Nick P7 to P5- keeping up with the pack just didn't have the speed to make up spots. He will be the X car in the A main if someone can't make the race.

A main postponed to the rain date in July due to weather.

**********************************************

5/25-26/24 Points race 3 was this weekend - Lou Sherman Memorial Race.

Single car qualifying to seed the mains.
Andrew had a personal best time that just missed the A main (by 0.005 seconds!). Put him pole in the B main.
Nick's time was not as good as we hoped likely due to a loose chain. Placed him # 7 in the B main.
Both kids in the same race yet again!

The B main had lots of excitement!
Andrew's car was a rocket, he lead the first 20 laps easily pulling away from the pack, spinning the car with 5 laps to go put him in the back of the pack. Another spin with a near head on collision with Nick (who somehow was able to squeeze between Andrew and the wall, running over his tires) put him back of the pack again with 2 to go. After making a stop in the pits he was able to get back on the track at the last minute. Frustration and adrenaline pushed him to be able to make up 2 places in 2 laps to finish 4th and take the last spot in the A main. Nick missed the A main finishing in 6th place.

Andrew did pretty well in the A main jockeying back and forth from the back slowly working his way up to 5th place with some good racing and some calls on other cars. He had a couple spins giving him 2 calls and an unfortunate no call after a crash put calls on all cars stopped on the track at the time giving him his 3rd and a resulting DNF.
Making headway with his car finally, fingers crossed he can make his way to the front of the pack.
Need to continue to make adjustments to Nick's car to find the magic combination to get his car faster and more competitive.

First points race recap. It was a rough day.

Nick:
Heat P4 to P5 - in 3rd place in the first couple laps and lost a chain and wasn't able to get back onto the track.
Main P10 to P10 - Didn't even get a chance to start the race. Chain popped off 3 times and we weren't able to get it back on in time. Disappointing day for sure.

Andrew:
Heat P3 to P5 - car was out of control loose from the start, even with an adjustment couldn't tighten it up. A couple loose lug nuts were likely the issue. 3 charge yellows and a DQ.
Main P9 to P7- car was running well (apparently likes the cooler track temp) and made it up to P5 for a bit after being sent to the back on a call. Spin at the end resulted in a DNF.

2 weeks to work out the kinks and try again at the Lou Sherman race.

The 2024 racing season has official begun!
Earl Wilcox Memorial Race was this weekend at Silver City. Both kids started the new season in World Formula cars.

Heat race 1 - Nick
Started P4
Finish P5
The setup just wasn't there for the first race and the car couldn't quite keep up with the rest of the field.

Heat race 2 - Andrew
Started P1
Finished P5
Andrew started out amazing in his heat. Took off like a shot, maintained 1st for a few laps then slid back to second and was there for a period of time. Then the car tightened up slowing him way down.

Unfortunately both kids Started the A Main race in 9th and 10th positions which ended after 6 laps due to rain. Adjustments will be made and hopefully we can do better next week for the first points race of the season!

THIS.....THIS is what it is all about. What this group of handlers and racers accomplished in 7.5 minutes was nothing short of miraculous. Yes, I went back to the video and looked. From the time he was wheeled off the track to the time of the first completed lap signaling the end of available time to get him back on the track (we were soooo close!) was 7.5 minutes. In that time, a snapped rear axle was removed and replaced along with radius rods, brakes, panhard bars. All hands on deck, handlers removing and replacing parts, racers finding all the tools to get the job done, all for a fellow racer and a kid that doesn't even belong to them. All so he could get back out and race. We are so thankful for each and every person that pitched in to try to get Nick back out on the track. I would name you all but am afraid I would miss someone. If you were there helping, sharing your car parts, cheering, encouraging, not giving up...we thank you !!!

Rough weekend for racing for the Thebeau clan. Saturday was a complete washout (thank you to the Raccio family for your hospitality and help!). We ended up running the Honda classes on Sunday.
There was only a heat race and an A main for the light 160 class this week. 11 car fields are always an interesting time.
Heat race didn't start well for Nick with Andrew running up and over the back of him at the start. Need to keep them out of the same races! Bent radius rod brought him into the pits then a return trip in for a broken chain which couldn't be fixed in time placing him as the 11 (X) car in the A main. Andrew finished P9 so he started 9th in the A main.
Nick's luck didn't get any better in the A main. First trip to the pits for an unscrewed steering shaft (thank you Tim Henion for the quick fix) and then a second trip in after getting in a wreck that dismounted a tire (thank you Jeffrey Orzak for the replacment). Nick was then sent tail after another wreck and finished in the 9th position.
Andrew ran steady though we have still not found the key to unlock the speed yet. He had an uneventful day finshing in 7th.

Thank you to ALL the handlers in the Hot Chute that helped get Nick back on the track so many times this weekend. We couldn't have done it without all of your quick diagnosing and repairing. It is appreciated more than you know!!

Fingers crossed that next week is a better week!

Race day canceled. Will run tomorrow instead.

First race of the season!🏎
Kids were in every race together today!
Heat race put both kids in the B-main and they were both able to transfer into the A-main (B main finish P3 and P4). Started P9 and P10 and finished P8 and P9. Good showing for their first time in this class with limited practice. 😊 now to do some work to move them up to the front!

Thank you to our sponsors!!
Joe's Auto Service
Ultra Finish Carpentry
GWGraphics
Sunnyside Ford

No racing tomorrow. Maybe next weekend will be sunny 🌞 🤞🏻

ARRIVE AND DRIVE | Silver City QMC Drivers develop skills such as coordination, timing, alertness, and basic mechanical theory.  Internal strengths are developed through sportsmanship, accomplishment, self-reliance and recognition! PRICES

We would like to send a shout out to Joe at Joe's Auto Service for his sponsorship of the Thebeau Racing Team for the 2023 season! Check him out at the links below! Thank you for your support!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088954431993&mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.bimmershops.com/massachusetts/joes-auto-service-leicester-ma

We would like to acknowledge our first sponsor for the Thebeau Racing Team!!! Andy from Ultra Finish Carpentry thank you for your support!!!!!

Good luck everyone!!! Winners will be announced here!!

Schedule of event for the 2023 season! Come join us! Admission is free!

Welcome to Thebeau racing! We are on our 3rd year of Quarter Midget racing at Silver City QM track in Meriden CT. Join us here for updates on Andrew and Nick's racing endeavors! Races are almost weekly from the end of April through the end of October and admission is free, so come down and see the action in person! If you can't, you can catch up here! Thanks for checking us out!