WATKINS GLEN REPORT
- by Stenzo



COYOTE FINISHES “BEST OF CLASS” IN
WILD RALLY AT THE GLEN!

Watkins Glen International (8/18/00) -- Coyote lead the Team Speedlan boys back to the finish line this weekend, prevailing in a tight battle with Stenzo for 21st over the final few laps, then finally grabbing the spot in what proved to be a wild, cross-country rally to the checkers. After starting from the 23rd spot, he was never able to make much progress toward the front, where the pole sitter lead all 31 laps and took the win. Coyote raced hard all day, but struggled at times when he got off the track on the grass, losing any positions he was ever able to gain. The same was true for his teammates, who also struggled just to maintain position on the track. And with only 1 caution flag to slow the field, none of them were ever able to make many passes, and were forced to finish 21st through 24th respectively, with Coyote leading the way, followed by Stenzo, Bob, and Speed. This marks the 3rd time this year Coyote's finished 21st, although he was able to make up 6 points on third-place Bob in the series standings, reducing the gap to 212 points.

Stenzo smacked the wall hard in the inner loop during qualifying, and was forced to start in last place. This proved to be an indicator of things to come, as he had difficulty just staying on the track at times, trying desperately to race for position, but was never really able to make up any ground all afternoon. He and Coyote did race for 21st position late in the race, providing the only good racing he had all day, but he allowed Coyote to get by after sliding off the track and finished 22nd, marking the 5th time in 21 races he's finished 20th or worse. But because he finished ahead of series points-leader Speed, he closed the gap to 231 points with 13 races to go.

Bob qualified well and started from the 14th spot, but he too struggled to maintain position throughout the event. Although he is the only Team Speedlan member who didn't hit anything or anyone all day, he still fell back toward the rear, where he eventually finished 23rd, marking only the 5th time he's finished 20th or worse all year.

Speed had a very good qualifying run and started 7th, but quickly found that he, like his teammates, was unable to keep pace with the rest of the field. Then after getting into the wall in the inner loop, he was relegated back in the pack, where he would stay most of the day. He eventually finished 24th, marking his worst finish this season.