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First NASCAR Race 26th to 6th 150 mph |
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LAKEVILLE, CT. - (Aug. 16, 2008)
View this wild race on the SPEED Channel replay, Wed., Sept. 3rd at 1pm ET  Eric Curran got one of the breaks almost every racer in America wishes for, and justified the faith in his talent with a sixth place in the NASCAR Camping World East series Mohegan Sun 200 race on the Lime Rock Park road course. "My car got a bit beat up, and I had some learning to do before I realized this racing is a full contact sport, but that sixth place is a memory I'll have forever - every broadside slam, every not-so-subtle tap in the back end, each and every surprise braking maneuver I saw out the windshield," he said, with a broad smile.  Eric's ride for the race was the #31 Coca Cola / Debt Cures Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Marsh Racing and Whelen Engineering.
"Outside of the mainstream NASCAR races - the Sprint, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks series - the Camping World East is the next rung on the ladder for many drivers. There were some very talented guys in those cars, some whose names we're going to hear a lot more one of these days, young Jeffrey Earnhardt, for example" Curran said.
"And because this race was on a road course, the kind of track I always race on and the kind they race on only twice a year, I had a slight advantage here - very slight."
Eric's lap times were second quickest in the first practice session on Friday - under the existing track record - and fifth quick in the second session. That's when some of the fun ceased.
"A healthy rainstorm came through the Lime Rock area just when it was time to qualify," Eric lamented. "Without being able to qualify, the starting grid was set on driver points and car owner points. Teddy Marsh had only run this car a few times, so I went from a top five driver to 26th on the grid. And passing places at Lime Rock are limited, mind you."
The Camping World East series drivers can get pretty enthusiastic, Eric quickly learned.
"These guys play rough, and they play for keeps," Eric quickly observed. "They will move you and they can't get by, and they won't back down and just hand you the right of way in a turn, either. This is just how they race? Would I have just as much of a disadvantage if I were racing with them this weekend on the half-mile oval track in Mansfield, Ohio? Probably so."
The mishaps and yellow flags started early and ended late.
There were seven full-course yellow sessions, totaling 36 laps. The longest the track stayed green was six laps just before the final time behind the safety car.
"When you only get to race in two-lap or five-lap bursts, it is difficult to really gain any positions," Eric recalled, "but yet, I went from 26th at the start to the race lead on laps 21-22, and it was under green flag conditions that I took the lead, so I'm pretty proud of that. Leading my first NASCAR race, I couldn't have been happier, but rain and pit stops changed my position quickly."
Just past halfway in the 82-lap race, thunder was heard off in the distance. Within moments, the thunder was followed by heavy rain, causing the race to be stopped on lap 54. It was re-started, on lap 65, more than an hour later.
Despite a few more hits from his competitors, Eric picked up many positions in the final lap until the checkered flag flew on his sixth place finish.
"I came down the hill with about 10 laps to go and a car two cars in front got hit and sent sideways, I checked up and the next thing I know is I got hit and spun sideways, then hit again and ended up straight. I really did have a great time," he said. "I learned a lot and met a lot of good people, and some seriously aggressive ones. To finish sixth starting from a 26th position and setting the second fastest race lap, what more could I ask for?"
"I need to again thank Teddy Marsh of Marsh Racing and Whelen Engineering, who are partners in the Chevrolet Corvettes that Sonny Whelen and I race in the SCCA World Challenge GT series. Thanks also to Debt Cures and its owner Nick Esayian, and to Coca-Cola, our primary sponsor.
Eric's next race: SCCA Speed GT series, Sat., Aug. 21, Mosport Park, Canada, in the Whelen Motorsports/Marsh Racing Corvette. Green flag at 6:30pm ET; Speed TV broadcast on Aug 27, 1pm ET. |
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