Matt Gerald Lands the #195 to the Podium for the MAORA Season Opener!
4/21/09, Casey,Illinois – This past weekend Goodyear-AMSOIL driver Matt Gerald competed in the MAORA season opener in Casey, ILL. Matt and his team competed in the 1-1600 class. With Matt racing his TORC Light buggy against 1600 cars he knew he’d be at a little bit of a disadvantage. The 1600’s have a little more travel, unlimited gearing, and 10-15 more horsepower then the light buggies. Matt and his team were up to the challenge despite the disadvantage. In the first heat, Matt pulled the hole-shot and was soon passed by 1600 stand-out Kyle Lucas. Matt battled with other drivers the rest of the heat crossing the finish line in 3rd position.
2nd Heat Matt started in the back row. The car in front of the 195 machine decided to take his time off the start, after a little bump from Matt he finally got going. By then the leaders had taken off and it was pretty hard for Matt to catch up. Matt battled one vehicle and passed him despite his best efforts to keep Matt behind him. Gerald set him up for 2 laps and used a classic outside inside move to drive around him and secure the pass. Matt chased Terry Fitzgerald for several laps gaining minimal ground on him. Matt crossed the finish line in 3rd again.
3rd Heat Matt got a great start and came off the drop-off jump side-by-side with Fitzgerald with Kyle Lucas slightly ahead of the pack. Kyle lost it into the hard right hand turn causing a little bit of a pile up allowing a few cars to pass Matt. Matt battled with the 1600 MAORA champion most of the race but was not able to make any of his pass attempts stick. Matt ended up 4th in the last heat giving him 3rd overall for the day.
The Gerald Racing Team was extremely happy with the finish. The car worked great for the first race. Chief mechanic Tyler Wians kept the car working good and crew chief Curt Gerald kept the motor running strong all weekend. ”We really had a great time this weekend. The races were run smooth and it was cool to see what we could do with our car against the 1600’s. We tried a new tire Goodyear gave us along with the new Dominator Racing Oil from Amsoil and we’re extremely happy with everything. Motor was running strong, we’re going to build a gear box and motor to compete for the win next time“said Matt.
Gerald and his team plan on attending the second MAORA race of the season on May 16th In Casey IL. Along with several test sessions before the TORC season opener in Crandon, Wisconsin on June 20th. Be on the look out for up coming videos featuring the Gerald Racing Team from new sponsor 3DCSVideo.com
Gerald Racing Team would like to thank all of their partners including:
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants
Ogio
3DCSVideo.com
Kicker Audio
Spy Optics
Flying Dutchman Off-Road
Schwag- Appleton Wisconsin
Be sure to stay up-to-date with Matt Gerald at www.geraldracing.com