http://www.mattharms53h.com Information about D&M Racing Sprint Cars Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:39:29 CDT FeedMe, by the Nowhere Man (http://thenowhereman.com/hacks) Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:33:04 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1254364384 On Saturday, September 26th, D&M Racing ran the Season Championship with Sprint Invaders at 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA. Things didn't turn out as good as we would have liked, due to possibly out thinking ourselves. In the heat race, we started 5th and finished 6th due to a tight handling race car. We didn't make any changes for the Storm Steel Super Dash which we got to run for our 100% participation with the Sprint Invaders and Owner Points, but the car was still tight. We started 5th and finished 6th. We thought the track would change to suit our car but it didn't. The same would be true in the A Main feature. We loosened the car up slightly, but it was still way too tight. We started 17th and finished 16th. If we could do it over again, we would have just used the same setup we had in practice which was working really well and we would not have tightened the car up at all. All in all, at least we learned something, and we were able to maintain our 6th position in Driver Points and 7th in Owner Points. We'll see you all at the Awards Banquet on November 7th. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:01:05 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1253584865 On Friday September 18th, D&M Racing raced at Farley Speedway in Farley, IA for the first time with the Sprint Invaders. We started the heat race 4th and finished 6th due to trying something new with the chassis setup. We got it dialed in better for the A Main though and came from 19th to 10th in the A Main. If we had a better starting spot, I think we could have finished in the top 5. The car was rolling the corners that well. We hope to see you all this Saturday night at the Season Championship at 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA.<br><br>Points update: D&M Racing remains at 6th in Driver Points and 7th in Owner Points heading into the Season Championship at 34 Raceway. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:31:13 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1253100673 On the final night of the weekend, D&M Racing ran at Quincy Raceway in Quincy, IL. We would once again finish 3rd in the heat race and start the A main on the inside of the 4th row. We had a really good race car which we had setup to be fast at the end of the 25 lap feature, but it wasn't to be. We made contact with another car 6 of 7 laps into the feature and punctured the left front tire and bent the front axle. It was disappointing, but we were happy to finally find a setup that the chassis seemed to really work well with. We'll have everything back and ready to rock n roll for the race at Farley on Friday night.<br><br>Points Update: D&M Racing remains in 6th after a hard fought 3 race weekend. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:23:25 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1253013805 On Saturday, D&M Racing was at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, IL for the Tom Knowles Memorial. We had a good draw and stared the heat race on the pole. We held onto to 2nd for a while but finished 3rd due to having the engine set too rich. The engine had quite a stumble and pop off the corner and all the way down the straightaway. We were happy to make the A main on night 2 with 31 insanely fast cars again in attendance with the Sprint Invaders. We tried a while different torsion bar package and it was seeming to work pretty well. In the feature, we held our own to finish 11th on a pretty fast rubber down track in the A main. Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:20:22 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1252927222 D&M Racing stared the first of 3 shows this weekend with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders. We drew the last row for our heat race at Morgan County Speedway for the Herb Barlow Memorial. Along with the bad draw we also had ann ill handling race car in the heat race which would relegate us to the B main, but it didn't quite get the job done. We finished 9th in the B main and they only took 4. We tried hard, but never found the sweet spot on the handling on Friday night. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:18:24 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1252552704 D&M Racing tookm to Columbus Junction Speedway for another round with the Sprint Invaders. We would start the heat race 4th and finish 5th on a pretty racy track. In the feature, we would start 12th and we were able to salvage a 10th at the end of the night. We've got the fueling of the engine a little better this week, than we did last weekend at West Liberty, but it's still not quite right. We've got some other tricks up our sleeves and we have our notes from last year. We'll get the engine dialed in again, we want a top 3 before the year is out! Hope to see you all at the races this weekend for a triple header starting Friday night at Jacksonville, IL for the Herb Barlow Memorial, Saturday at Spoon River, IL for the Tom Knowles Memorial, and Sunday night at Quincy, IL. Be sure to check www.sprintinvaders.com for live updates from the races.<br><br>Points update: D&M is currently sitting 6th in driver points and 7th in owner points. Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:39:03 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1251805143 D&M Racing ran at the 1/2 mile West Liberty Speedway. We started the heat race in the 2nd row inside and finished 4th in the heat race. We would start the A Main 8th and finished 13th. We had a decent chassis set up, but the things that we tried for the feature with the high bypass left the engine way too rich on the bottom end of the RPM curve. The high side speet was coming on way too late, making the car sluggish coming out of the corner. Oh well, the only way you learn new things on a race car is to try new things. Some of hte best things you can learn on a race car is learning what NOT To do. Dad and I enjoyed having Shawn Robertson and his family and friends with us in the pits. The more the merrier at the racetrack!<br><br>Points Update: We are sitting 7th in driver points and 8th in owner points at this point in the season. Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:35:47 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1251718547 D&M Racing has just received a 410 engine due to the trade of our spare 360 engine. We will follow the full Sprint Invaders schedule, select Midwest All Star Series, and non-wing shows in 2010 with the 410. It isn't 100% clear at this time whether we will have the financial means to have a car for the 360 and the 410 or 1 car for both engines. D&M Racing is alwasy open to entertain any sponship opportunities! Stay posted for any news regarding whether we will be able to gethe 410 out this year. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:39:32 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1251257972 Saturday, August 22. We were at 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA for the Sprint Invaders "Twin Features Night". We had a bad draw, putting us in the last row of the heat race (7th position). With a lot of good guys in the heat race on a fairly heavy track, we would finish the heat race in 6th place setting us up for a long night forcing us to run the B Main to qualify for the A Mains. We would start on the B Main in the 9th position, but we did have a good setup on the car. WIth the help of a yellow flag and one red flag, I was able to bring the car home 4th with almost a 3rd on the last lap. In the first 20 lap feature, we started 19th and finished 16th. We were a little loose and starting in the very back of the field didn't help much. In the 2nd 20 lap feature, we started 16th and had a little better setup on the car and were passing some cars. We ended up finishing in 9th place. I can't say how good I felt making it into the show for the Twin Features. Missing out on 2 features in one night would have absolutely killed any chances of finishing in the Top 10 for points. We were in 9th in points coming into the weekend, and after D&M Racing's hard work, we came out of the weekend 8th in points! Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:39:32 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1251257972 Friday, August 21. We were in Jacksonville, IL for another Sprint Invaders race. We had a good draw putting us on the outside of row 1 for the heat race. At the drop of the green flag, I was leading the heat race with the rest of the field right on my rear bumper. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of slamming the cushion a little too aggressively on a heavy and rough track, and causing us to loose some track position. I would finish the heat race in 5th place. In the feature, we started 11th and finished 12th. To be honest, the track was quite rough and rutty all night. I was glad to be able to hang on to keep the car around the top 10 for the A main. Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:59:22 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1250819962 August 20, 2009 - Sprint Invaders has released an updated schedule for the remainder of the 2009 season. They have added a couple of dates to make up for rainouts early in the season. Check out the schedule for more details. Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:45:37 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1249523137 D&M Racing regrets to announce that we will not be participating in the 2009 360 Nationals due to financial reasons. We don't feel we have the funds necessary to "bring the guns loaded" to the Nationals and keep the equipment to the level it needs to be to keep ourselves competitive with the Sprint Invaders for the rest of the year. Tires and hotel rooms for add up and we want to keep our eye on the prize for Sprint Invaders points. We wish all of the drivers luck, especially our fellow Sprint Invaders competitors, at the 360 Nationals. We will be racing at Danville, Il on Saturday night August 8th. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:27:25 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1248841645 D&M Racing was unable to complete in this scheduled event due to a scheduling with the pit crew. Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:21:36 CDT http://www.mattharms53h.com 1248841296 D&M Racing raced with the Sprint Invaders at Quincy Raceway. We once again didn't get a very good draw for the heat race, but that was no problem for a good handling race car. We were able to come from 7th to 4th in the heat race starting us 11th in the A Main feature event. We were able to hang on to 12th after the checkered flag flew in 25 laps in a very stacked field of cars that were assembled in Quincy on Saturday night. We were proud to have a respectable run and hope to build on that to some even better finishes yet this year!<br><br>It was also very nice to have my girlfriend Kathie's family in attendance to see the race and visit that pits after the races! Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:28:01 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1247887681 D&M Racing was slated for a double header with the Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton IA, and Lee County Speedway in Donnellson IA on Thursday July 9th and Friday July 10th. <br><br>Thursday night we started the heat race 4th and slipped to 6th due to a mistake I made on the first corner of the first lap. After everybody got going everyone was pretty much going the same speed which wasn't inducive to passing. We would start the A main 20th and we managed to get by some guys for 15th. <br><br>On Friday night I felt we had a pretty good car. We had a rough draw, drawing the last row for the heat race starting 8th. We got by a two cars for 6th on a very heavy and wide open race track due to all of the rain Donnellson received. We started the feature 15th and had an outstanding car. By the time we got through turns 1 and 2 on the start of the race I had already passed 4 or 5 cars and was right on the rear bumper of the 3 guys in front of me. Unfortunately, two of those cars in front of me got together and I tried to clear them with no luck. I ended up clipping one of the cars slightly and tore up the front axle and pretty much every bolt on part on the left side of the car. I was pretty disappointed because like I said I had a rocket under me for the feature, and I didn't get a chance to prove it. We'll get the car fixed up and ready to roll for Sunday night at Quincy Raceway with the Sprint Invaders! Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:28:01 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1246418881 We ran with the Invaders at East Moline Raceway. Things started out kinda rough for us, the rear axle snapped in two in hot laps. I'm very thankful though that I was just starting to roll my foot into the gas pedal when it broke, and I was on the straightaway and not in the corner. That could've ended up in a nasty crash! We had the front row outside for the heat race, but we were unable to start the heat race due to changing rear ends, and fixing all the other things that got broken or bent when the axle broke. <br><br>Big thanks to Matt Rodgerson for the parts; Andy Huston (and Crew) for the help; and Jeff and Shawn for being the pit crew. 22 cars started the A main, and we started 21st. I raced my way up to 15th. Oh well, we'll keep plugging away like we always do and we'll get the results we're looking for. We're getting the car ready for the 1/2 mile West Liberty Raceway in Iowa on the 4th of July! Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:27:26 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1246418846 Spoon River Speedway is rained out. Event will be rescheduled. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:00:42 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com/photos.html 1245207642 We've posted some photos from the Illinois Sprint Week event at Spoon River Speedway. Thanks Jay. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:00:20 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1244851220 Wednesday June 10th, D&M Racing raced at Spoon River Speedway as part of the non-wing Illinois Sprint Week. There was tons of air present once again weather wise giving us a lean condition with the engine. This set us back in qualifying and in the heat race, starting us last in the 30 lap A main. We richened up the fuel mixture on the engine and had the chassis dialed in, and were able to climb up from 20th to 12th in the A main. A little bit better starting position and we could have really done something in the A main! We think we found something with the fuel setup on the engine, and we'll start the night off better next time! We hope to see you all again at Spoon River Speedway for the Midwest All Star Series race on Friday June 19th! Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:48:44 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1244544524 As part of Illinois Sprint Week, D&M Racing will be running at Spoon River Speedway on Wednesday June 10, 2009. <br><br>Other dates include:<br>June 9 Danville, IL<br>June 10 Spoon River Speedway in Canton, IL<br>June 11 Jacksonville, IL<br>June 12 Granite City, IL<br>June 13 Lincoln, IL<br>June 14 New Berlin, IL Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:47:09 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1244371629 We raced at 34 Raceway with the Sprint Invaders. We didn't draw very well for the heat race starting us in the last row on theoutside. We had the engine set a little lean giving us a little hesitation out of the corners. We finished 7th in the heat race starting us 19th in the A main. We had the lean condition fixed after some advice from Manny Rockhold and we were able to salvage a 13th place finish in the A main. <br><br>The second feature would be the 20 lap non-wing A main, which was the first non-wing race in Sprint Invaders history. We ran 3rd for quite a bit of the race, but after a caution flag, we slipped to 4th. We had a great time running with the wing off at Burlington, and our hats are off the Sprint Invaders and 34 Raceway for trying out such a great idea! We'll see ya this Wednesday, June 10th for some more non-wing action at Spoon River Speedway as part of the Illinois Sprint Week! Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:47:09 -0500 http://www.mattharms53h.com 1244371629 We raced at 34 Raceway with the Sprint Invaders. We didn't draw very well for the heat race starting us in the last row on theoutside. We had the engine set a little lean giving us a little hesitation out of the corners. We finished 7th in the heat race starting us 19th in the A main. We had the lean condition fixed after some advice from Manny Rockhold and we were able to salvage a 13th place finish in the A main. <br><br>The second feature would be the 20 lap non-wing A main, which was the first non-wing race in Sprint Invaders history. We ran 3rd for quite a bit of the race, but after a caution flag, we slipped to 4th. We had a great time running with the wing off at Burlington, and our hats are off the Sprint Invaders and 34 Raceway for trying out such a great idea! We'll see ya this Wednesday, June 10th for some more non-wing action at Spoon River Speedway as part of the Illinois Sprint Week!