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Caution to the wind

Typically chassis adjustments before a 100 lap event are minor. A small change in stagger, maybe a half a turn on a spring or a quarter of an inch adjustment on a pan hard bar. In the case of Ray Parent and the Amtrol Racing Team Saturday night before round #4 of the American Canadian Tour it was the as they say, the kitchen sink.

Wholesale changes to the Amtrol, Hydrolevel Ford Fusion machine prior to the main event proved the right call as the 17RI brought home another top 5 finish after a hard fought 4th place.

One would think after setting fast time in the final practice session as Parent did that the outlook on the evenings events were good. Realizing he had a lighting fast car for only a few laps Ray new they had to make a change for the feature.

After a scouting a loaded heat race with a 7th place starting position Parent decided to leave the car that was so fast for a few laps in hopes of making progress to a good starting position. The plan payed off as he would grab a +2 and a 5th place finish.

As planned the Team proceeded to change everything... Both rear springs, front shocks, sway-bar, the pan hard bar and more. The crew chief by committee once again showed that anyone one of the guys helping make the calls could be a crew chief in their own right. "I'm so proud of these guys,"Ray stated. "We talked about what we thought we should do, the guys just went to work. I knew we needed to be better. Honestly before the feature i was just hoping to finish top 10."

Parent would roll from the 6th starting position and waste little time worrying about just finishing in the top 10. He latched onto the 27NH of fellow Welded Media driver Wayne Helliwell Jr. as they and leader Jimmy Hebert opened up more than a straightaway on the field. A lap 54 caution would draw Brian Hoar into the mix.

With all the players in the points standings at the front of the field the battle was on. As laps clicked off the war for 3rd position raged on. Parent taking over the position for a number of laps. With a few laps remaining Helliwell made a charge to the inside as the pair ran door to door over the last 5 laps. Parent would get edged out by just a bumpers width to take home a hard fought 4th place finish.

The finish marked the 4th top 10 of year for the Tiverton, TI pilot as he continues his strong start. "For the changes we made and to be that good you can't complain. I think anyone in the top 5 given the chance could have won that race. It was great to be racing up front with all those guys," Ray finished.

The series takes a week off before heading to unfamiliar grounds for the Amtrol Team; as round #5 at the high banks of Riverside Speedway in Northern New Hampshire will take place on June 2nd.

What: The ACT 150
Where: Riverside Speedway - Groveton, NH
When: Sunday June 2nd, 2013
Post Time: 1:00PM

Rayline Racing would like to thank our proud partners.: Amtrol • HydroLevel • Distinctive Auto Body • Phoenix Builders • Bayside Auto Center • Bobs Sea And Ski • Dan Davies Sales • Dominator Diesel • Five Star Bodies • Longacre Racing Products • Hedman Hedders • Ford Racing

Follow Ray:
https://www.facebook.com/Raylineracing

https://twitter.com/Ray_Parent

http://www.rayparent.com/

Follow Welded Media:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Welded-Media/436955476374206

https://twitter.com/WeldedMedia

Eric LaFleche / VLF Photo

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