Disaster Strikes for Halligan While Leading at Port Royal

Jeff Halligan and the Risser Motorsports team were back at Port Royal Speedway Saturday night to continue to dial their program in toward the next big date circled on their calendar, which was now only three weeks away.

The 55th Annual Tuscarora 50 is slated for September 10th and will boast a hefty purse, including $55,000 to the victor.  Saturday night was one of only a few opportunities to log laps and notes at ‘The Speed Palace’ before that event.

Jeff and the team have been very fast this season at Port Royal and have laid claim to two wins, but there is always room for improvement and more notes.  Along with a good run and hopefully another “W”, that was the goal this past weekend.

August 20:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

     [24 cars, Qualifying 1st Group 3, Heat 1st (4), A-main 20th (4)]

Saturday’s Open Wheel Madness III at Port Royal Speedway brought 24 teams to compete in a group time trial format show.

Jeff Halligan’s night got off on the right foot when he clocked in at 16.973, giving him quick time in his group over Logan Wagner by 0.040 seconds.

The fastest four cars in each group were inverted to set the lineups for each of the three heat races.  All cars would qualify from the 8-lap races, but only the top two finishers would be handicapped based on the season point standings to set the top six starting spots in the night’s finale.

Halligan wasted no time blasting his way to the front from his starting spot outside row two.  After grabbing the lead on the opening lap, the Ephrata, PA driver began to pad his lead while Logan Wagner moved into the runner-up spot on lap four.  Halligan went on to win by three seconds.

Halligan drew the number four pill for the 25-lap A-main and from the drop of the green appeared to be the favorite to take home the $5,000 winner’s check.  He sized up early leader Ryan Taylor for the first five laps, then began to challenge for the lead on lap six.

On lap seven, after trading sliders with Taylor, Halligan secured the lead and put some distance between himself and the field.  

Moments later, disaster struck.  As Halligan sailed through turn one approaching lapped traffic, a car spun in turn two and came to rest directly in the path of Halligan who was running the high line next to the wall.

The was no time to alter his course.  All Halligan could do was get out of the gas and try to squeeze between the spinning car and the wall.  Although he avoided a direct hit, there wasn’t quite enough room to get by unscathed.  The front axle and suspension of Halligan’s car took the brunt of the impact.  

The contact brought an end to Halligan’s bid for win number three on the season.  He was officially credited with 20th.

“We didn’t get the finish we should have but those things happen.  It’s part of racing.  The good news is we made the right adjustments and we were fast all night.“, Halligan said.

Up Next

This weekend Halligan will take on the All Star Circuit of Champions at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night and at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday night in the Risser Motorsports / TheTreeCenter.com / Victory Auto of Lewistown / EMM Sales & Service / Jake’s Golf Carts / Pine Hill Trailers / Keystone Ag Spraying, No.45.

“The Grove is a tough place to conquer.  We haven’t been consistent at either of the tracks we will race this weekend.  We need to reach the level of consistency at those places that we have found at Port (Royal).  Hopefully we can do well against the competitive fields we will face.“, Halligan commented.

“I am really looking forward to the Tuscarora 50, but right now our focus is on this week“.

Season Stats

33 races, 2 wins, 11 top 5’s, 17 top 10’s, 22 top 15’s