Jeff Halligan and Risser Motorsports Build Notebook vs. Outlaws

Racing more, regardless of where, helps teams learn what their equipment needs to be at its best.  For Risser Motorsports in 2022 though, it’s been difficult to race as much as they want to.  Things like tire availability and delays in obtaining parts, have forced Jeff Halligan and his team to limit the number of nights the team races.  Their primary focus has been Port Royal Speedway.

An off weekend from their weekly home at ‘The Speed Palace’ provided Halligan and team with the opportunity to make their first trip of the season to Lincoln Speedway, as well as a return trip to Williams Grove Speedway.  They would face the always tough World of Outlaws at both events, but to improve, you have to race.

May 11:  Gettysburg Clash / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA

     (55 cars, Qualifying 11th, Heat 9th, B-main 15th)

A stout field of 55 teams signed in at Lincoln Speedway to compete with the World of Outlaw sprint car series in the Gettysburg Clash.  The lucrative show has consistently drawn a high quality field in recent years in pursuit of the $10,000 winner’s share and minimum $1,000 to make the field.

Jeff Halligan got his night off to a respectable start during Flight A qualifying, timing 11th quickest in the Risser Motorsports / TheTreeCenter.com / Victory Auto of Lewistown / EMM Sales & Service / Jake’s Golf Carts, No.45.

The solid qualifying effort provided Halligan with the 6th starting spot in the first 8-lap heat race.  With the top five finishers slated to transfer directly to the A-main, he was certainly within striking distance.  Unfortunately, Halligan fought an ill-handling car in the dirty air and slid backwards to a 9th place finish.

The heat race finish led to a 13th starting spot in the 12-lap B-main.  Reaching a top four finishing spot to transfer to the night’s finale proved to be a tall order.  Halligan was credited with 15th in the event.

May 14:  Morgan Cup / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA

     (41 cars, Qualifying 19th, Heat 9th, B-main 10th)

Saturday night a slightly smaller but still deep field of 41 cars registered for a shot at the $17,000 winner’s take.

Halligan’s qualifying laps resulted in an uncharacteristically poor result, landing the team 19th out of 20 in Flight 2 and leaving them with a deep hole to climb out of.

The good news is, team would later find an issue that explained the result.  For now, though, they would have to play with the hand they were dealt.  Transferring to the A-main from his heat race was probably unlikely against the level of competition present.  Recovering would require Halligan to, at a minimum, make significant forward progress from his 10th starting spot in the heat.  Doing so would put him within striking distance of a transfer spot later in the B-main.

Halligan was only able to get to 9th in the heat race, handing him a 14th starting spot in the 12-lap B-main.  The team’s night-long battle with gremlins was ongoing.  They were prepared to load and call it a night when a last ditch idea gave them reason to soldier on.

While a 10th place finish in the B-main still brought an end to their night, the victory was in discovering they had identified the cause of their issue.   

“I finally felt really good there at the end of our night.  In the end, it was a productive night.  It’s tough to feel that way sometimes when you don’t get the finish you know you’re capable of, but this is exactly why we need to race more.  You can’t solve problems or get better sitting at home.“, Halligan shared.

“Given we haven’t raced much at Lincoln or The Grove this year, we knew we might take our lumps coming out here against the Outlaws, but you need to measure yourself sometimes.  Our goal was just to make both shows.  Obviously, we fell short, but we’re better off being out here and working to get better.  Our focus is on our car and getting balance in it.  Racing here can even help us back at Port (Royal).”, he concluded.

Up Next

Halligan and the Risser Motorsports team are set to tackle their first three-race weekend of the 2022 season.  The weekend will kick off Friday night May 20th at Williams Grove Speedway with the Yellow Breeches 500 event, paying $500 to start and $5,000 to the winner.

Saturday they will return to Port Royal Speedway, where Halligan currently sits 4th in the championship point standings, just 25 points out of 2nd.  Saturday’s race will also award $5,000 to the winner.

Tentatively, the weekend will wrap up Sunday with Jeff’s first 410 sprint car start at Path Valley Speedway.   The only appearance of the year at the quarter-mile track will provide the third opportunity of the weekend for the victor to claim $5,000.

Season Stats

10 races, 0 wins, 3 top 5’s, 6 top 10’s