Tag Archive for: #teamzero

Feathers headed north on Friday for the $8,333-to-win Butch Renninger Memorial at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania which had been rescheduled from the previous Saturday due to heavy rains.

In recent years, Feathers had finished second in the event on two occasions and was looking to finally better that and finally break into victory lane at ‘The Speed Palace’ in 2024.

A qualifying lap of 18.282 was good enough to rank Feathers 2nd in group one and give him the pole of his heat race.  He went on to lead every lap of the heat race, winning by 2.087 seconds over Mason Zeigler.

Friday’s feature lineup used a handicapping format for the top two finishers of each heat race.  Despite his qualifying effort and heat race win,  because he had missed the most recent point race at the speedway, Feathers had to line up 7th for the 33-lap main event.

“Our car was really good but during the caution my left rear tire sealed over and I started dropping like a rock.  Before that, I felt like I had a top-five car, maybe a podium if everything went our way.”, Feathers said.  “It got to a point where it made more sense just to drop out rather than waste more fuel and tires.”

Feathers didn’t waste any time showing he was ready to go after the trophy Saturday night.  He set quick time in his group with a 15.164-second trip around the 3/8-oval.  

He kept the momentum rolling in his heat race.  Starting from the pole, he took command from the drop of the green and never looked back, building a 5.5-second advantage by the end of the 10-lap qualifying event.

A “Climb to the Pole” event for the super late models pitted the top six qualifiers against each other, two at a time for two laps.  If a driver could continue to advance and win the final segment, they would earn the pole for the main event.  Feathers came away with the 3rd starting spot for the 40-lap finale.

Feathers claimed 2nd by lap two and went to work on cutting into the one-second lead Keith Jackson had quickly established.  By lap six he had reeled in the leader and was all over his rear bumper.

On lap nine the Winchester, VA native powered his way into the lead.  Feathers probably has more career laps at Winchester Speedway than anywhere, so he knew he couldn’t let up.  Things can change quickly.  When the checkered flag waived on the race, he crossed the line with a 3.425-second advantage.

“It’s good to finally get to victory lane this year, especially in a Team Zero Race Car the day after we lost Scott.”, Feathers commented, referring to the death of dirt late model hall of fame driver and legend in the sport, Scott Bloomquist, who died the day before in a plane crash on the Bloomquist family farm in Tennessee.

For those unfamiliar, Team Zero Race Cars is a Dirt Late Model chassis manufacturer owned by Bloomquist.

“Scott was a great racer but an even better person.  We were lucky enough to spend some time with him.  I wish everyone would have had the opportunity we did.  You come away with a different perspective on life.  We will miss him greatly.  The sport will miss him greatly.”

Feathers said he knew he had a really good car by lap three.  His No.27 would turn left off the cushion extremely well, giving him a good run off the corners.

“It means a lot to be the first four-time winner of this event.  I’ve known David Stultz my whole life.  My dad’s uncle raced one of his cars a while back.”

Feather’s father, Bo, has also won the event twice, which has been around since the 1980s.

“It’s been a tough year for us.  We have run well, led several races, but seem to have something happen that keeps us from finishing up front in the money.  I kept wondering what was going to happen this time.  Last week we finished second but then found oil pump issues after we got home, so it’s been an expensive year.  We’ve been running American Racer tires all year and that has helped save us enough money to be able to be here tonight.”

Feathers set the tone early by ripping off the quickest lap in Group A qualifying with an 18.511 second trip around the half-mile.  It was good enough to place him fastest overall as well.

Dylan Yoder pressured Feathers for the lead during the opening laps of the heat race.  He survived the battle and eventually pulled away by a few car lengths for the win.

From the pole position, Feathers took command of the race at the drop of the green.  On lap six Mason Zeigler wrestled the lead away on lap six but it was short lived when his No.25z suffered a flat tire on lap eight.

With the lead back in hand, Feathers made sure to distance himself enough to prevent any further challenges.  He pulled away and appeared well on his way to victory in the first of the two 20-lap features that make up the Frank Sagi Tribute race.

With just under four laps remaining that all changed quickly.  The drive shaft on Feather’s machine broke in turn three, ending his race.  The failure caused enough collateral damage the Winchester, VA resident was not able to make repairs to return for the second feature either.

“First off I’d like to say thank you to Alan Sagi for everything he does for racing in general but also for the Frank Sagi tribute race. He does so much for the event and for racing in our area. Since 2017 that event is special and will continue to be special. Very thankful for him and including me in with the Tuesday test session with Danny Dietrich.  For me it was an awesome experience to be a part of.”, Feathers said.

“We had a really good Shane McDowell Racing, Team Zero Bloomquist car and we were putting a night together that we haven’t been able to in a while. To be able to make Jeremy Miller smile with the car made the night completely worth it.  Also, thanks to every person that keeps our team going, we will keep chugging along and wait for our luck to get a little better.”

Veteran racers know what this sport is like.  There are highs and lows and Feathers knows how to navigate them.  If he keeps running like this, the wins will come again, probably in bunches.

“Too dumb to quit…that’s what it boils down to I guess.”, Feathers said with a laugh.

Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway heat lineups were set by random draw.  Feathers took the green for heat three from the 6th spot but wasted no time blasting to the front.  By the end of lap one, he was already in the runner-up spot and the next time by the line he was in command by nearly a full second.

Feathers went on to another convincing heat race win by 4.369 over Andrew Yoder.

With the feature lineup set by the handicap format, Feathers was assigned the 9th starting spot, essentially erasing his hard work in the heat race.  Forward progress was challenging for almost everyone inside the top ten during the 25-lap feature.  

Feathers was mired in the 9th spot for most of the event, then leveraged a late restart with five laps remaining to pick up one spot for an 8th-place finish.  

“We know the format deal but it’s still frustrating to have to start 9th behind cars we passed in the heat.”, Feathers commented.  

“The competition is so close, it’s tough to pass guys once let alone twice.  We just weren’t good enough tonight to overcome all the dirty air and a surface that was really tough to pass on.”