July 18, 2008

Engine woes slow the #2 in consecutive weeks

Late June and early July have brought a few hard weeks to the MAC Motorsports team and its driver Mike McCollum.  On June 27th, the night ended early when the #2 was retired from the heat race with broken rocker studs.

The MAC Motorsports crew fixed the car and driver Mike McCollum was back at it on July 4th.  He had a strong top ten start in the feature after winning his heat race and was running 7th until he was shoved up the track by the #51 car.  

Restarting at the end of the field, McCollum was mired back in traffic and was not able to make any forward progress when he blew a head gasket with 2 laps to go.

MAC Motorsports took July 11th off as the engine went to Jensen Engine Technologies in Nescopeck, PA for cylinder head work.  Mike McCollum couldn't stay away long as he was at the track on Friday  to help pit the 39x of Scott Frack.

McCollum looks forward to being back on track again on July 25th when the modifieds return to Penn Can Speedway.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 21, 2008

Bad luck takes over the #2 on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th proved to be as unlucky as expected for the #2 MAC Motorsports team.  Excited to be coming off of 3 strong finishes at Penn Can Speedway, Mike McCollum took to the track and held his own in his heat race against some tough competitors until he was run up the track by the #145 causing him to fall out of a qualifying position.

In the consolation race, McCollum drove the #2 Modified quickly to the lead and won the race, proving how strong the small block could be.  With a rear of the pack starting position, McCollum started to fight through traffic when he got involved in an on track incident.  No significant damage occurred to the #2, though, and he resumed the race at the rear of the field.

On Lap 18, McCollum went high in turn 1 to avoid a collection of cars but that proved to be the wrong line as the group of cars drifted up the track and with nowhere to go the #2 found itself in the outside wall.

Suffering moderate front end damage, McCollum took the car to the pits where he retired for the night with a 19th finishing position.  The MAC Motorsports team worked all week to repair the front end damage and was ready to race on June 20th only to be denied by mother nature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 8, 2008

Consistency is Key for McCollum 

The MAC Motorsports team has gained momentum over the past two weeks of racing.  Driver Mike McCollum wheeled the #2 to a strong 9th place finish in the STAR series race while battling with Modified legend Frank Cozze for position at Penn Can Speedway on May 30th.

Coming off of his first top 10 finish of the season, McCollum was eager to return to racing on June 6th at Penn Can with two Modified features to run.  In the first feature, McCollum started in the 16th position and was able to hold his position to finish 14th despite a lack of gear given the track conditions.  

As the evening wore on, the MAC Motorsports team hustled to make adjustments to the #2 Modified in preparation for the heat races.  McCollum started 3rd in his heat and quickly drove to the lead which he held throughout the 8 lap shootout.  Winning his heat race allowed him a handicapped position in the night's second feature where he started in 4th position.

The end of the second feature saw McCollum finishing a strong 7th despite battling a loose condition and a last lap tangle caused by aggressive driving from the 15 car.  McCollum brought the #2 Modified to the trailer in one piece with little more than a flat left rear tire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 24, 2008

Rain & Rough Riding: Recipe for a Long Night

After three rained out weeks in a row of racing at Penn Can Speedway, the #2 MAC Motorsports Modified was back on the track on Friday, May 23rd.  

And back on the track is where driver Mike McCollum found himself all night long.  After finishing on track in 5th position in the fourth heat race, McCollum was penalized one position for apparent rough riding in an incident with the #24.  This put him one out of qualifying and sent the #2 to the second modified consolation race.  The car lost its handling in the consi and McCollum finished 4th, two out of qualifying for the feature.

With one last shot at getting in the show, the #2 Modified started on the outside pole of the modified B Main and drove to the win to get the last qualifying position for the feature event.  The rain showers then found their way to the hills of Susquehanna and caused a significant rain delay at the track.

Starting 27th in the feature, Mike McCollum drove a smart, calculated race to avoid multiple incidents that occurred on the sloppy track.  As the track dried out, the #2 Modified improved in its handling and was able to pass enough cars to finish a strong 18th on a long night where racing in the feature seemed out of reach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April 26, 2008

14th in Penn Can Opener for McCollum 

Driver Mike McCollum wheeled the #2 358 Modified to a 14th place finish in the season opener at Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna, PA.  

After a strong 4th place finish in his heat race on a night which saw 37 cars attempting to qualify, Mike reported a loose condition and made adjustments to the 04 Teo Pro Car.

Starting 16th in his first Modified feature at Penn Can since 2005, McCollum was tracking steadily in traffic until a right front brake line gave way.  The MAC Motorsports #2 finished the race while fighting the loose condition and limited stopping power caused by the part failure.

The season is off to a strong start for Mike McCollum as he looks forward to running a full schedule at Penn Can Speedway in 2008.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March, 2008

Wheels in Motion for 2008 Season

As winter rolls on in Northeastern Pennsylvania, MAC Motorsports is rolling to in its preparation for the 2008 season.  Coming off of a short season in 2007, driver Mike McCollum has a renewed focus on racing and preparing the car to be competitive in the Southern Tier in 2008.

The 2007 season had its ups and downs for the MAC Motorsports team, which included some early season strong finishes and late season recurring mechanical problems.  The season was cut short by owner and driver Mike McCollum in August as he prepared to marry his "jackgirl" Amanda.  The two were married on October 14th, 2007 and recently enjoyed a delayed honeymoon to The Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma in January.

With a focus now solely on racing, the MAC Motorsports team has invested much time and money into equipment upgrades.  These include a new front end, new ignition system and a new fuel system.  A new sponsor is also on board this year, McCollum Paintless Dent Repair.  

Mike McCollum is awaiting the completion of the 2008 schedules for the Southern Tier tracks and will post his plans as soon as they become available.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August, 2007

MAC Motorsports calls it a season

For 2 consecutive weeks ignition problems have kept the MAC Motorsports #2 out of the Modified feature at Five Mile Point Speedway.  On August 4th, driver Mike McCollum experienced problems keeping the #2 running during idling for several laps prior to the feature.  As a result, the #2 did not start the race.  

After a week of intensive maintenance on the car to correct the problem, the #2 was back and ready to race on Saturday, August 11th.  The car fired and had intermittent problems staying running during hot laps.   

Prior to the heat race, the MAC Motorsports team checked the ignition system again and seemingly corrected the problem.  However, while in line to start on pole for his heat race, Mike McCollum had the #2 shut off and would not re-fire.  In the pits for the rest of the evening, the MAC Motorsports team worked feverishly to try 2 new ignition systems but to no avail.  The #2 would not re-fire and was loaded up. 

MAC Motorsports would like to thank the race teams of Jesse Kline, Eric Palmer, Barry White and Brian Malcolm for their assistance at the track to try to get the #2 running.

As a result of the unknown engine problems, MAC Motorsports owner and driver Mike McCollum has decided to park the #2 Modified for the remainder of the season and focus on his upcoming wedding this October.  Mike would like to thank all of his sponsors for their support this year and looks forward to getting back on track in the 2008 season.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 14, 2007

MAC Motorsports Back In Action 

The MAC Motorsports #2 Modified was back in action Saturday night at Five Mile Point Speedway after 3 weeks off from racing.  Starting deep in the field for the heat race, Driver Mike McCollum finished 1 out of a qualifying position.

After a quick turnaround to make adjustments, the #2 was back on the track for the Modified consolation race, where Mike McCollum was passing for the lead when the race was ended and the drivers were informed that all modifieds were going to race the feature.

During the feature event, Mike McCollum was racing through the back of the pack when he was spun by the #77 car.  The victim of a bumper to bumper head on impact, the #2 car's front end was damaged and the car was ill handling as a result.  Mike McCollum was able to maintain his position and ended up with an 18th place finish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 17, 2007

MAC Motorsports In The Community 

The MAC Motorsports #2 Modified was on display recently at  Edw. J. Schwarz Buick, Pontiac, GMC in Honesdale, PA as part of the Car Seat Safety Checkup hosted by the dealership and was also on display at the recent KidsFest at the Wayne County Fairgrounds.

Schwarz Buick, a long time sponsor of MAC Motorsports, is located on Willow Avenue in Honesdale.  The #2 was joined by the #7J and #7JR 358 Modifieds of Corcoran Motorsports and the go-cart of 2006 Hamlin Speedway champion Kody Welsh at the event.

The #2 Modified was on the track at Five Mile Point Speedway this past Saturday, June 10th.  A good run in the heat race was cut short by a motor problem which saw the #2 at the back of the pack.  With the problem resolved for the feature, the #2 started near the rear of the field and due to a loose handling condition and bent front end as a result of being spun in turn 1 was not able to move up through the field.

Driver Mike McCollum kept the car clean through multiple incidents which took out several cars and finished in 16th position.  The MAC Motorsports team will be taking 3 weeks off and is planning on returning to racing action on July 14th at Five Mile Point Speedway. 

In other MAC Motorsports news, Doug from Doug's Dirt Diary interviewed Mike McCollum in the pits at Thunder Mountain.  Click here to listen to the interview!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 10, 2007

In racing news, the #2 was in action at Five Mile Point this past Saturday.  A flat right rear tire in the heat race kept Mike McCollum out of a qualifying position and an incident in the Modified Consolation forced him to be disqualified for the night.  MAC Motorsports will be on the track again this Saturday, June 16th and hopes to find some luck and patience at The Point.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 3, 2007

Top 10 first time out at the Point

MAC Motorsports took the #2 Modified to Five Mile Point Speedway this Saturday night for a full, rain filled night of racing.  Driver Mike McCollum was searching for success at a new track for this season after the removal of the Modified division from the weekly schedule at Thunder Mountain Speedway, where he started the season.

The #2 started the heat race near the rear of the pack and finished just out of a qualifying spot but due to car count, all competitors made the show. A strong thunderstorm hit the speedway just after the Modified heats, causing a 2 hour delay in the racing program.  Upon return to racing, Mike McCollum started 20th in the Modified feature.

The #2 Modified was on the move through the pack when a flat right front tire on lap 13 sent the car to the pits.  Due to quick pit work by the MAC Motorsports and Hilfiger Motorsports crews, the #2 returned to the track without losing a lap in 17th position.

Driver Mike McCollum drove hard through the field which was slowed several times due to cautions and posted a strong 8th place finish.  The #2 will be in action at Five Mile Point next Saturday, June 9th to continue to build momentum for the remainder of the 2007 season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 28, 2007 - 

#2 posts 11th place finish in final night

Competition was short lived at Thunder Mountain Speedway for the #2 Modified of MAC Motorsports.  Due to reported inability to meet the purse requirements on a weekly basis, track promoter Dick Stark announced removal of the Modified Division from the weekly schedule.

The action comes after a week of speculation since the announcement of an initial purse cut for the May 26th races.  The #2 Modified competed on the last night despite the purse cut and posted an 11th place finish after fighting handling conditions all night.

Now it is on to Five Mile Point Speedway in Kirkwood, NY where the MAC Motorsports team hopes to finish out the season even though it is well out of points contention.  Driver Mike McCollum is optimistic for success at the Point for the rest of the 2007 season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 6, 2007 - 

Season Off To A Strong Start

Driver Mike McCollum drove the MAC Motorsports #2 Modified to a 4th place finish in the 30-lap feature event Saturday night at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle, NY.  

The car performed well in the heat race and finished in 2nd which qualified for redraw for starting positions.  Mike drew 5th place which positioned him well for the start.  

In a caution filled feature race, the #2 Modified ran as low as 7th and as high as 2nd.  After an extended red flag period, the handling faded as the last 10 laps wound down.  Mike battled the loose condition and posted a strong finish of 4th place.