Tyler Hudson Racing spent Friday and Saturday at Pine Ridge Speedway for the 604 Battle @ The Ridge, with Saturday's program also serving as an MS Crate Late Model Series event.
The weekend was a mix of encouraging speed and frustrating results. The team continued working with a specific right-rear setup direction that has been part of the development program, but after another weekend of learning, the plan may be to step back from that approach and return to a more familiar baseline for the remainder of the season.
Friday: Moving Forward in Traffic
Friday's 17-car program started with an eighth-place qualifying effort. Hudson started third in Heat 2 and finished fourth, putting the No. 01 11th on the grid for the 20-lap feature.
The feature was busy from start to finish. Pine Ridge produced a very raceable surface, but with cars running side by side and nose to tail throughout the field, completing passes took patience. Hudson steadily worked forward from 11th to seventh by the checkered flag.
Saturday: Speed Early, Damage Late
Saturday opened with the No. 01 third quickest in hot laps. Hudson was the first car to take time in qualifying, and the track continued to gain speed as more cars made their runs. The early draw left the team eighth on the qualifying sheet with a 14.773 lap.
Hudson started and finished fourth in Heat 2, then lined up 14th for the 30-lap MS Crate Late Model Series feature. An incident near the front collected several cars in the middle of the field, including the No. 01. The team was able to continue, but the damage left Hudson managing the car to the finish in 12th.
The results were not what the team wanted, but both nights added more information to the notebook. With the season moving into its next stretch, the focus is on simplifying the package, getting back to what has worked well before and turning the speed shown in pieces of the weekend into complete race nights.
Tyler Hudson Racing thanks iRacing.com and Vortex Bodies and Fabrication for their continued support.