Catchfence

DAWSONVILLE, GA (August 23, 2010) – Rising racing star Casey Roderick’s first start on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway can best be described as a tough session in the school of hard knocks.

The Lawrenceville, Ga., teenager started the weekend well, qualifying third for the Ansell Protective Gloves 150 ARCA race with a speed of 177.043 miles per hour and fastest overall in the last practice. Roderick entered the race fresh off his first career ARCA victory, at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Aug. 15, but his success on the road course didn’t carry over to the high-banked superspeedway.

At the green flag, he raced hard with the leaders but slipped back to the fifth position. By Lap Five Roderick still racing hard and decided to make it three wide with Chad McCumbee and Mike Kile when he slipped into the loose gravel causing Kile to turn into McCumbee on Lap Seven. Roderick and McCumbee both suffered severe damage to their cars and were retired for the race.

The hard hit from the wall likely wasn’t as tough on Roderick as having to face his car owners James Finch and Bill Elliott afterward. The two veteran racers informed Roderick of one of the basic facts of successful racing – races aren’t won in the opening laps and racing too hard early on usually means a driver won’t be around when it really counts.

Roderick said he got the message from his owners.

I think I was just being too aggressive too soon for the situation,” he said. “I had a free and fast car that needed to finish… “But I will learn from my mistake and apply that to the next race. These mile-an-a-half tracks are new to me, and it’s something that I’m going to have to learn and deal with.”

Patrick Sheltra scored the victory, his second straight on the ARCA circuit.

Roderick’s next ARCA start will again be with Phoenix Racing at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 30.

- Bill Elliott Racing Press Release