RPW Column: Shaking The Rust Off…Finally; Lebanon Valley Racers Hit The Clay For Practice

RPW Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – After a long wait, the high banks of the Lebanon Valley Speedway finally came alive this past Monday and Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the racing world in the northeast had come to a standstill until recently, and the Valley got things rolling with two separate test and tune days. Monday was for the full-fender cars and Tuesday was for the open-wheel machines.

The track took all the necessary precautions set forth by the state of New York and CDC guidelines, mandating face masks be worn at all times and also by enforcing social distancing.

The racing surface was in great shape. With it being the beginning of June, preparing the track was a lot easier than it is for normal practices in early April.

For LJ Lombardo, the practice session was worth the wait. His 2020 Valley ride, an all-new PMC Race Car, worked to perfection during the Tuesday test.

“This thing is freaking awesome,” Lombardo said. “We had a small vibration early on in the day, but we figured it out and then the car was phenomenal.”

What was the cause of the vibration? A right rear shock was loose.

“Yea, we found it,” he said shaking his head. “I am an idiot. I left the shock loose.”

Lombardo is one of several Modified drivers who are planning to head to Orange County this Saturday for their season opener. Brian Berger and it is believed that Kenny Tremont will also make the trip to the Hard Clay.

The maiden voyage in a Big Block Modified for 2019 Lebanon Valley Sportsman Champion John Virgilio, unfortunately, didn’t make it more than a handful of laps before the car came up slow and was done for the day.

While heading through turns three and four in the first session. The car lost power, but it ended up being a rear end issue in the Wayne Jelley-owned Teo Pro Car.

“It sucks, but I don’t think it’s hurt too bad so that’s good,” Virgilio said. “There wasn’t really any warning which leads me to think it’s not torn up inside too bad. I shut it down right when I felt things become bad.”

Virgilio and company will check things over in the shop and try to get it repaired for their next on-track activity, whenever that will be.

“I know something just didn’t feel right and there wasn’t a bunch of metal shavings when we pulled the rear cover,” he said. “Hopefully we just cooked the bearings or something.”
Virgilio also had his Sportsman car on track for a few laps and reports that he’s very happy with how it performed.

Another of the freshman Modified racers, Brett Haas, really enjoyed his time Tuesday. Was the day a success for him and his team?

“Well, it turned left, slowed down and throttled back up,” Haas said with a laugh. “With that, I would say absolutely.”

Haas had both his Petrucci-powered Big Block Bicknell as well as the same 358-Modified Bicknell he used to finish second in points last season in the pit area. Both cars worked very well for him, and he’s happy.

“The Modified and 358 were comparable handling wise to each other which I am happy about,” he said. “The Small Block is right about where it was last year so I think we will be in the ball park right out of the gate. We’ll know when we’re around other cars.

Speaking of being around other cars, Haas even got his first time racing wheel-to-wheel with a driver.

“It was fun racing with Mike King,” he said. “Now I can at least say I have made my first Big Block pass.”

One more driver who was happy to get the season going was Paul Gilardi. Unfortunately, it only lasted until the checkered flag flew on his first session.

The plate that holds the shifter on the transmission inside his Superior Seamless Gutters #87x snapped off, effectively ending his day.

“I knew I had a vibration, but I couldn’t pin-point it,” Gilardi said. “When I went to throw the thing out of gear after the checkered, I could see the shifter wasn’t in the right place.”

Rob Maxon took his #96 Sportsman machine around for several laps during the Tuesday session and reports he is very pleased with how everything went.

“The car felt really, really good and I’m happy,” Maxon said. “This is the same car we ran last year with a few upgrades.”

Maxon was also impressed with how well the track was on Tuesday.

“I though it was pretty good,” he said. “It was a little black in the center but it seemed to be good.”

Ryan Larkin was at the track on Tuesday, tooling around the speedway in a PMC Race Car he purchased over the off-season from the Scott Hamlin team. For Larkin, the test was a great way to knock the rust off, but he really couldn’t tell what type of car he has.

“It’s hard to say how it was with the track,” Larkin stated. “Our car is so-so I think, as we are learning more about the coil rear suspension. It takes a different driving style compared to the torsion bar rear set-up. It’s almost the complete opposite.”

Chris Lynch was having a great day with his family-owned #74 PMC Sportsman machine…that was, however, until the car met the turn three wall.

As he tried to enter the corner, the machine just didn’t turn and he made heavy contact.

“I had a bad fast car until a front end mechanical failure crashed us hard,” he said. “I’m quite sore but all smiles after having one of the fastest lap times of the day.”

Jason Meltz had his #51 Pro Stock at the Valley on Monday, making a few laps with it. Meltz reports that he will again follow the Pro Stock DIRTcar Series this season, but will change up his weekly program.

“We’re going to head to Albany-Saratoga on Friday night’s this year,” Meltz said. “We can’t do two nights a week and wanted to change things up a bit. We’ll still come to the Valley for some of the bigger races, but it won’ be every week.”

Another driver who was at practice was Anthony Markou who is still beaming ear-to-ear after his run at Super DIRT Week last year. Markou plans to run the full tour as well and will run Lebanon each week, but his eyes light up when he thinks about his run last year at the “Clay Palace.”

“That was a blast last year, it really was,” Markou said. “I made a big mistake spinning out while leading. I think we had the car that could have won the race, but that just makes me hungrier to try again next time.”