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Fire, Rain, and a Podium – Sticker Dude Motorsports at
Crandon’s Brush Run
June 23, 2008 (Lake Zurich) - Sticker Dude Motorsports was
looking to build on its results from the opening WSORR
rounds of racing in Wheatland. The drivers, Lee O’Donnell,
Luke Zoetmulder, and Steven Federico look to the June
Crandon race as a barometer for the rest of the season. What
the team didn’t know was how the weather barometer would
affect the team’s performance.
Saturday Round 3
PRO Super Buggy - #924 Luke Zoetmulder
The PRO Super Buggy race saw a great start by Luke
Zoetmulder in the #924 Invisible Glass Sticker Dude Designs
P.F. Changs Hankook Tire Toyota powered Probst Lazer. Luke
was having a great run when, on lap two; the buggy lost all
forward motion. The clutch has failed.
Later that afternoon, the crew went to work replacing the
clutch pressure plate as the high carbon iron ring cracked
into four pieces. The crew had the Super Buggy ready by
early evening.
 PRO-Light
- #24 Steven Federico
The PRO Light race saw Steven Federico and his #24 Invisible
Glass P.F. Changs Sticker Dude Designs Hankook Tire Toyota
Tacoma battle for the lead as the field headed out of Turn
One and down the front stretch. At that point, Steven tucked
in behind #4 Kincaid for the second position. Over the
radio, Steven mentions that the front of the truck is too
stiff. A few laps later, #9 Hord slipped passed Steven for
the second spot. The #24 Toyota Tacoma motored to a solid
third place podium finish.
Immediately after the race, Steven got car chief Chris
Hansen and former PRO-Light driver Mark Kreuger together to
discuss suspension changes. "I think we went too big on our
front springs. Every time I landed the front end of the
truck would bounce off the ground and trying to make the
turns was very difficult,” noted Steven Federico. ”We need
the chassis to work better with the great bite our Hankook
tires give us.”
PRO-Light - #23 Lee O’Donnell
Now the race was anything but uneventful for teammate Lee
O’Donnell. The start saw Lee take a conservative approach
through Turn One. This put the #23 Hankook Tires Invisible
Glass P.F. Changs Sticker Dude Designs Toyota Tacoma, in
sixth place battling #30 Oberg. The two traded paint several
times before Lee was able to get around Oberg. Then just
past the halfway point of the race, as the #23 Toyota
entered the Gravel Pit, a fire broke out on the truck.
Quickly Lee stopped the race truck in front of the nearest
safety workers and bailed out of the truck. Fortunately Lee
was unharmed. The safety workers quickly extinguished the
flames and saved the truck from serious damage.
Overnight the entire Sticker Dude crew went to work on Lee’s
Toyota. The fire was caused by a failed fuel line. The truck
got cleaned up and they replaced fuel lines and most of the
electrical wiring as the damage was not as much as first
thought.
At the same time Chris Hansen and Mark Krueger changed the
valving in the front of #24 truck looking to get the truck
to handle the high speed jumps better.
The Sunday morning practice sessions went off with out a
hitch as all three drivers were happy with the setups on all
three vehicles.
Light intermittent rain showers passed through the area much
of the afternoon. By the time the PRO-Light Round lined up
the track was beginning to get muddy in some spots.
 Round
Four
PRO-Light #24 Steven Federico
The land rush start saw Steven try to take an easier launch
off the line, due to the rain, but the engine died, putting
him back in the pack as the field approached the first
corner. By the time the field came around for the second
time, the #24 Invisible Glass P.F. Changs Sticker Dude
Designs Hankook Tire Toyota Tacoma was really hustling
through traffic and quickly moved into fourth place. The top
four racers didn’t change the final eight laps. Officially
Steven crossed the finish in fourth place.
“Today I tried something different to get our Toyota Tacoma
a better launch off the line. The wet conditions made the
start very tricky. Unfortunately my starting technique put
me last coming out of Turn One. Our Invisible Glass P.F.
Changs Sticker Dude Designs Hankook Tire Toyota Tacoma ran
really great this weekend. No major issues. The Hankook
DynaPro MT tires performed flawlessly no matter the track
conditions. Thanks to Mark Krueger for spotting, and my crew
for giving me a great ride this weekend. The Racing Optics
tear offs are a real advantage when the track conditions get
like they did today.”
PRO-Light #23 Lee O’Donnell
When Lee returned to the track for practice, everyone in the
pits were amazed. When the track announcer stated his name
during race introductions, the 12,000 spectators gave a loud
cheer. The truck looked like it was ready for the first race
of the season.
Lee, like his teammate, was cautious coming into Turn One.
The race line Lee took seemed to be looser and wetter than
other areas. Quickly Lee went through several tear offs.
Then on the second lap, as he was reaching for the next
visor tear off, the complete stack came off. Visibility
immediately became a concern for #23 Hankook Tires Invisible
Glass P.F. Changs Sticker Dude Designs Toyota Tacoma. As the
race went on, the rain continued to fall. Now Lee had to
lift his visor to see the track. It slowed his pace greatly.
At the finish he crossed the line in eighth place.
“To go out and compete today says a lot about our team,”
states Lee O’Donnell. “Before the truck got back to the
hauler, Chris Hansen had fuel line, electrical wiring, and
tools all ready to get the Hankook Tire Toyota back on the
track. The Crandon safety crew was right there and put the
fire out quick. Today the truck ran great, I just couldn’t
see. I was right behind someone the whole time, and the mud
and rocks kept me from getting around people. I’m just glad
we came out Saturday’s fire fine and the truck is still in
good shape.”
PRO Super Buggy - #924 Luke Zoetmulder
By the time the Super Buggies made it to the starting grid.
The rain was coming down hard. The track was soup and
visibility was almost zero. Regardless the show went on.
This round Luke found himself in the back row of the grid
due Saturday’s clutch failure. This made visibility matters
worse, as a half dozen buggies would be roosting mud on the
second row when the green flag waved. Luke and Invisible
Glass Sticker Dude Designs P.F. Changs Hankook Tire Toyota
powered Probst Lazer toured the track the best he could.
This included a couple stops to try to improve his line of
sight. At finish, he was awarded tenth place.
“This was a tough weekend for us,” commented Luke Zoetmulder.
“The pressure plate cracking and then fighting the track
conditions today. I’m glad the weekend is over. We will get
the Super Buggy back home clean it thoroughly, looking for
any kind of wear and tear. When this Crandon dirt gets
really wet it seem to get everywhere and wear things out.
Like my teammates notes, the Hankook DynaPro MT tires are
awesome. Lastly, I would like to thank the entire crew for
all the hard work this weekend. Everyone worked tirelessly
to get Lee back on the track. All of us had issues and we
got through them. I would also like to personally thank
Harold and Scotty at Furo Racecraft for all the hard work.”
Sticker Dude Motorsports Championship Points Standings
WSORR PRO-Light
#24 Steven Federico – 4th
#23 Lee O’Donnell - 6th (2nd – 6th place is only separated
by nine points!)
WSORR PRO Super Buggy
#924 Luke Zoetmulder – 11th
Next Race: July 12-13, WSORR Rounds 5 & 6 Island Casino/Boss
Snow Plow UP Off-Road 100, Bark River, Michigan
For more information about Sticker Dude Motorsports and its
supporters visit:
Invisible Glass – www.invisibleglass.com
PF Changs - www.pfchangs.com
Hankook Tire - www.hankooktireusa.com
Team Sticker Dude – www.stickerdudems.com
Toyota – www.toyota.com
Q Racing Oil – www.qpower.com
United Trailers – www.united-trailers.com
TRD – www.trdusa.com
American Racing – www.americanracing.com
Lost Dunes Golf Club – www.lostdunes.com
RH2 – www.rh2.com
Autometer – www.autometer.com
Edge Cameras – www.edgecameras.com
F.A.S.T. – www.fasthelmets.com
Phil’s Inc. – www.philsinc.com
Mechanix Wear – www.mechanixwear.com
Racing Optics – www.racingoptics.com
Gatorade – www.gatorade.com
-Mike Reusche, marketing, MT Graphics
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