ANDERSON, Ind. — Audio and story by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Chris Seelman photo —
Former USAC Triple Crown champion Jerry Coons Jr. took the Gene Nolen-owned No. 3 to the top of the practice charts on Tuesday at Anderson Speedway, leading the way in a three-hour open session that allowed 32 teams a first look at the high-banked quarter-mile before Saturday’s 68th running of the Pay Less Little 500.
Coons clocked a lap of 11.509 seconds (78.200 mph) around the historic facility, besting two-time pole winner and five-time event champion Dave Steele by .017 of a second in the heat of the day. The quick time came on his 27th of 32 laps during the day, and he ended the afternoon atop the scoring sheets despite issues getting the car to fire that kept him off-track for much of the day.
“We’ve got the same setup as we’ve brought here the last two years,” said Coons, who will attempt to qualify for his third Little 500 on Thursday. “We really haven’t changed much. This is a different car than I had here last year — we blew an O-Ring in the oil filter and backed that one into the fence pretty hard — but this was another car that Gene had that he put together.”
“Different car, same setup … and it looks to be good so far. It was pretty quick right out of the box, and I’m really happy with it. We made a few minor changes with some things that Advanced Racing Suspensions brought to the track, but the last few years we haven’t changed much and it’s been really good for us in the race as well. Just nice to not be scratching our heads (wondering what we need) right not, and we can just focus on what we’re doing and hopefully not have to work so hard to stay in the mix.”
(Chris Seelman photo)
Steele’s time of 11.526 seconds (78.084 mph) left him second on the board at the end of the day, and he said that strength early is a good sign for his team, though it doesn’t necessarily mean a driver will be fast at the end of 500 laps on Saturday.
“I wouldn’t say that we found something we necessarily liked, but we’re in the ballpark,” Steele said. “The good thing is we’ve got a full day of practice tomorrow and a few more hours on Thursday, so we’ve got some time to keep tweaking. That’s the goal right now, because you want to get your car working good for both qualifying and the race. It’s two different preparations, and they don’t always work hand-in-hand, but we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing and see what we can get out of it.”
Former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and defending Little 500 polesitter Bobby Santos III took the Dick Fieler Racing No. 22A to third on the board, running a best time of 11.570 seconds (77.787 mph) on his second run of the day, while two-time polesitter Aaron Pierce ended up fourth (11.622/77.439) after leading practice for the majority of the day.
Defending race winner Chris Windom was fifth-fastest in the Goacher Racing No. 5G, followed by Caleb Armstrong, Billy Wease, Brian Tyler, Donnie Adams Jr. and Coons’ Nolen Racing teammate Shane Hollingsworth.
Practice resumes ahead of the 68th Running of the Pay Less Little 500 at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
RESULTS: 68th Annual Pay Less Little 500; Open Practice; Anderson Speedway; May 24, 2016
- Jerry Coons Jr.
- Dave Steele
- Bobby Santos III
- Aaron Pierce
- Chris Windom
- Caleb Armstrong
- Billy Wease
- Brian Tyler
- Donnie Adams Jr.
- Shane Hollingsworth
- Shane Cottle
- Kyle Hamilton
- Doug Dietsch
- Ryan Litt
- Jimmy McCune
- Tony Main
- Brian Gerster
- Grant Galloway
- Joe Swanson
- Tanner Swanson
- Travis Welpott
- Russ Gamester
- Mickey Kempgens
- Shane Butler
- Troy Thompson
- Jim Sheets
- Brad Wyatt
- Jeff Bloom
- Brian Vaughn
- Scotty Hampton
- Tom Paterson
- Davey Hamilton Jr.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
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