Ready to race with the big boys
Michael Neary moving up a class at Eastbound after getting a preview of what to expect down south
Spring is a harbinger of hope for those looking to escape winter doldrums.
Spring couldn’t come fast enough for Michael Neary, who is preparing for his move up to the Legends series at Eastbound International Speedway in Avondale.
The 16-year-old from Portugal Cove-st. Philips made his debut in the Legends series at the INEX Winter Nationals last month in Inverness, Fla., and he hopes that experience will help translate into great season for him at Eastbound.
One of the lessons that was reinforced down south was that in Legends cars, sometimes you have to slow down in order to be fast.
“It was a new experience for me, especially having to check up (brake) in the corners,’’ said Neary, who raced in the Bandolero class in 2017. “You are hard on the gas all the way around and then you have to stomp on the brakes as hard as you can into the corners.”
In order to get it right, he had to be back on the gas earlier which would have helped him come off the corners better, and faster.
“I think I will be better than I was in the Bandolero, as the Legends car fits my style of driving. I just need to get some more seat time and practice in the car,’’ he said.
His first few days in Florida saw Neary simply working at getting in and out of his pit stall without stalling since he was driving a standard shift car for the first time.
As for actual racing, it took him an extra day to get into
the car due to rain, but showed steady improvement throughout the week,
He ran in the B Main event and finished eighth, one place out of the transfer spot to the final later in the day.
The next day, he ran in the A Main event and was close to last as he fell back and couldn’t make up any ground as 25 green-flag laps keeping the field spread out.
By the third day, he started to round into form on the 1/3rd mile oval track and made it into both A main races, although the first was cut short by a broken drive shaft.
In the second, he s t arted slowly, but built momentum. He would finish 20th, but his in-race improvement was such that by the late stages, he was running lap times less two-10 of a second slower than the leaders.
On the fourth day, he had plenty of friends and family at the track to watch him race, but things didn’t turn out as they — or he — had hoped.
“I was running around 23rd when I made the wrong decision that cost me,” he said.
“I should have gone to the outside line. I stayed on the inside and that didn’t work out for me as a lot of others did the same thing, thinking there was no grip on the outside,” noting one of the competitors had blown an engine and laid down some fluids on that part of the track.
This was the second appearance at the INEX Winter Nationals for Neary, who was coming off a stellar 2017 season in Eastbound’s Automotive Supplies Bandolero series. He finished second overall in the championship points race behind Owen Groves, a 15 year-old from Heart’s Delight.
Groves was also at the Winter Nationals, as was 14-year-old Sara Thorne of Chance Cove.
When asked if he was satisfied with how he did in Inverness, Neary was quick to say, “100 per cent I am. For the first time in the car, and considering I wasn’t dead last, it was great.”
Neary will pick up his new Legends car at the end of this month and start preparing it for the start of the season at Eastbound.
In the meantime, until the weather allows him to get behind the wheel of the vehicle, he will continue to use a racing simulator as he works at improvement he hopes will move him to the front of the pack this year.