Just two weeks ago, Will Gerrits stated, “I think we’ll be back up at the front end of the field in the next couple weeks.” That happened, and then some for the GCM/NAPA #21 and #99 this past weekend in double-header action with the MSA Sprints.
On Friday, the team‘s engine package showed it’s weaknesses at the hammer down Half Mile that is the Dodge County Fairgrounds, with both drivers struggling early in the evening. Gerrits would finish 6th in his heat and Tyler Brabant finished at the tail end of the pack in 8th. However, with both drivers starting from the rear of the feature they had a great opportunity to show their prowess and move through the field in the now widened out Half Mile oval.
Gerrits rolled out 16th for the 20 lap A Main and sliced and diced his way to a 10th place finish, and Brabant advanced nine positions to 14th from his 23rd starting position. A great result for both drivers on a track the team knew they would struggle to make pace at.
On Saturday at the Plymouth Dirt Track, the story was much different. Gerrits started on the pole of his heat race and dominated the event, leading all 10 laps by a considerable margin over points leader Brandon McMullen and taking another heat race victory on the year. Brabant started on the outside of the front row in 2nd and quickly advanced past the #11 of Tony Wondra and into the top spot. Brabant kept Wondra and the rest of the field at bay and took the win, making it the team’s first night sweeping their heat races since the two drivers raced in Go-Karts back in 2012. An amazing accomplishment with how deep the MSA field has become in recent years.
The night would get even better for the GCM Team, as Gerrits pushed off 1st for the Feature, and Brabant in 5th respectively. At the start, Gerrits powered to the lead with McMullen and Justin Miller in tow, and Brabant advanced to 4th and would stay there. Gerrits held A sizable advantage and survived multiple restarts and continued to lead late in the going. However, under red flag conditions, Brabant‘s engine would spit flames onto his left rear tire and melt a hole in the American Racer rubber and cause Brabant to pull the #99 into the work area. Quick work by the GCM crew meant Brabant would rejoin the field, albeit at the rear on a completely one lane track on the bottom of the 1/3 mile oval. In only a couple laps, the GCM #21 caught up to the GCM #99 in lapped traffic, and Gerrits found himself in the precarious position of either trying to force his way down the inside of his teammate, backing off completely, or trying a middle or high groove. Gerrits chose the 3rd option, and payed the price. Both McMullen and Miller snuck down the #21’s inside and Gerrits fell to 3rd. The Waupun native held on to the podium spot at the finish with Brabant coming home a very non-representative 18th. A great result for sure, but somewhat a “what could have been” situation for the whole team.
“Friday night wasn’t great.” Gerrits began. “We just didn’t have speed. Saturday was a different story. Both cars won the heats, something we haven’t done since at least 2012. and I led a lot of laps in the A. Unfortunately I got beat by 2 guys with tons of experience in one lane traffic. It’s unfortunate Tyler had a tire go down, otherwise we probably would have had two top 5’s. We’re back at the front though, and we’re right back at PDTR this weekend with a good amount of momentum. Hopefully we can replicate what we did last weekend.”
Will Gerrits remains the team’s front running driver as he now sits 8th in MSA Points and 11th at PDTR. Brabant started the year off extremely strong with two 2nd place runs, but has since struggled, and thus finds himself in 19th place in both MSA and PDTR points. This weekend marks the beginning of the end for the MSA Sprints as after Plymouth on this Saturday, the series takes a week off and then closes the season with a doubleheader at Dodge County and Plymouth on the 25th and 26th. However, with the team on a roll recently, they’ll look to end the year on a high note.
RACE RUNDOWN
Friday, 9/4 Dodge County Fairgrounds
Will Gerrits: Heat- S/5, F/6
Feature- S/16, F/10
Tyler Brabant:
Heat- S/8, F/8
Feature- S/23, F/14
Saturday, 9/5 Plymouth Dirt Track
Will Gerrits:
Heat- S/1, F/1
Feature- S/1, F/3
Tyler Brabant:
Heat- S/2, F/1
Feature- S/5, F/18
NEXT RACE
Saturday, September 12th Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, WI MSA/PDTR 360 Sprints
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