An inside look at MiniCups

 

By Paul Bommer

Flood Racing – Team Engineer & Part-time Crew Chief

#65 MiniCup Ford F150 & #88 MiniCup Ford Fusion

“So what is a MiniCup anyway? Is it like a Bandolero or a go-kart?” I can’t say how many times I’ve been asked that question over the last four years. I usually respond with this canned answer while demonstrating the features and recounting some facts:

“No, it’s a ½ scale fully adjustable race car, with four corner coilovers, adjustable control arms, panhard bar, rack and pinion steering, and disc brakes powered by a Honda GX390 single cylinder engine mounted in the back. All the same stuff as a Late Model, just without the swaybars, and a lot less power, but it rolls through the corners as fast as the Late Models…yes, a 10 year old drives it…” more…

Alex Fleming has won the bulk of races at Wake County Speedway this season, but they haven’t come easy. Friday night Fleming looked to all but cement his track championship hopes, looking for his sixth win in seven events. Fleming would put his Dunn-Benson Ford Super Late Model on the pole, with Joe Heigl starting to his outside. Early on it appeared as though Heigl had something for the Raleigh driver, with Heigl making a handful of attempts to get by. Fleming would fight off Heigl lap after lap, and eventually stretch his lead out to .3 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »

Wake County Speedway has been Alex Fleming’s playground for 2011, having taken half of the pole positions and every winner’s trophy on the season. Charlie Stephenson, Curtis Simpkins and the rest of the Dunn Benson Ford Super Late Models looked to change that. Point leader Alex Fleming sat on the pole for Friday night’s 50 lap feature event, and through the first 30 laps it seemed as though Fleming would again get the win. Charlie Stephenson had other plans, however, and on Lap 30 light contact between Fleming and Stephenson would send Fleming around, giving Stephenson the lead. Stephenson would pull away on the restart, fighting off late charges from Curtis Simpkins and Joe Heigl to win his first race of 2011. Simpkins scored his best finish of the season with a second place run, while Heigl crossed third. Read the rest of this entry »

Alex Fleming has cruised for the better part of this season at Wake County Speedway, leading over half the laps and winning all of the Dunn-Benson Ford Super Late Model races. Wake’s new “four wins and you’re fifth” rule found Fleming starting fifth, despite setting the fast time in qualifying. Fleming’s move to fifth put Bradley McCaskill on the pole, with WCS regular Kevin Floars starting on his outside. McCaskill would find himself fighting off early charges from Floars and Joe Heigl, and then eventually Fleming. Contact between Fleming and McCaskill would send McCaskill around on Lap 6, and put Fleming to the point. A steady flow of cautions would shuffle the field behind Fleming, with Floars, Heigl and Charlie Stephenson all taking turns behind Fleming. Read the rest of this entry »

Alex Fleming came into Friday night’s event at Wake County Speedway as the only Dunn Benson Ford Super Late Model winner in 2011. He looked to keep it that way despite hard charges from Charlie Stephenson and Joe Heigl. Fleming would take his first pole of 2011, edging out Stephenson by a mere hundredth of a second and Heigl by three hundredths of a second. Early on it was clear Fleming would not be able to cruise to victory as he done in previous races, with Stephenson trailing in his tire tracks the majority of the race. Mid-way through the 50 lap event, it appeared as though Fleming would pull away from Stephenson, but slower traffic allowed the former track champion to put his machine to the bumper of Fleming’s machine. Stephenson would make one final drive for the lead, but Fleming was too strong late, winning his fourth consecutive race at the .23 mile bullring. Stephenson would settle for second, with Joe Heigl, Kevin Floars and Kevin Jefferys rounding out the top five. Read the rest of this entry »