Speed Notes Newsletter

The #5B & #119 are moving fast to start the 2024 race season. Dalton Zehr started off the winning tradition at Dells Raceway Park this year in the Alive For Five Series with his qualifying race win.  John Beale kept the streak alive the next week at Marshfield Motor Speedway where he set fast time in qualifying for the Tundra Super Late Model Series.  Dalton & John sit 4th in points for the Tundra Series where they won the championship in 2023.  A mechanical failure while leading at Wisconsin International Raceway started the team with a 19th place points position for Tundra. With John getting fast time, finishing 2nd in the feature and points for passing the most cars at Marshfield they moved up to 4th.

What does a race car driver's body go through in the cockpit of a Super Late Model? See the strains that heat & g-forces play on the heart rate and muscular load of a driver.

During the Tundra Super Late Model event at Marshfield Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 8th, John Beale wore a Whoop device capturing his biometric data.  During qualifying John set fast time and had a max heart rate of 157 beats per minute and an average heart rate of 127.

During the feature event, John started in 10th position and made his way up to 2nd, passing more cars than any other driver in the field.  In the feature, John had a max heart rate of 167 and an average of 129.  John burned 672 calories during the 30-minute event.

John should have an average heart rate of 88-149 beats per minute and a max of 175. …

Gildan Racing topped the charts in 2023 for the most feature wins in the United States ahead of Ty Majeski Racing & Bubba Pollard Racing.  How do they stack up against the competition in Wisconsin during qualifying?

During the 2023 season 229 drivers attempted to qualify for a race and 52 different drivers recorded at least one fast time award.  With that, only 22% of drivers across the Wisconsin region were able to score a fast time, and only 12% were able to set multiple fast times!

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Ty Majeski topped the list, followed by Chad Butz & John Beale.  Beale ranked 3rd for the number of times he had fast time in qualifying.

Congrats to everyone on the list, it is a hard feat to accomplish!

*Statistics per National Super Late Model Rankings & Short Track Stats

Gildan Racing hosted the Verona Area High School Automotive Technology Level 3 class at their facility on December 19th, 2023 for a day of activities.  Students learned about the connections between the classroom & race track.  Math, physical & mental conditioning, technology, geometry and car maintenance were highlighted.

Next up was the Pit Stop Competition where teams of 3 jacked up the race car and changed tires while on the clock.  Gabe, Samer & Logan each went home with a trophy and gift cards due to their winning time of 43 seconds.

The goal is to make this an annual event and expand the learning process for these students in the auto racing industry.  A more hands-on approach will be taken where they can maintain and set up the suspension, then the students’ will head to the race track and see their efforts in action.