Belyea Nearly Wins at Brighton; Mutton Scores Career Best With Late Model
Craig Revelle – Finish Line Web Design
September 21, 2010
It was a busy weekend for Greg Belyea, Jeff Mutton and the Excel Tower Service race team, with three feature events scheduled in two nights. First up was the rescheduled feature from September 3rd at Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park, followed by a regular program that same night. The next night the team traveled to the Brighton Speedway for a 50 Lap race.
Heavy rains just one day earlier left Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park left unfavorable track conditions early on, despite the efforts of the Can Am track crew. Racing went on as scheduled and the first race of the night was the make up feature from earlier this month. Belyea started the race from seventh place, and finished 6th, while Mutton picked up his best ever Late Model finish with a strong fourth place run.
“The car was way too tight in that feature”, says Belyea. “We will work hard, and hopefully get it better for the rest of tonight’s events”.
The night took a turn for the worst in the heat race, as Belyea started from the rear of the field, and after contact with another driver, Belyea had to make a quick pit stop to change a flat tire. After a quick pit stop by the Excel Tower Service team, Belyea returned to the track on the lead lap. On a restart, two cars collided in turn three and four and collected Belyea causing heavy damage to his Excel Tower Service ride.
The team went to work, along with the rest of the Excel Tower Service team, and with the assistance of fellow competitors Lee Gill and Chuck Meyers the replaced the front bumper and nose cone, and Belyea made it back out for the second feature of the night. Belyea started this feature from 10th place, and he wasted little time passing cars on his way to the front. At the checkered flag, Belyea crossed the line with a solid third place run. Mutton backed up his fourth place run in the first feature with seventh place run in the second race.
On Saturday, Belyea and his team spent the day fixing their car, preparing for that night’s race at the Brighton Speedway. He started his qualifying race from sixth place, and moved up to third before the checkered flag. For the 50 lap main event, Belyea started from fifth position, and moved up to second at the checkered flag. The race was slowed by only one caution on lap 34. Mutton ended the night in eighth place.
“That was a lot of fun out there tonight. The car was really good, we were fast all race long, and we are looking forward to coming back here next week”, says Belyea.
Next up for Greg Belyea and the Excel Tower Service team is this coming Saturday night at the Brighton Speedway for the rescheduled mid summer scorcher. This 40 lap event will pay over $1700 to win and will be the final Late Model race of the 2010 season at Brighton Speedway. This event will be part of the annual Applefest Weekend in Brighton. The following weekend, Belyea will park the Late Model, and bring out the Enduro car that the Excel Tower Service team is currently building for the 4 hour Endurance race at Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park on Sunday, October 3rd. The Enduro will pay $4000 to win.
For more information on Greg Belyea, Jeff Mutton and the Excel Tower Service racing team, please visit our new website, www.exceltowerracing.com.
Greg Belyea is looking for another win before the end of the 2010 season. He was close last weekend at Brighton and will get one more shot this weekend. (Doug Elkins Photo)