From the very beginning things began to go wrong. While at the Driver’s Meeting a whirlwind came through and took the easy ups for a ride damaging one of them and putting a long deep scratch all the way down the windshield of the race truck. Not long after the whirlwind went through the impact gun stopped working, and then our really good friend Clarke Farrar had his engine blow up. This day was really turning really ugly.
Have you ever had a day like that, I am sure you have and you know that it just doesn’t stop. We went out for qualifying and was a little slower than we had been the last two weeks but still turned a good lap or 20.04 and that was good enough for the pole. Irwindale has been inverting the entire field and did so again.
In the main event the truck just didn’t seem to have its usual power and although it was very good in the turns it was not so good on the straight. Neil Conrad in #87 was in the lead and Jeff had worked himself to second but had a great deal of trouble passing anyone getting there.
Jeff was able to stay with Conrad but did not have the power to get by. Late in the race a caution came out and the field closed up. Jeff was still running second and figured he would have a good chance of taking first on the restart even with an ailing truck.
When the green fell Jeff nailed the throttle but nothing happened, the truck would not go. The #28 fell back to fifth and then suddenly the engine came alive and Jeff was back in business. Jeff began working his way back to the front but the laps were ticking off. He passed one truck after another until he ended up back in second place. With only a few laps left and Conrad about a straight a head there was no way to catch him.
The JW Racing team finished in second place with an ailing motor and if you can finish second on the days that you are having problems then you certainly can’t complain. The team was happy with their finish and happy for Neil Conrad who had his first win in seven years. We congratulate the #87 team and we can’t wait to get back out and start a new winning streak.
P.S.
The team believes that they have found the engine problem and it will be 100% by the next event.
4/24/10
IRWINDALE, CA - Jeff Williams continued his dominating run in the South West Tour Truck series (SWTT) race with another pole position and win extending his points lead at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.The JW Racing team showed up at Toyota Speedway ready to race. With two wins in the bag, Williams was looking for his third straight victory. The truck has been dialed in since the beginning of the season and after the first practice and a 20.2 second lap time, Williams felt no need to go out in the second practice. The crew hung out in the pits and helped a few fellow SWTT trucks get their trucks running and handling better before the main event.
Williams took the number 28 Pick Your Part, Spectre Performance, So Cal Racing Supply.com Ford F-150 out for qualifying and laid down his third best lap of the season at a blistering 19.93-seconds! To make the race more exciting for the fans, the Toyota Speedway Officials inverted the entire field for the main event. Some of the rookie drivers opted to stay at the back of the pack, but this still placed Williams a good distance back from his qualifying position.
The 35-lap main event started, but the caution flag flew just before the first lap was complete. A single truck had spun out on the start and the race would start over from scratch. Williams had already worked his way up past many trucks and would have to do it all over again. On the second start attempt of the race, Williams passed many of the same trucks again in just one lap! Within a few laps Williams drove his 28 truck to first place and didn't look back.
On lap 17 the officials threw the caution flags because race official thought they saw "smoke" coming from the 28. The track officials inspected Williams F-150 and found nothing to be wrong and he was allowed to go back into his #1 position for the restart. This caution eliminated the large lead Williams had earned on the rest of the field. He was determined to get it back. As the green flag flew Williams hammered the throttle and got back out to a comfortable lead and took the checkered flag.
Second Win in as Many Attempts
4/10/2010
IRWINDALE, CA - With their new sponsor “Pick Your Part” proudly displayed on the # 28 Ford F150 the JW Racing Team was ready to show Pick Your Part that they were the right team to display the company name.
This was the second race of the season for the South West Tour Trucks and the second race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. Jeff Williams the driver of the Pick Your Part, Spectre Performance Ford prepared himself for the first practice. He hit the track to see if any adjustments would be needed. Williams fastest lap of the first practice was a 20.40, which is a respectable lap on used tires. The truck was just a little loose, but felt really good overall.
When the second practice rolled around Williams decided not to go out since he didn't change anything on the truck. The team sat out the practice and used the time to get ready for qualifying.
In qualifying the 28 would be last on the track as he is the current points leader. His first lap shot to the top of the board with a lap time of 19.86! That was only .02 slower than the record Williams set last race! The second fastest truck was by Michael Zimmerman in the #15 Ford with a 20.44.
The JW Racing Team was very excited about their qualifying performance and the talent of their driver. It is obvious to anyone watching that Jeff Williams is very special behind the wheel of a racing machine.
After an autograph session meeting the fans and making sure all of them got their Pick Your Part giveaway gifts the team was ready for the main event.
Toyota Speedway officials decided that the main event should have a large invert so instead of starting on the pole the 28 would start 8th. At the drop of the green Williams was on the move, he dropped below the white line at the bottom of the track and entered turn one at a near impossible angle.
With the left side tires just nipping the grass the #28 made the corner and came off turn two in 4th position. Going into turn three, four trucks were just inches apart and exiting turn 4 the #28 was in second place poised to take first. On the front straight just past the start finish line Jeff Williams took the lead from the #4 driven by Ed Cutler and didn’t look back. With five laps to go the #2 blue duce driven by “Scary” Larry Haw spun in turn four bringing out the caution. The lead that the #28 had earned now vanished. On the restart the Pick Your Part, Spectre Performance Ford did just what it had done earlier and Williams pulled away to his second victory in as many attempts.
This team is strong, the truck is very fast and the driver is the best. That is a hard combination to beat and there will be no let down from this team. They are looking forward to the next race.
3/27/10
IRWINDALE, CA - Jeff Williams made a statement with his dominating win at the season opener for the South West Tour Truck (SWTT) series at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale Saturday night.
The 2006-2008 champion showed everyone--fans and fellow drivers--how to look good and finish on top. Williams arrived at the track early, ran well in practice and did not make a single adjustment to the truck besides a new set of Hoosier racing slicks the entire day.
The crew knew the SoCal Racing Supply.com truck was fast, but with the weather being warmer than expected and the track conditions not perfect, the entire team, including Williams, did not expect what happened after the first lap in qualifying. A new track record! Williams flew out of turn 4 with his foot pushing the throttle as hard as he could. The truck, only inches from the wall, passed the finish line faster than any SWTT truck has ever gone at Toyota Speedway with a blazing 19.845-second lap time! It was nearly a half a second faster than the second place qualifier. Williams now holds the SWTT track record at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, I-10 Speedway, Willow Springs and Altamont Raceway.
The one bad thing about qualifying on the pole is the dreaded invert. To make it exciting for the fans, the #1 qualifier rolls a single die and whatever number comes up correspond to the number of truck positions are flopped. In this case, Williams rolled the worst, a 6. This sent the fastest truck to the outside of row 3, the second fastest to the inside and so on.
As the green flag flew, the South West Tour Trucks were already racing. The pack approached turn 1 and Williams took to the high line and proceeded to pass up to the lead as he exited turn 2. He let everyone else go fender to fender as he found smooth sailing around the outside. Willaims took his 28 truck to a comfortable lead of over a straightaway when he grabbed the checkered flag for his first of many wins in the 2010 season.
