Strong start to 2017 in USRA, AMRA, and IMCA
A few weeks back we were hanging out in the shop and came to the sudden realization that the USRA Battle at the Bullring in Humboldt, KS was only a few weeks away. We were having this discussion while looking at a bare, un-powdercoated chassis sitting in the middle of the shop floor which did not yet have all of the body tabs welded on it. We then came to the conclusion that it was time to get in gear on getting that frame done as it was to be JC Morton’s ride for the Battle at the Bullring. Complicating the issue even more, Travis Dickson’s new frame was sitting in the shop, fresh out of the powdercoating oven, waiting for sheet metal so he could pick it up at the end of the week. We had a USRA A-mod for JC Morton that needed a body as well, but, that was the least of our worries.
So, we spend a morning getting the USRA B-mod finished up with welding. It gets cleaned up and is then off to powdercoat. While that frame is at powdercoat we bust our humps to get Travis Dickson’s car ready for him to pick up. Travis gets his car picked up at the end of that week, and we’re off on putting the B mod together for the Battle at the Bullring. Late that week Alex Stanford makes a visit to the PCD shop to hang out and help us get a couple of cars ready for the track.
Fast forward two weeks ahead, and the B mod unloads at Humboldt Speedway for the Battle at the Bullring. Each night of qualifying JC Morton gets better acquainted with the new car, eventually qualifying 4th for the USRA B mod main event. JC quickly worked his way into the second position behind Rob Muilenberg. Morton would hold the second position throughout the early portion of the race and into the middle segment. On a restart Morton made a pass for the lead, and several laps later, the first USRA B mod that we finished assembling just a few days earlier was taking the checkered flag for an $8000 win with PCD’s new wheelman JC Morton behind the wheel. Morton returned to pick up two more B mod feature wins at Humboldt Speedway a couple of weeks later at the King of America.
In the opening paragraph I mentioned a car we built for new PCD customer Travis Dickson. Travis is the first AMRA, and UMP competitor to field a PCD chassis. Dickson’s first night in his new PCD was at Atomic Speedway. Travis won his heat race at Atomic, then finished 4th in the main event after a spring bucket failure on the right front suspension created a ground clearance issue which made the car a handful on corner entry. Two weeks later, Travis unloaded at Skyline Speedway, picked up another heat race win, then went on to a strong A main win, giving PCD Race Cars it’s first ever AMRA win in only his second night competing in the car. We are incredibly excited to see what Travis can do throughout the rest of the season. He will no doubt play an integral part in PCD’s success and growth in a new (to PCD) market.
Rick Diaz, one of our IMCA Northern Sportmod competitors out of California quickly picked up where he left off in 2016. In two starts, Rick has piloted the 7 one four motorsports PCD sportmod to two dominant wins. Diaz and his team are now looking into the option of selling their IMCA Northern Sportmod and moving up into the IMCA modified division somewhere throughout the 2017 season. We have little doubt that Rick will be immediately successful in the IMCA modified division.
Mark Wauge made a last minute decision this past weekend to pull his PCD out of hibernation to head to Coos Bay, OR for their season opener. Wauge drove to the win in the Nascar Whelen modified division, giving PCD seven total wins between 4 drivers in the first four weeks of our 2017 season. So far, 2017 is off to a very strong start for PCD’s drivers and teams. We’re thrilled to see where the rest of this season takes us.
PCD’s new shop in Tontitown, AR is set to start construction any day now. The shop will feature a new jig table and fixtures that will provide the most consistent, repeatable chassis we’ve ever been able to build. Likewise new team members in the shop, tooling, and process with allow us to bring product to customers with shorter lead times, and higher quality than we’d previously imagined being possible.
The Dirtcar USA Gold Rush Giveaway car is at Muskogee Powdercoating as we speak getting it’s gold powdercoat done, as well as a matching interior that will provide a slick foundation for the rest of the Dirtcar USA build. Be sure to visit www.dirtcarusa.com and pick up a PCD shirt or two so that you can get entered to win the 2017 PCD with Mullins Race Engines powerplant and a fill of awesome parts from many great vendors.
Here’s hoping 2017 continues to be such a solid year for PCD. Good luck to your teams as well!
