2006 News Page

A heat race was run for the 10 trucks that were in the pits and ready to go racing. Eric started and finished in 7th place. After the heat, the team decided to make some adjustments. Eric started 6th in the feature. A caution came out on lap 6 for a fender on the turn two surface. He restarted in the 4th position and it was three wide going through turns 3 & 4 with Eric on the outside. They all made it through. Eric made a move for 3rd, and lap after lap the red trucks of 18 & 96 ran side by side. The two trucks continued their battle, but with 3 laps to go, Eric tucked in behind the #96. On the last lap he made a hard charge into turn #1. Again, side by side into turn 2, then down the back straight and into turns 3 & 4. As they crossed the line, Eric had grabbed 3rd place by inches. Eric said, " I knew the tires were loosing grip, so I decided to cool it for a bit, and run it as hard as I could on the last lap." He added in the tech barn, "That was so much fun. We had a couple off weeks, so it was great to have a good run." Our next race will be on August 11th. See you at the races.

After a strong 3rd place showing on the 4th of July, the team was looking forward to being a support race for the NASCAR Busch East race. There were no heats. Eric started 8th. The Busch cars put down plenty of rubber and the track was slick. Using a higher line, Eric finished in 6th place.

Next up was July 14th, and perfect weather was finally here. Again, no heats were run. Eric started 8th. Eric stated, "The truck was handling great." He made a good pass to get to 4th place. With 2 laps left to go, he made a move to take over 3rd place. At the same time, the 3rd place truck spun out in turn four, and ended up coasting down the track, right in front of Eric in his #18 truck. It was a hard crash, taking out the radiator. Eric nursed it home in 8th place.

On July 21st, the trucks would have their longest race of the year, a 35 lap afair. Eric started 4th in the five truck hat race and finished 3rd. For the feature, Eric started 3rd. He got off to a good start and ran towards the front of the pack the whole race. Eric said," It was run flat out at the start or get passed. I don't like to run so hard at the start, I like to save my tires for the end." At the end, Eric ended up in 4th place, but it came with a price. With 3 laps to go the rear end started to shake. It was discovered the case where the pinion gear meets the bearing had a crack in it. Good thing it wasn't a 50 lapper!!

On a very hot Sunday afternoon, we would again be a support race. This time Terry Labonte, Jeff Green, & David Stremme would be racing in a special 125 lap late model race. Eric started & ended 3rd in his heat race. The truck wasn't handling well, and was close to over heating. Adjustments were made, and screen was removed from the grill in hopes of cooling better. Eric started 5th in the 12 truck field. He slipped back to 7th, but a spin and caution on lap 14 put him into 5th place. On the restart, the over heating issue was so bad, he had to pull off. he didn't return, which resulted in his first DNF of the year. He was scored in 10th place.

A rare Tuesday night rain make up race on the 4th of July, and at 9 am it looked like it would get rained out. But, the rain stopped, and it was another nice evening for racing. During the second practice session, Eric got caught up in a chain reaction crash which broke his right front brake line. It also knocked the nose of the #18 truck in about 6 inches. The brake line was replaced, and the damage fixed good enough to race. There were no heats. Eric started 7th in the feature. A crash on the start of lap two, placed Eric up to 3rd place on the restart. A lap later Eric led his first laps in the Pro Truck!!! After leading three laps, the caution came out. On the double file restart, they raced side by side into turn one, and he lost the lead. On the next lap, he slid back to third. He kept the leaders in sight, and at the end of the 25 lap feature, he finished a strong 3rd place. Eric stated," It felt really great to be leading the feature in only my third feature race. I got taken to school on that restart, but both trucks made clean passes, and I gave them plenty of room. It's all a learning process, and I learn fast." The damage to the nose is minor and will wait to be repaired until after this Saturdays's race. On the 8th, we will be a support race with the NASCAR Busch East cars. The weather looks great, so see everyone at the races.

The rain stopped in the early afternoon, and by race time the sun was out. Unlike last week, the trucks got to run a heat race. Eric started 8th in the 12 truck field. It was a wild 8 laps, as the field was slowed twice by cautions. The first yellow was a single truck spin, while the second yellow was brought out by a multi truck accident. Eric finsihed 7th, and was able to avoid the action in front of him.

For the feature, Eric started 8th in the 12 truck field. The action got a little close on the first lap, as he slid back to 10th. Eric stated, " I knew the race just started, I didn't want to crash on the first lap." With 19 laps remaining, Eric started to go up through the field. "The longer I ran, the stronger the truck got," Eric said. Eric closed the gap, and at the end of the race was on the bumpers of the 3rd & 4th place trucks, for a solid 5th place finish. Eric was all smiles after the race. "This is a great handling truck. The longer I ran, the faster I got. The crew made several adjustments after practice and the heat, and they worked. I still have much to learn racing this truck, and a few of the veterans have gave me some advice," stated Eric. On a side note, Eric was awarded 5th plae last week, after a truck got DQ'd in tech. Two races, two top fives, a good start to the year.

The race that was scheduled for June 27th, was rained out. Our next action on the track will be July 4th. Next up will be July 8th. The trucks will be running a support race along side the NASCAR BUSCH EAST Series. See you at the track.

In front of a recored crowd of 10,872 fans, the season finally got started. It was autograph night, and several other special events, rolled into one night to make up for some of the rained out events. No divisions had heat races, just a round of practice. Eric started 12th out of the 13 truck field. Rookies had to start in the rear. The 20 lap feature got off to a fast start, with Eric making several moves to gain positions. As he approached two trucks, he just couldn't get under them to make a pass. Eric dropped back a position, and then had someone else open up a hole, and he followed them through. At the end of the race, Eric came home in 6th place, the first time he was in racing conditions. The race was run with no cautions. After the race Eric stated, " I was a little loose coming out of the turns, I couldn't pick the throttle up like I wanted to." After the practice the crew made a slight adjustment, which we probably should not of done. All in all, it was a great start to the season, and the entire team was very happy with the first result. The team will finish the month of June with racing on the 23rd, and a special night on Tuesday, the 27th. July will start with another special night on the 4th, and the trucks will be a support race when the BUSCH NORTH series rolls into Lake Erie on Saturday, July 8th. See you at the races!!!!

Could it be a sunny and warm forecast for June 16th? We think so!!!!!After four weeks of wet and cold weather, and not being scheduled last week due to the ASALMS Touring event, it looks great for this Friday. It should be a great night, with all seven of the racing divisions in action. It's also autograph night, and the racing machines will all be on the track, so you can meet all the drivers and look over the equipment. The word is the speedway will be packed, so come early to get a good seat!!!Eric is excited to get going. He had some very good practice sessions and is looking forward to the year. Please stop by and say hello!!!!

On April 27th, 29th, and May 5th, Eric finally got to run practice laps in his Pro Truck. John Coughlin was there the first night to help him get going, and Eric did very well. He practiced on old tires the first two dates, but was turning good laps times. The practice on the 29th was going very well until the last lap, when he made contact with another truck. Both trucks went on their way. Eric stated, "I was trying to get under him, and lost the nose a little. I have some learning to do with the heavier and much more powerful truck." For the practice on the 5th, new tires were put on and Eric ran some very fast laps. "The last practice I was following the #00 to learn some lines. He was fast, and I was hanging right with him. The truck felt really good," Eric said. Eric went on to say, "I'm new to this series, and I know that I must gain the respect of the other drivers. I'm sure I'll make some mistakes, but I will learn the right way." With that said, the ERM team is looking forward to opening night. Fred Brockman will be the crew chief, and crew members are Matt Boyd, and Mom & Dad. The green flag will fly Friday, May 12th, at 7:30 PM at Lake Erie Speedway. Hope to see you all there.

Finally, a decision!! On March 11th, the Eric Redmond Motorsports team purchased John Coughlin's #43 truck and will compete for the 2006 Rookie of the Year honors in the NASCAR Pro Truck division at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pennsylvania. "After winning the Summer Shootout at Lowes's Motor Speedway and the National Championships, I needed challenged for the next season. Our team looked at just about every class, and the truck was the right fit," stated Eric. Many factors went into our decision. We considered the purchase price, weekly expense, gaining experience in a full size race car (truck), where I want to be in my career in five years, the weekly purse and the year end point fund, it was the right decision. The #43 truck is a proven winner and was in the top four in points since LES opened in 2002. Jensen's Target Collision will be providing the Victory Red paint, for the third year, and I'll again sport the #18. AMSOIL will be back with us this year, along with Andrzejczak Landscaping & Snow Plowing of Girard, and McIntyre Web Design will be on board with a new look for the website. I'm looking forward to the new season. It will be a season of learning, but I have confidence, and all I need is that all important seat time. A picture of the new truck will be posted in our photo section by March 17th. We will update that section as soon as the truck get's it's new colors. Please check back for updates as the first race on May 12, 2006 draws near. Thanks for all of your support......

This site was created by:

Contact the DESIGNER here.
Contact the DRIVER here.
Contact our WEB MASTER here.