Smooth racing ahead for Jewell

 

Logan Jewell stands beside the car he will be racing in this Saturday's Mr.Quick/White Spruce Enterprises 100.

June 14, 2013

Ted CLARKE
Citizen staff
tclarke@pgcitizen.ca

Rough bumpy pavement and full-throttle bumper-to-bumper stock car racing have for years created an element of danger on the three-eighths mile oval track at PGARA Speedway. Drivers like Mark Jewell, who grew up racing in the Prince George Auto Racing Association, know all the ins and outs of that track and tried to avoid the notorious backstretch dips and humps that used to unload the front-end weight of a race car and create corner steering havoc. So news the back straight section of the PGARA track was repaved on Tuesday came as a great relief to Jewell and the rest of the 18-car field expected for Saturday night's Mr. Quick Lube/White Spruce Enterprises 100. "I honestly can't wait, the track needed to be paved and you could lose complete control and hit the wall," said Jewell. "That hump going into Turn 3 was a bit scary. If you hit that just right it could knock you right up into the marbles and those walls come up way too fast. I'm not scared about that any more." Sponsored by Pittman Asphalt and White Spruce Enterprises, the paving project also took care of some of the little bumps in the corners and created two more paved spots in the pits. ASA rules prevent drivers from practicing on the track the week before the race so Jewell will have to wait until race day to turn some hot laps and get used to the new tires the ASA series has adopted. Now that the track has been made safer, Jewell figures more drivers from southern B.C. will be willing to race in Prince George. The 100-lap race is the third of six stops on the American Speed Association OK Tire Challenge Series. Matt Stephenson of Kaleden won the first two feature races in Vernon and Williams Lake and sits second on the points standings behind three-time series champion Korbin Thomas of Surrey, back after several years away from the series. The 23-year-old Jewell, who finished third in points in 2012, currently ranks sixth with 135 points, 33 behind Thomas. "Logan is a contender every race," said car owner Gary MacCarthy of Terrace. "We need the younger drivers in the series and I'm constantly pushing for the teams to get younger people starting out in a bomber or karts, like Logan did. When kids start in karts they get that reflex, they understand suspension and horsepower. I you can drive a kart fast you can pretty well drive anything because they are like a fighter jet." Driving the MacCarthy GM-sponsored Monte Carlo, Jewell led the Vernon race after 10 laps but got involved in a bit of wreck late in the race and had to pit to change a damaged rim. He finished on the lead lap in 10th, and followed that up with a fourth-place result in Williams Lake. "We had a fast car again in Williams Lake but we had radio issues and I was driving without a radio for 75 per cent of the race," Jewell said. "We drove up from ninth to fourth but the track was slick and it wasn't worth putting yourself in a position where you'd wreck or go backwards," Jewell started racing karts when he was seven, and by the time he was 14 he was racing mini-stocks. He broke into the WESCAR series in 2008 and took over the driving duties from MacCarthy two years ago. That put an end to Jewell's racing budget worries. "Gary is such a fantastic car owner and he's now president of the series as well," Jewell said. "I couldn't ask for any better deal. My crew [father Mark, Doug Shetchley, Paul Spence and Tony Atkinson] loves working on race cars and I love driving them. It's a dream come true for us. "I find I'm reflecting more on my driving now to improve myself. I take closer looks at what I'm doing and pay more attention and it seems to have helped a lot this year. I feel better in the car and the decisions I'm making seem to keep the car in one piece now." Local drivers Sheldon Mayert, Bob Williams, Warren Bergman, and Dave Olson will bring their loyal followers to the stands Saturday. PGARA's Chieftain Auto Parts mini-stock and Richmond Steel street stock series will also race Saturday. Time trials start at 6 p.m., with racing at 7.

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