5.14 – 5.15.11
TJKR Racing fought through the undesirable weather conditions and some on-track adversity to come away with two top 5 finishes on the weekend. After qualifying 6th for Saturday's action, Koyen made a first-corner driving error on the opening lap of the pre-final, sending him spinning off and back to last place. Koyen drove back from a huge gap to take back one position. This set him up for a 14th place starting spot for the final. From there, Koyen charged back up through the field, eventually crossing the line in 4th place. He would be promoted to 3rd place after a penalty was assessed to the original 3rd place finisher. On Sunday, the TaG class was chosen as the "pea-pick" class of the weekend. This meant that the class would run two random grid heats rather than qualifying and a pre-final. Koyen was able to draw P2 for a starting spot in the first heat and in damp conditions that didn't favor the Team's wet setup, defended from Justin Vancil (Margay/Parilla) for the entirety of the race to finish 2nd. Lining up from the back of the grid for heat two, Koyen's progress through the field was stymied when he was blocked harshly and ran down into the grass on a pass attempt. When he eventually got by he was only able to make it to 10th place. This lined Koyen up for a 6th place start in the final. Choosing to run old tires in the second heat, the Team knew they'd be at a disadvantage in the final if it was dry. However, T.J. was able to move up to 4th place from his 6th place starting spot and run quick laps all the way to the end.
The Team will be at Badger Raceway in Dousman, WI for the season opener for the Midwest Sprint Series this upcoming weekend where they will continue to test and gather data to aid them in their fight at the national series.
