PITTSFIELD, MA – What started out as tough night Saturday at Lebanon Valley ended with Paul Gilardi collecting his first top 10 finish of 2017.
The Valley held double features for this first time this season and the veteran from Pittsfield, MA was running solidly in the top ten of race #1 when he was involved in a multi-car accident on the front stretch. He was okay but his race ended with a 20th place finish.
“There was no way to avoid the wreck,” Gilardi said. “Eddie (Marshall) came off the wall and across the track. I ran out of room. There was no place to go.”
Even with the early exit in the first feature, the team rallied and was able to get the Superior Seamless Gutters #87x ready for the second race. Paul qualified second in his heat and ran in the top 5 for almost the entire second feature before finishing up the night in the sixth position.
“Unfortunately, we had a lot of wrecked equipment after the first race,” he said. “The crew worked their tails off to get ready for the heat race. We were lucky to make it back out.”
The car was not 100% but you wouldn’t tell that by the way it handled through the rest of the evening.
“The front axle was bent pretty bad,” Gilardi said. “We adjusted to make it work and made the best of the night. It was great to finally show what this new car can do. I love the HigFab Chassis. It’s an amazing piece.”
Through May 20th, Gilardi sits 15th in points, just 26 markers out of the top 10. The team will be back in action this Saturday night when the “Valley of Speed” holds Military Night on the high banks. All members of The United States Armed Forces get in free at the front gate (with Military ID). Gates open at 5pm.