Speed Wong Racing, LLC fielded two excellently prepared road course cars for the 3 mile track at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, for the race on the afternoon of Saturday, August 2nd. 

A constant and familiar theme this season has been, Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, as the team has excellent equipment, fast drivers and just plain bad racing luck.  Jason Patison is in the midst of finishing his rookie season in the Lucas Oil #17 Chevrolet, driving extremely well and just having bad luck, compounded by competitors taking advantage of his rear bumper and fenders.  Brian Wong, driving the Dryer’s Grand Ice Cream #89 car, drove his 2nd race of the season on a road course, quickly acclimating himself to the large, heavy NASCAR, instead of the Porsche GT3 Cup car he normally excels at.

The crowd in Salt Lake City was one of the most supportive of the season. The track was easily one of the nicest, a world class facility, on any circuit.  The field was strong, almost 30 cars entered, including the regulars and some new, first timers. 

Both Jason and Brian raced hard, in 90 degree heat, in a crowded field.  Brian, despite being crashed, spun out on 3 occasions, came back strong each time to be in 4th place with one lap to go.  Jason, was spun out with several laps left, after being in the top ten for the majority of the race. 

The race ended on a very bad note, with both Speed Wong cars, the #17, #89 in top 10 spots, being spun out by what has become typically overaggressive, poorly managed racers, bent of driving through the competition, instead of out racing them.   Normally a 12th and 14th place finish would be an okay showing, but in this race, with both cars running very fast, being crashed on the last laps of the race is extremely disappointing. 

It was another race with the usual suspects causing the majority of the damages to our cars and other competitors, with lax enforcement by race officials.  Speed Wong Racing’s mandate by its owner is to race clean, out drive our competitors and bring home our cars in one piece.  The entire season has been one of frustration.  We Should Have finished much better than the results show.  We Would Have finished in 5th and 8th places, except for the crashes caused by other cars.  We Could Have had our first top ten finishes for both cars. 

But this is racing and what we signed up for.  Despite the frustration, we feel we did an outstanding job, both in Jason Fensler’s crew preparing 2 specialty cars for the road course and in Brian Wong and Jason Patison, in racing hard and keeping their cars in the top ten, while not being the cause of any accidents.

Speed Wong Racing-West looks forward to the next race at Irwindale Speedway on August 16th.  It will be Brian’s last NASCAR race before heading back to Northeastern University for his sophomore year.  For Jason Patison, it will be another chance to show the West that he has the talent, and will persevere through this difficult bad luck season.

Jason Patison, Brian Wong and our sponsors, give special thanks and appreciate the help of our crew. 

Jason Fensler	Team Manager, Director of Competition
Roger Bracken	Crew Chief #89
Jim Brown	Crew Chief #17
Chris Janosko	Spotter #89
Angelo Quirello	Motor Mouth
Jerel Reeves	Fabricator
Paul Dorrity	Transport Driver
Tim Crawford	Team Manager # 89
Bill Thomas	Motor Specialist
Billy Thomas	Tire Specialist
James Carpenter	Crew-2nd Spotter
Bob Bennett	Transport Driver
Evan Miller	Photographer
Josh Tolbert	Pit Crew: Boy Toy
Rick Regelman	Tire Specialist
Mark Linn	Tire Changer Pit Crew
Jeff Hensley	Pit Crew Jack Man
Harry Tully	Photographer

The Speed Wong Racing, LLC team traveled to Monroe, Washington for race #9 on the Camping World West Series schedule.

The team fielded the Lucas Oil #17 West car with Jason Patison trying to shake the cloud that has tracked the car most of the season.  Perhaps the rain storm that sprinkled the track was a forbearer of what was to come.  The race and track is unique.  Located on the county fairgrounds, the old 5/8 mile track has a grass infield and a flat race surface.  The race car haulers weren’t allowed to park in the infield; thus the team had to unload and move the trucks/trailers back out of the track to an outside parking area.  It truly was camping, with the team spread out on the grass infield with an EZ Up canopy for shade.  A great marketing opportunity for the series sponsor, Camping World!

The #17 car, due to the rain, had limited practice, Jason did not have adequate time to learn the track.  Patison qualified 14th in the field.  Due to the multiple races recently and the long haul to Washington state, only 17 West cars made the trip north.

The track was celebrating 50 years of racing and held races that night, totaling 500 laps.  The team arrived at 6:30a that morning to prepare for the 150 lap race. The West series was scheduled to start at 8:30p.  However, there were 3 other series racing cars before us, one at 50 laps, the second at 150 laps, and the third immediately preceding us at 150 laps.  Ours would be the final 150 of the 500 lap evening.  Due to delays, crashes, the West race did not start until 10:30p. 

The very long day was made longer by that cloud that warned us earlier in the day.  Patison’s car developed a flat tire early in the race.  He pitted unexpectedly, lost 4 laps diagnosing and changing the tire.  Back on the track, the car woke up and Jason raced it hard to a 12th place finish.  Pit Crew Member, Angelo Quirelo noted that if the tire hadn’t gone flat, Jason would have finished in 4th position. 

Jason Patison, the entire Speed Wong Racing team, all are looking forward to a sunny, cloudless day at the next race.  The road course race at Miller Motorsports Park will be on August 2nd.  Jason will team with Brian Wong, as SWR fields both the #17 and #89 cars.  Cheer us on, no rain dances please.

Jason Patison and the Speed Wong Racing team can’t seem to shake the cloud they’ve had over their heads.  The last four races have seen top-5 finishes turn into dnf’s and last week at Roseburg Oregon was no exception.  Patison and team rolled into the 3/8 mile track with a new car chief, Roger Bracken, and high hopes of getting their season turned around. 

After making the most of both practice sessions, improving the car each time out, Patison qualified his Fat Headz Sunglasses sponsored #17 machine in the eighth position.  When the green-flag dropped for the start of the 150 lap race, Patison quickly got in a grove and began trying to work the lead pack for positions.  By lap 100 Patison was up to 5th place and was saving his equipment for a hard charge at the end.  He began to make a pass on the 4th place car of Johny Borneman when his right front tire went down, causing the car to leap to the right and slow dramatically.  Patison limped around the track showering sparks, but no caution flag was thrown, forcing the team to make a green flag stop.  Patison reentered the track 7 laps down but found that his racecar was still fast.  Patison ran down race leader Eric Holmes and completed a pass to earn back one of his laps but it was much too little, too late.  Patison finished the race 6 laps down in the 13th position.

“I can’t believe the year we are having, it’s just one thing after another.  This is the best racecar we have had all year but we just can’t get any luck.  I want to thank all my sponsors and my crew for working so hard and not giving up, sooner or later this SWR team will get the results we deserve.”

Special thanks goes out to all of Patison’s crew members and Sponsors.

Jason and Tia Patison, welcomed their daughter Kayden into the world on July 3rd Jason raced the very next day at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in the Camping World West Series.  After posting the 6th quickest time of the final practice session, Patison’s SWR entry had an engine miss during qualifying, relegating him to a 13th place starting position out of the 32 car field.   Patison switched ignitions prior to the green flag and steadily worked his way up to 6th place but unfortunately his car became very loose, causing him to fall back to 8th position by the time the “Full Stop Pit “ came on lap 100.  When the race resumed Patison found himself in a side-by-side battle with veteran driver Austin Cameron, after several side-by-side laps Cameron over drove his #18 car trying to make a pass and ran right into the left front of Patison causing suspension damage.  

With an ill-handling car Patison fell all the way back to 17th and ran there for several laps before finding a line that accommodated his number 17 ride.  Over the remainder of the race he made up ground quickly, working his way through the field.  On lap 182 Patison was in 6th and was closing in fast on the top 5 cars when the #16 of Moses Smith ran straight into the back of Patison after a restart. 

“I can’t believe the year that we are having, we have great support from our sponsors, my SWR team is working extremely hard, but we’re not getting the finishes we deserve.   

On a happier note, Both Tia and Kayden are now home and doing very well.   Kayden Marie Patison was born July 3rd, 2008 at 4:08pm and weighed 7lbs 2oz.

Brian Wong had his own problems at this race.  His first oval race in the West Series.  Using a car that was recently purchased, the car had electrical problems that prevented Brian from practicing, qualifying for the race.  He ‘started’ the race at the back, but again experienced motor problems that led to his early departure from the race.  A very dejected Brian found himself looking forward to his next West race, at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City.  Crew Chief and Team Manager, Jason Fensler vowed to put Brian on the track in the best car possible, for Brian’s remaining two West races.

The NASCAR West race # 6 at Infineon Raceway was held on Saturday, June 21, 2008. This weekend was hot for the first road race course in the series.

Speed Wong Racing fielded two cars, the season long entry of Jason Patison’s #!7 and the first race ever in the West #89 by Brian Wong. The race brought together both of our teams, the Northern and Southern California race shops. Together the entire SWR team did a great job supporting Jason and Brian’s cars, from practice the week before, through qualifying and the race.

Jason Patison driver of the #17 NASCAR Camping World Series West car, did not have the weekend they were hoping for at Infineon Raceway. During the group qualifying session on Friday, Patison’s laps were hindered by cars blowing up and spinning out, including a spin out of his own, relegating him to start 30th out of the 42 starters.

Starting way back in the pack Patison slowly but surely worked his way toward the front of the field, making his way up to 2nd at one point of the race. Halfway through the event Patison was running in high gear through the high-speed turn 10 when his motor blew ending the day for the Speed Wong Racing entry. Finishing in 39th place really hurt Patison in his overall points standings as well as the rookie of the year battle but there are still plenty of races left to rebound.

Patison is looking forward to his next race on 4th of July at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA. In 2007 he made his series debut at Toyota Speedway, finishing an impressive 4th place. Patison and team hope to improve on that finish and gain some momentum heading into the second half of the season.

Aside from the race at Irwindale, Patison has an even more exciting event coming up. He and his wife Tia are expecting the arrival of their first child the weekend before!

Brian had never been in the West car before this race. Coming fresh off of his Porsche race in Montreal, Brian flew directly to San Francisco and practiced the West car with the help of renowned road racing specialist Boris Said. Boris’ help was arranged through Lucas Oil, SWR’s sponsor who also helps Boris in his race efforts.

A week after practice, Brian found himself practicing with the 45 cars trying to prepare to qualify for 42 starting spots, including his teammate, Jason. Brian got loose, crashed his car, the only damaged car of the practice session. The damage was bad enough to send him in an ambulance to the track medical facility before being cleared to qualify for the race. The entire team jumped on his car, got the damage under control and Brian qualified to a conservative 24th position. Brian was thankfully impressed with the team’s hard and fast work in getting the car in race condition.

The race was a crash filled, exciting and long endurance test for the cars and the driver. The heat was tremendous with both of our drivers complaining of the heat in the race car cockpit. With over 100 laps under race and caution on the 2 mile course, Brian was in 9th place with 10 laps to go. The #77 car crashed Brian’s car and spun the #89 out with 10 laps left, causing Brian to finish in 16th place. Regardless of the disappointing 16th place, it was still a highly respectable finish for the first time racer.

The other highlight of the weekend was the Speed Wong Racing team’s performance. Bringing both teams together, over 20 hard working professionals, being supportive of both their drivers, was an accomplishment. Jason and Brian give their heartfelt thanks to team managers, Jason Fensler and Tim Crawford. Team members, through fun, hard work and great friendships, Ross Strmiska, Jim Brown, Jerel Reeves, Angelo Quirello, Josh Tolbert, Rick Regelman, and Mark Linn and crew chief #17 Robert Strmiska , Bryce Coleman, Billy Thomas, Bill Thomas, James Carpender, Jeff Hensley, Rodney Funston, and crew chief #89 Mike Roos.

Everyone loves and gives their special thanks to Steve and Barbara Fensler, their daughters Jody and Kelly, for their hard work in cooking, feeding and quenching 30 people’s thirst during the hot, humid weekend. Thank you Fensler Family, we appreciate all of your work and your friendship.

Special thanks goes out to all of Patison’s crew members and Sponsors; Lucas Oil Products, SuperClean, Dixie Chopper, Jasper Engines, E3 Spark Plugs, Jim Beam, K&N Filters, Idiaz Label, and Fatheadz Sun Glasses for all of their support.

To check out more about Jason Patison, his crew, and what the rest of their season looks like check out www.jasonpatison.com, www.lucasoil.com, or www.speedwongracing.com.   All races are aired live on HD Net, and tape delayed on SPEED, so check your local listing for dates and times.

Coming off of a top-5 finish in the Camping World West Series at Iowa Speedway, Jason Patison and his Speed Wong Racing Team were looking for another strong run as they traveled to Colorado on June 7th. After struggling in practice, posting just the 14th quickest time out of the 22 entrants, Patison’s team went to work making changes on the car before qualifying and those changes paid dividends. The E3 Sparkplugs/ Lucas Oil machine circled Colorado National Speedway in 16.81 seconds, good enough to start 6th for the Toyota/Napa 150.

When the green flag dropped Patison’s number 17 ride was very loose and unable to maintain up in the second groove and lost a few spots before finding an opening at the bottom and falling in line. Over the next 145 laps Patison’s car stayed loose but worked to his advantage, he was able to pass competitors on the bottom of the race track as their cars tightened up and washed high. On lap 148 Patison was racing side by side with 5th place Daryl Harr when the number 16 of Moses Smith drove into the back of Patison down the front straight away, sending the number 17 spinning into the infield. With only 2 laps remaining the race stayed green so Patison got his car turned around and back on track but lost a lap and several positions. When it was all said and done the SWR team finished in the 11th position, a very disappointing finish to a promising race.

“This would have been another great points day and would have put us back in a tie for the rookie of the year lead. I am very proud of the team for working as hard as they did and not giving up after we struggled in practice. It would have been great to bring the car home in the top-5 for E3 Sparkplugs and Lucas Oil but we’ll just have to work harder and come back even stronger next time”, said Patison after the event.

The team’s next event will be the Camping World West Series race at Infineon Raceway on June 21st.

Special thanks goes out to all of Patison’s crew members and Sponsors; Lucas Oil Products, SuperClean, Dixie Chopper, Jasper Engines, E3 Spark Plugs, Jim Beam, K&N Filters, Idiaz Label, and Fatheadz Sun Glasses for all of their support.

To check out more about Jason Patison, his crew, and what the rest of their season looks like check out www.jasonpatison.com, www.lucasoil.com, or www.speedwongracing.com.   All races are aired live on HD Net, and tape delayed on SPEED, so check your local listing for dates and times.

Jason Patison, driver of the Speed Wong Racing #17 Ford Fusion, had an exciting weekend at Iowa Speedway, a 7/8 mile track built and owned by legendary NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace. Patison qualified 10th out of the NASCAR West drivers and 19th overall out of the 54 East and West entries, over a dozen of which were fielded by Sprint Cup teams. When it came time to go green Patison and his crew ran into some hard times, the car was extremely tight right out of the box and Patison quickly fell back to 40th. Patison hit pit row three times, to make adjustments and take on fuel to free the car up and on lap 150 the car started to come alive. Over the next 50 laps the #17 SuperClean ride charged forward making passes on the top and bottom. When the checker flag fell Patison had worked his way up to 17th.

“We started out rough but the team and I never gave up, they had some great pit stops, and after that last round of adjustments the number 17 SuperClean machine was really coming on strong. We’re getting better each race, I’m really proud of my team and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season,” said Patison after the race.

While Patison may have finished 17th overall, he finished fifth out of the West Series drivers, making it a great points day. Patison is now tied for 7th in the NASCAR Camping World West Series points standings and is only 1 point out of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year lead. The team’s next race is at Colorado National Speedway on June 7th.

Special thanks goes out to all of Patison’s crew members and Sponsors; Lucas Oil Products, SuperClean, Dixie Chopper, Jasper Engines, E3 Spark Plugs, Jim Beam, K&N Filters, Idiaz Label, and Fatheadz Sun Glasses for all of their support.

To check out more about Jason Patison, his crew, and what the rest of their season looks like check out www.jasonpatison.com, www.lucasoil.com, or www.speedwongracing.com.   All races are aired live on HD Net, and tape delayed on SPEED, so check your local listing for dates and times.

Jason Patison and the Speed Wong Race team rolled into Thunder Hill Raceway for the All State 150.  The Lucas Oil-Jim Beam #17 car raced hard for a 10th place finish at Thunderhill Speedway on Saturday night. Patison more than held his own in battling a loose car, veteran drivers, and the 3/8 mile track at the Kyle, Texas speedway.   It was Patison’s  first  visit to the 3/8 mile track but he quickly got up to speed, posting the 3rd fastest time in practice 1.  The number  17 machine was a little loose qualifying but still posted the 5th fastest lap out of the 23 car field.

When the green flag flew, Patison jumped out front with the lead pack putting several car lengths between the rest of the field.  Unfortunately, once the tires got hot the Lucas Oil/Jim Beam Ford got very loose in the corners.  Crew chief Robert Strmiska made the call to bring the car in and put several rounds in the track-bar to tighten the car up. After making the quick adjustment Patison was back on the track in 18th position with a much improved racecar but with nearly half of the race completed Patison had a lot of ground to make up. 

After going back out, Patison drove the car from 22nd to 8th place in the 10 remaining laps.  On the final restart Patison got hung out on the outside groove and gave up 2 positions, bringing the Speed Wong Racing entry home in 10th place. Although they had hoped for their first top five of the season, Patison and his crew were pleased with their comeback. 

This long trip to Kyle, Texas was heartening for the Team.  The Thunderhill race track is an older, very small and comfortable track 30 miles from Austin.  The new Speed Wong Racing West team, based in Modesto, CA is now gelling.  In its third West race, the Team is working well together, providing Jason Patison the much needed support, shown in the excellent qualifying and the quick decision, pit stop.  At the end of the race, Jason and his Team felt they could have finished higher than 10th, but were encouraged by the progress . Now sitting tied for 9th place in overall points and tied for first in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings, Patison and Speed Wong Racing are headed to Iowa Speedway  on May 18th,  for a prestigious race.  Jason Patison is 10th in points.  

Special thanks goes out to all of Patison’s  Sponsors; Lucas Oil Products, SuperClean, Dixie Chopper, Jasper Engines, E3 Spark Plugs, Jim Beam, and Fatheadz Sun Glasses for all of their support.  As well as a Special Thanks from Jason Patison to his West Team: Jim Brown, Josh Tolbert, Jerel Reeves, Angelo Quirello, Rick Regelman, Mark Linn, Paul “the Law”Dorrity, Robert Strmiska, Jason Fensler.

To check out more about Jason Patison, his crew, and what the rest of their season looks like check out www.jasonpatison.com, www.lucasoil.com, or www.speedwongracing.com.   All races are aired live on HD Net, and tape delayed on SPEED, so check your local listing for dates and times.

Speed Wong Racing, fields the Super Clean-Lucas Oil #17 car, in race #2 in the 2008 NASCAR West Series at Phoenix International Raceway.

In only his second start in the NASCAR series, in front of Cup and Nationwide teams racing the next day at PIR, Jason Patison drove a hard fought race for 12th place. Jason battled a loose handling car all 150 laps and a field of 37 competitors, through 4 pit stops, a NASCAR penalty and a brush with the wall in turn 4, and still managed a very respectable 12th place finish. It wasn’t the first place that Jason is accustomed to winning, but he is still a rookie and this series is filled with professional teams and drivers.

In the NASCAR Camping World West Series overall points, Jason Patison is in 8th place, of an overall 39 competitors. An impressive top ten performance for the entire Team and for Jason.

This was Jason’s first race on a 1 mile track at 150 miles. By comparison, the Nationwide Race is only 50 miles longer at 200 laps, and the Cup race is 500 miles long. At PIR, Jason’s time leading up to the green flag, offered him a glimpse as to what to expect when he makes the next step in the NASCAR ladder. Since it was Cup Weekend, Jason received the full NASCAR treatment, from Tech Inspections by regular Cup Officials, to several driver meetings, crew chief and spotter meetings and ending with a driver introduction on stage in front of the PIR crowd.

During Jason’s introduction he was awarded the Most Improved Award by Featherlite, for his changes since his last race in 2007.

At 150 laps, race strategy played an important role in Jason’s 12th place finish. The pit stops were live, with Jason Fensler and Robert Strimska orchestrating great pit stops, with their seasoned and talented crew. Four pit stops were managed quickly, adding fuel, tires and pounding out the damaged right side from a brush with the wall in turn 4, late in the race.

In the end, Jason and the Team were positive and encouraged. After only the second race, Jason has run Roseville’s 1/3 mile track and Phoenix’ 1 mile super fast speedway, all while learning, gaining valuable experience and fighting hard to finish well.

Next week is Texas. Look for the Lucas Oil #17 at another hard fought short track, in Kyle, Texas at Thunderhill Raceway.