Howshall Racing: News Archive

Mini-Trux

Steven's 2nd time out in the Mini Trux class went fairly smoothly as he continued to get a bit more familiar with his new surroundings.

In the 2nd Heat, Steven chased his dad around the track, and they finished 5th and 6th.

In the main race, John chased Steven for several laps, then they traded places and Steven chased John for awhile.  When it was all over, John had taken 8th place and Steven had taken 9th.

Mini-Trux

The big news this weekend was Steven Howshall's debut in the Mini-Trux class.  

Steven decided to change classes when the track officials at Antioch Speedway recently changed the Four-Bangers to a no-points class.   No points means no championship and for Steven it just took out a lot of the incentive.  So he decided that he'd rather step up to the new Mini Trux class.  It's a more competitive class with more experienced drivers.

In the first heat race, Steven quickly discovered that there's a big difference in how the Mini Trux handle on the track.  After all, the Four-Bangers are generally quite a bit heavier and have front wheel drive.  But he still managed to take 5th place, while John took 3rd place.

In the main race, John had some problems early on and was unable to finish.  Meanwhile, Steven continued to get a feel for the way his new truck handled, and was able to finish in 9th place.

Mini-Trux

This weekend, John Howshall had his strongest showing yet in the Mini-Trux class. 

Things didn't start off so great, however.  Early in the 1st Heat, John had bump with another driver that resulted in a flat tire.  As a result, he had to leave the track early.

 However, things were all fixed and ready to go for the main race, and John was able to take 5th place.

Four Bangers

After last weekend's crash, it didn't look at first like Steven would be racing again any time soon.  And with April 2 being the first points race, that would put him at a serious disadvantage for the season.

However, thanks to the overwhelming support and generosity of the Jennings Racing Team, Steven was back out on the track this past weekend in a brand new car!

Driving a Toyota Celica built by the Jennings Racing Team, who helped all week to get it ready in time for this race, Steven drove to a 4th place finish in the Four Banger main event.

The first heat  for the Four Banger class started with Steven immediately leaping out into first place.  He maintained his lead for several laps, but with just a few laps to go, he experienced an engine overheating problem and the car stalled out.

Fortunately, after refilling the radiator, the car was ready to go again for the main event.  However, because he didn't finish the heat race, Steven had a relatively poor starting position near the back.

While the overheating problem did return to some degree, Steven was able to keep things going and managed to move up through the ranks into 4th place.  In fact, when the race ended, he was on the verge of taking over 3rd place.  If the race had been another few hundred yards longer, he would have had it!

The exact cause of the overheating problem was not yet known when this news update was written, but we're confident that one way or another, things will be fixed and Steven will be back on the track in two weeks.

Four Bangers

The first race of the season on Saturday, March 26 ended in disaster for Howshall Racing.  In the main event for the Four Banger class, Steven Howshall jumped out to an early lead right from the first lap.  He held onto that lead for the next few laps, and then in the 3rd lap, Hawk Valentine (#7) came up into 2nd place and started to challenge Steven for the lead.

Steven hung onto his lead for the next two laps, but going into the first turn on lap 5, that all changed.  Valentine positioned himself to take the turn high and outside, but changed his mind just as he hit the turn, crossing over to Steven's inside.  However, he hit the inside too hard, and swung out and bumped into Steven, sending him out of control and into the wall in the middle of the 1st turn.

Valentine's car also lost control and hit the wall, but far more gently than Steven.  His car sustained some damage, but he was able to leave the track under his own power just a few seconds after the crash.  On the other hand, Steven's car was severely damaged in the crash, beyond any reasonable hope of repair.

After returning to the pit area, the Emergency Medical Teams that are always standing by at the races took a look at Steven and decided that it was possible that he had sustained a concussion and some sort of neck injury.  So they strapped him down to a stretcher and took him to Sutter Delta Hospital for a more in-depth examination.  Fortunately, Steven's injuries were minor, and he's looking forward to getting behind the wheel as soon as possible.

And considering that Steven's car was essentially totaled, when exactly will he be back behind the wheel?  As it turns out, negotiations are in the works for a deal that could get Steven back on the track as soon as this weekend's race!  More news to come!

Mini Trux

The first race of the season was also John Howshall's first chance to get some practice time in his new truck.  John discovered quickly that these trucks handle quite a bit differently from the four bangers he drove last year, because they have almost no weight in the back end.   It makes a big difference, especially in the turns.

John finished last in the main event this time around, but we're all hoping he'll do better after he's had a chance to get some more practice.

The Mini Trux class is very similar to the Four Banger class, except with small pickup trucks.  However, there are some important differences, such as not being limited to original stock equipment for everything.

Joining the Howshall Racing team in the pits this season is Tyler, who has been helping both Steven and John with welding and sheet metal work, and all sorts of other things, in order to get ready for the 2005 season.

The pits open at 1:00pm, and the grandstand opens at 5:00pm, with racing starting at about 6:00pm.

A broken axle isn't quite the sort of problem that automatically puts you on the sidelines.  Think of it as kind of like a twisted ankle.  Sure, it might hurt like crazy, but in many cases you can tape up that ankle real good and play through the pain.  You might not be playing at 100%, but it's better than staying home.

Well, for Steven, staying home wasn't a possibility.  You can't earn points if you don't race.  Missing the next to last race of the season would mean dropping back from 2nd in the overall points standings down to 4th or 5th place, with only one more race to make up ground.  On the other hand, racing all-out with a broken axle could easily lead to further damage that could affect his chances in the last race of the season two weeks later, which was a double-points night.

So Steven raced, but he was a bit more conservative this week.  He concentrated more and staying in the race and keeping his car in good shape than on winning.  Even so, the quickness of his new car still allowed him to finish 8th place (out of 18 starters) in the main race.

John was in the 2nd heat, and even though his car was running better than ever, owing to some recent repairs.  At one point, he was in 3rd place behind Jason Jennings (#42) and Ricky Kaylor (#29x), but then he came up behind Debbie Foreman (#77).  John was on the inside coming out of turn 4, but Debbie moved to the inside and cut him off, causing John to hit her.  She spun out and went into the tires, and John was black-flagged for rough racing.

Something new at Antioch Speedway is the "penalty box".  Instead of being kicked out of the race altogether, cars that are black-flagged for rough racing are now sent to a special area on the infield where they must stay until the officials let them rejoin the race.  Unfortunately, the heat race isn't long enough to make up the lost time, and John finished in 8th place.

In the main race, 16 cars were lined up, which quite frankly is probably at least 4 too many for this small, muddy track, as demonstrated by the constant stream of crashes and yellow flags.  Still, in this particular instance it worked out to Steve's advantage.  Season points leader Jason Jennings (#42) had a few crashes and eventually had to leave the race, as did the #3 guy in the standings, Ricky Kaylor (#29x).

Towards the end of the race, Steve was making a play for 3rd place when there was a crash in front of him on the back straightaway.  Steve managed to miss it, but it put him on the outside and he hit the wall coming out of turn 4.  His car stalled, and while he was trying to get it started again, the cars that had crashed managed to get going and pass him.  Steve went on to finish in 6th place.

John's car was faster than ever this week, and he was doing better than usual as a result.  But then he got hit by Brian Zachary (#8) and for some reason, the officials black-flagged John for rough-racing!  So he had to go into the Penalty Box area.  After sitting there for awhile without being allowed to rejoin the race, John decided he'd had enough and so he went ahead and left the track altogether.  He ended up in 13th, ahead of a few drivers that had left the race earlier.

Sadly, this was John's last race this season.  Unsatisfied with his car's performance, he's decided to hang up his helmet for now.  But he's still considering the idea of starting fresh at the beginning of the new season next spring with a new car.

The next race is September 4th.  Rumor has it that Steve might be selling his current car and coming out in something brand new.  We'll just have to wait and see!

In the main race, things were looking pretty good for awhile too.  Steve was in 3rd place and making a run for 2nd when he was black-flagged during a caution.  Apparently, his exhaust pipe had burned through and had fallen down to drag the ground.  (See photo)  Race officials felt it was a hazard and made Steve quit the race.

Fortunately, Steve's main competition for 2nd in the points standings was ALSO unable to finish the race, so Steve was able to hold his position.

Despite some early setbacks that saw him in last place for a few laps, John was able to move back up and take 8th place overall, giving him a total of 180 points this season, and moving him up a spot in the season standings from 14th to 13th.  (All points totals and standings are strictly unofficial.)

A spark plug wire was a bit loose and was resting up against the engine manifold where it eventually caught fire.  Fortunately, it happened right at the end, so Steve was able to finish, and then a little quick action with the fire extinguisher was all it took to bring the fire under control.  An after-race inspection revealed that nothing was damaged except the spark plug wire.

But the main heat was still ahead, and it was discovered that the team didn't have the right type of spare plug wires on hand in the pits.  It all had a happy ending when John managed to MacGyver a replacement wire in time for the main race.

John took 6th place for 70 points, giving him a total of 147 points this season, moving him up two spots from 16th to 14th.  (All points totals and standings are strictly unofficial.)

More pictures of the wreckage are available in the photo gallery -- See page 5

Even though Steve was still able to get around the track, the engine overheating seriously hurt his performance and caused the brand-new engine to blow a head gasket.  Steve was able to finish the race, but had fallen back to 7th place.

The damage to the front end is severe, so that's it for Steven's first race car.  Fortunately, there was a 3 week layover until the next race, so Steve's new car is expected to be ready in time for the next race on July 17.