News
November 2, 2008
Hey all... its been a
long time since the page has heard from me so I figured I should give an
update coming off of the biggest win of my career... the 2008 All American
400 in Nashville, TN.
Its been a heck of a
learning year for me. Accepting crew chief and consulting roles this year in
late model divisions and races all over the country has allowed me a totally
different perspective on how to tune racecars and has given me more tools
than I have ever had to be more successful both in and out of the seat. All
of the drivers and teams I have worked for have been great to work with and
I am truly having a blast doing it.
Early this year, I
decided to build my own car for some of the big end of the year races. I
figured it would be good for business, allowing me to further my education
of racecar setups and keep the consulting business going well with some good
runs. From the standpoint of driving, it would keep my skills sharp and let
everyone know that I was still capable of turning a steering wheel for a
living. With the help of many great companies like Port City Racecars,
Mcgunigill Engine Performance, ARP Bodies, Advanced Racing Suspension, AP
Brakes, Schoenfeld Headers and Joe Gibbs Racing Oils and the space and
equipment of Jim Winters, I was able to build my best piece to date.
We debuted it a month
ago at the Winchester 400 with a new track record. Leading the most laps of
the race, we were certainly a threat to win until a bit of body damage and a
loose ball joint housing sent the car to the tight side taking us out of
contention for the win and demoting us to a disappointing 6th place finish.
With the car in one piece, we prepared it for The All American 400 weekend
in Nashville, TN and nearly sat it on the pole there too. Breaking my
existing track record, but just .03 seconds shy of Mitch Cobb's new track
record putting us on the outside pole. The car was great, again leading the
most laps of the race, but this time everything fell into place and we were
able to capture the victory!
I am now setting my
sites on two more end of the year races with hopes of competing in both the
Southern Slam in Valdosta, GA and the Snowball Derby in Pensacola, FL.
Though I am very much on a "one race at a time" budget, with the momentum
from the Nashville win I hope to be able to contend for those two victories
as well.
2008 has been a great
year, and with the added momentum of the win at Nashville, I'm looking to
close it out on very big note and look forward to bigger challenges in the
2009 racing season!
Thank you for your
support,
Gabe
September 25, 2007
The Inaugural Circle
Track Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park has come and gone much like a
bittersweet symphony. The nine month promotion has been a wonderful learning
tool and a business experience that cant be traded. The good with the bad,
it truly has been a diversifying experience, to say the least.
With all of the added
incentives to compete, we were hopeful that more competitors would show but
at the same time, we were aware of the skepticism that can come from some
where a first time event is concerned. Either way, I feel like everyone
involved did a great job and helped put on a first class show. a BIG THANK
YOU to everyone that helped make our crazy little side project (spiraled
into a HUGE project in and of itself) come and go with a success!
As for my racing world,
it has been going well. I just finished competing in the Inaugural CTN and
we we're fortunate enough to pick up the win (our third of the year)! What a
great racecar we had and what a big win to pick up. So many great
competitors... it really was a great night for us. Our team has really been
on a roll and with that performance, we locked up the 2007 CRA Super Series
Championship.
Now we can focus on the
rest of the "Big Race" season with the next race being the Winchester 400.
Following that we will be in Nashville for the All American 400 and then the
Snowball Derby in Pensacola, FL. After winning "The 100" at ORP we are the
only one with a shot to win the $50,000 bonus for the CRA Triple Crown if we
can win both Winchester and Nashville. We had great cars and a great shot at
both last year, so with a little bit of racing luck we should have a chance
at them again this year.
Just a few more races
left this year... focused on the prize... consistent in the goal... excited
for the next opportunity. See you at Winchester!
Gabe
7/8/2007
It's
been awhile again since the news page has seen me. So far, we've been having
a good race season. We've had pretty fast cars everywhere we go and have
only finished outside of the top 5 once with a 7th place finish
at Angola. We have had 2 fast times (one a new track record at Columbus) and
never qualified outside of the top 5. Along with that, we have won twice
(Toledo and Anderson) and are leading the CRA Super Series Point standings.
Our
next racing comes July 20th and 21st when we head to
Pensacola, FL for a Blizzard Series race on Friday night and then over to
Mobile, AL for the Miller Lite super late model program. Both races will
have extremely stiff competition so we are looking forward to that trip. Our
next CRA race comes August 4th at the Anderson 250. We didn't
have a very good racecar there last time but we got the win. Hopefully we
can tweak on it to get it a bit better and have a shot to win there again.
The Circle Track Nationals at ORP is coming along great. We already have
over 40 entries from 15 different states for "The 100" which is the main
event for the weekend featuring CRA super late models. It won't be long
before our local advertising campaign opens up and tickets go on sale. So
keep in check with
www.circletracknationals.com with more on that.
I am
looking forward to the second half of the season since we have been running
pretty well so far and have had some really fast racecars. With our eye
focused squarely on the bigger races of the year (Winchester 400, All
American 400 and the Snowball Derby) we are continuing to tweak and tune our
cars and manage our assets so we can be the best we can be come that time of
year. We ran very well at all three races last year. So with a little bit of
luck on our side at the right time, I think we could be a threat to win all
three. But just to win any one of these three would be an honor given their
tradition and the very stiff competition that will be there.
Eye on
the ball- Charlotte in sight- I'm not done swingin' at em yet!
Thanks
for your interest and support!
Gabe
April 15, 2007
The 2007 racing season has
started for myself with Hendricks County Motorsports and its owner, Jim
Winters. This will be our 4th full year together and, like every other year,
this year we have taken on a side project to our racing schedule. This years
side project is the biggest one yet and therefore, the most exciting. This
year Jim Winters and myself will be promoting the Inaugural Circle Track
Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park on September the 20-22. This event will
feature a 100 lap race for Super Late Models paying $10,000 to win and
$1,000 to start with a purse in excess of $53,000. Also competing will be
the USA Modified Series, CRA Street Stocks and CRA Sportsman. More
information can be found on this at
www.CircleTrackNationals.com
Now for the racing! We started our
season 2 weekends ago on April 1st at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville,
TN. Last fall we set a new track record there for the All American 400
weekend and led from the pole for the 1st 75 laps before having a suspension
failure, rallying back to the top 5 after losing a lap, then shorting an
alternator wire out with 2 laps to go to finish 21st. This time, we
qualified 2nd fast and had to start 9th due to the invert. Coming from 9th
to win against that caliber of competition is a tall order for anyone and we
came close, finishing 5th, but our car was just little off all the way
around. With 40 laps to go we were on our longest green run of the day and
was reeling in the leaders when the caution flew. From there out, our car
started to fade and we had to settle for 5th. We learned some things with
the setup and will be ready to shoot at them with our best bullets (New car
and fresh engine) when we go back in the fall.
The rest of the year will see us
competing in a part time CRA Super Series schedule at races that my car
owner and I enjoy to race at. Winchester, Berlin, Toledo and Illiana are
some of the races we will be competing at with the series. We will also
likely run a PASS South show or two as well as a trip to Pensacola, FL for a
Blizzard race with a stop back in Mobile, AL the following night, if
anything is left from the storm that can be Five Flags Speedway :).
This racing season holds many
challenges for me as I continue working with Advanced Racing Suspensions
developing new setup technology, furthering my driving career behind the
wheel of super late models, and trying my hand at promoting a major event
with my car owner at O'Reilly raceway park. However, I am excited and
motivated to succeed at all three and look forward to what lies ahead. And
yes, I haven't forgotten about the eye that's on the prize... Charlotte is
in my future :). Until next time... have fun at the track!
01/26/07
Chris Gabehart is excited about the
CRA $50,000 Triple Crown
CRA OFFICIALS REVEAL $50,000 TRIPLE CROWN BONUS
Winning
Three Late Season SLM Shows Will Pay Off Big
Officials from Champion Racing Association (CRA)
unveiled the “$50,000 Triple Crown” program today, for three key
season-ending events for Super Late Models. One driver will win a $50,000
bonus if they can win the inaugural Circle Track Nationals 100 at O’Reilly
Raceway Park in Indianapolis in September, the historic 36th Annual
Winchester 400 in October, and the high profile All-American 400 in
Nashville in November. With the bonus and expected purse winnings, one
driver could take home almost $100,000 in three events.
The first race in the $50,000 Triple Crown is a new
event with a lot of energy already building. The Super Late Model team of
Jim Winters and Chris Gabehart are the promoters of the inaugural Circle
Track Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis on September
21-22. Winters, the former promoter of the very popular “Junkyard 100” for
late models in the 1980’s, along with his protégé’ Gabehart, have put
together a racers dream of $10,000 to win for a 100 lap event on only 4
tires. “This is something we think Super Late Model racing really needs,”
Gabehart stated. “I’m speaking of both our style of race and the $50,000
Triple Crown. I can’t think of a better place to kick off the Triple Crown
than Indianapolis, with such a great facility and all the history this city
has.”
The
middle event of $50,000 Triple Crown will be the 36th Annual Winchester 400
on October 14-15. Following a stellar event in 2006, which featured quality
efforts by the southern teams of Mike Fritts, Clay Jones and Augie Grill,
Winchester officials felt the time was right for this exciting move.
Speedway owner Charlie Shaw was inspired by comments from Scott Hantz, the
2006 race winner, at the season ending CRA Awards Banquet. “When Scott got
up at the banquet and thanked me for having the race, what he called their
‘Daytona 500’, well, I felt pretty proud,” Shaw recalled. “This $50,000
Triple Crown program just makes it even bigger!”
The $50,000 Triple Crown program doesn’t stop
there. If no one wins all three events, the first driver to win two of
these events in 2007 will receive a $10,000 bonus. And if no one wins more
than one event, the driver that accumulates the most points over the three
events will earn a $5,000 bonus. To be eligible for the $50,000 Triple
Crown Bonus Program, a driver must attempt to qualify for all three events.
“We’re
very excited about this new program,” noted David Underwood of Music City
MotorPlex, host of the All American 400 on November 4-5. “These are three
great races that can bring a lot of recognition to the drivers involved.
Plus, the excitement will be even greater for our event with so much on the
line for the final event of the $50,000 Triple Crown.”
While scheduling conflicts of preliminary events
prevented involvement of the Snowball Derby in this first year, Five Flags
Speedway promoter Tim Bryant is excited about the program and foresees being
involved in 2008. “We like what we see with these tracks getting together,”
Bryant noted, “and even though we can’t be directly involved this year, we
think we can be a part of it in 2008 and make it even bigger.” Bryant went
on to offer the first Triple Crown Champion a paid entry and a set of tires
for this year’s Snowball Derby.
Officials from CRA and the Triple Crown events have also agreed that winners
from the first two events will be guaranteed starts in the remaining Triple
Crown events, ensuring that that $10,000 or $50,000 bonus will still be
available at the final event.
More details will be available in the coming weeks,
including a possible sponsor announcement, a deeper point fund payout, point
system structure and other news. Those details will be available at
www.craracing.net,
www.musiccitymotorplex.com,
www.winchesterspeedway.com or
www.circletracknationals.com .
The CRA series will come to
O'Reilly Raceway Park on September 21st and
22nd for the
Inaugural Circle Track Nationals, a huge racing event
that will be promoted by Hendricks
County Motorsports owner Jim
Winters, a former promoter of
several late model events in Central
Indiana and his CRA Super Series
driver Chris Gabehart, who will
spearhead the promotion of this
historic event on the famed Indy oval
located in Clermont, Indiana, right
outside Indianapolis.
"Jim Winters and I are both very
excited to be offering another event
of this caliber to the Super Late
Model community," remarked Gabehart.
"As racers, we are aware of the
desire for more races of this stature
at a facility as top notch as
O'Reilly Raceway Park. As promoters, we
look forward to the challenge of
getting this inaugural event off the
ground in a successful manner and
building it into a staple event for
the super late model community as
well as one that the Indianapolis
racing community can be proud of."
The CRA Super Series event with the
Inaugural Circle Track US Nationals
will be a 100 lap, four tire event,
that will pay the winner $10,000
and will pay $1000 to start. More
information on this event will be
released at a later date.
"We are elated to be a part of this
huge event that Jim and Chris are
going to have at O'Reilly Raceway
Park," stated Glenn Luckett, Director
of the CRA Super Series. "Jim has
been a huge supporter of our series
since it's beginning and has been a
very successful businessman. Chris
brings a great passion for late
model racing and a desire to be
successful, the combination of them
working together will bring another
successful landmark racing event to
the most historic racing city in
America."
November 6, 2006
What… a… racecar… About all I can say about our weekend
in Nashville for the CRA portion of the All American 400 weekend.
After the whole team thrashed for two straight weeks to
get the engine fixed and the backup car into shape after the wreck in
Winchester for one of the biggest races of the year, I can’t say enough for
how everyone performed. I must first and foremost thank all of my crew for
their hard work and dedication… and man did it almost pay all the way off
with a sweep of the weekend.
First, we set fast time in qualifying with a new track record. And then in
the race, a little $2.00 part failure mid way through the race took our
clearly dominate racecar a notch back and made it a mere contender for the
win from there on out. We decided to take lefts 75 in and save our rights
for late in the race. Then, with the part failure immediately after making
the car ridiculously tight in the center and a long green flag run, I lost a
lap and we were in a hole that proved to be a bit too deep. Getting our lap
back on the restart and holding it for 25 laps or so set us up for a heck of
a late race charge once the caution finally flew. With 25 laps to go I came
from 16th to 7th with 3 to go before I had a driveline
issue creep up due to the extreme bottoming out of the chassis due to the
part failure. Losing all of my track position so close to the end of the
race was a frustrating end to an otherwise good weekend.
It’s unfortunate that very few people will know what
really happened midway through the race that made our obvious rocket ship
seemingly instantaneously fall of the pace. But that’s racing… so many
things behind the scene can go wrong that no one will ever know about and
can steal your headlines.
With two of the three big races that we chose to run to
close out the end of the year completed, we’ve had two near wins with
Winchester being taken away from us at the end, and the All American 200 in
Nashville being given away by a part failure. Our team knows the potential
and believes the results will come and we look forward to cashing in on them
the first weekend in December at the Snowball Derby.
See ya then,
Gabe
Monday October 23, 2006
As evident by the lack of updates on the news page, it's been a long
time since it's heard from me. A few weekends ago we finished up the
return of the Winchester 400, in Winchester, IN with a near win. While
leading with just 19 laps to go trying to hold off 2nd place and his
fresher right side tires an all out dog fight that had the fans on their
feet for the previous 25 laps finally led to the mistake of the 2nd place
runner that cost us both our shots at the 35th annual Winchester 400 and
unfortunately, totally destroyed both racecars in the process. Just a
little slip from him on the inside of us coming off of turn two and that
was all it took... both of us collected hard into the outside retaining
wall. What a heartbreaker as my team and I had run what we felt like was a
perfect race all day long. Racing smart and conservative, maintaining our
lead lap position for a late race charge to the front for whoever was left
standing. Unfortunately, another near victory that we missed out on due to
circumstances out of our control. In racing, all that can be done is
prepare as best you can to win and then execute that preparation.
Variables out of your control are variables you can do nothing about. A
lesson I have learned oh so many times in this sport and a lesson that has
made me a much stronger racer and person.
With our best racecar now junked our small funded and close nit team
full of part timers are up off the mat one more time...I... am up off the
mat one more time. That car has been disassembled and is gone and the engine
has been sent back to be repaired and put back in our 2nd and last car.
Nashville, TN is two weekends away and I, we, refuse to hold our heads low.
Nashville is another chance to showcase our talents and we will be there
with both barrels loaded.
This is my life... It's what I do... and every passing moment is another
chance to turn it all around. I will not die today. Full speed ahead...
Gabe
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Indianapolis Raceway
Park
Gabehart Completes Sweep
Chris Gabehart was the fastest in qualifying and showed his growing
maturity by patiently following Jeff Lane for 30+ laps before finally
passing him on the outside after trying the inside for many laps. While
he and Lane were racing for the lead, Landon Cassill was working his way
up to fourth and pressuring third place finisher Charlie Bradberry when
the rains came ending the race prematurely on lap 51. Tommy St. John
finished fifth retaking the Series Points lead in a very tight points
race.
Unofficial Results
