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Tag: Jason Fensler

  • NASCAR K&N West Series: Jason Fensler Ready For Return Trip To Irwindale

    NASCAR K&N West Series: Jason Fensler Ready For Return Trip To Irwindale

    What a difference a year has made, but the results are continuing to prove what an underfunded can do when team chemistry plays a major role starting with the driver, crew chief, and spotter combination. When the green flag waves for this weekend’s Southern California Toyota Dealers 200 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, the distant memory of Auggie Vidovich crossing the finish after leading the last 141 laps will be remembered by those who were involved in the team’s first win.

    [media-credit id=50 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]A lot has changed since that memorable win back in 2010, with the most notable being the driver who was replaced when the team ran out of money to run the rest of the season. There comes a time in almost every team owner’s life when they have to sit back and evaluate what is more important, to continue to race, or have a roof over their head and food on the table. During the months leading up to January and the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown, the team regrouped and team owners Jim and Terri Cass let the team know they were ready to fire up the car to make another run at the 2011 season.

    After spending countless hours searching for a driver who could put the team back into victory lane, Jim and Terri found Wilton, California’s Jason Fensler, who had already tasted the fruits of victory in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series West division back in 2008. Fensler made his first start for the team driving the No. 50 TCR sponsored Chevrolet, in the season opening All-Star Showdown which is a non-points event. As luck would have it, an accident with 20 laps left ended Fensler’s night pre-maturely and the team would finish the race 28th.

    The night was not a total loss when Fensler said, “The car was strong there for the Showdown. Roger Bracken and the team have done an excellent job all year preparing great cars,” which gave the team a new found hope for the remainder of the season. Fensler would prove to the team they made the right decision by hiring him, when he took them to victory lane in his first points paying race at his home track in Roseville, California.

    Even though Fensler only led the last eight laps, it was enough to give the team their second consecutive victory when the car number was changed from 50 to the 59. Jim and Terri felt the number change was needed, since the No. 50 only had one top-five finish in nine starts, and seemed to be bringing the team bad luck. Fensler’s third start netted him an impressive third place finish at the Bullring in Las Vegas, after getting turned around on lap 124 from contact with 16-year-old Dylan Kwasniewski and David Mayhew.

    Once NASCAR lifted the red flag because of Mayhew’s wadded up race car, Fensler would restart the race 13th on lap 129, and methodically work his way up to his third place finishing position. Saturday night’s start at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale will mark Fensler’s fourth official start for the team, and his second at this progressively banked half-mile.

    Team Cass Racing is hoping to carry the momentum from their third place finish at the Bullring into Saturday nights 200 lap feature race, which will be run along with the King Taco Super Trucks, and the Langers Juice S2 division.

    “Irwindale, being a home track for Jim and Terri Cass as well as the entire Cass family, would be a great place to give them another victory. I truly look forward to seeing all of the supporters and fans of Team Cass Racing at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale,” said Fensler about Saturday night’s return to Irwindale.

  • NASCAR’s Jason Fensler Gambling On Getting His His Third Win In-A-Row In Las Vegas

    NASCAR’s Jason Fensler Gambling On Getting His His Third Win In-A-Row In Las Vegas

    It’s been close to two months since TeamCassRacing’s Jason Fensler, has sat behind the wheel of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race car when the team competed in the Toyota/Napa AutoCare 150 in Roseville, California. Fensler, who started the race 15th, led the final eight laps in his TCR / Pick-n-Pull / Simple Green sponsored Chevrolet, and went to victory lane in only his second start for team owners Jim and Terri Cass.

    [media-credit name=”TCR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The win was Fensler’s second points win in-a-row in only five starts; with his first one coming at Altamont Motorsports Park in 2008 when he drove for SpeedWong Racing. “We didn’t qualify that well. We started 15th. We had to start toward the back of the pack,” said Fensler after his win at Roseville. Fensler also added that, “We just kept ourselves in position the whole entire race and that was the key. We didn’t have real good car, but we put ourselves in position and I just knew on the last restart to get the best run I could of off of two and it worked out for us.”

    “At the close of the Roseville event when we were able to take the lead, my spotter Justin did a great job. It really enabled me to focus on hitting my marks and drive a good consistent line.” Fensler who is racing as a rookie in the series is running a limited schedule because of sponsorship restrictions, and will make his next start on Saturday in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 at the Bullring in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will mark the Elk Grove, California natives second start in a point’s race with the team, his first start came at the season opening Toyota All-Star Showdown which is a non-points event.

    Fensler qualified seventh for the showdown, and ran as high as eighth before Derek Thorn slid into race leader Paulie Harraka coming through Turn 4 on lap 206. Fensler, Dale Quarterley, David Mayhew, Darrell Wallace and Chad Boat were all involved as each driver had nowhere to go and ended in the grass in Turn 4, which ended Fensler’s night where he would finish 28th. With Fensler’s last win coming two months ago, he was asked what he’s done within that time to prepare himself for this weekend’s race, and how hard is it to get back in the car and be competitive after a two month layoff?

    “I have changed a few things inside the car for comfort. Foreseeing hotter weather this weekend in Las Vegas I mainly worked on driver cooling and fluids for myself. When you have Roger Bracken preparing a car, a great crew working on it and owners like Jim and Terri Cass it makes it so much easier on myself as a driver. It really enables myself to speed that process up of getting settled back behind the wheel,” said Fensler.

    Crew chief Roger Bracken has been hard at work since the last race working on the ways to improve the team, and make them stronger by communicating with Fensler as well as the team owners. “I tell ya, it’s hard to win these races, and to be the only other driver to win this season in the K&N Pro Series West, once again shows what a great team TCR is,” Fensler said.

    Fensler finished with, “Roger and myself communicate very well. We have talked a lot about qualifying, since we didn’t qualify that well at Roseville, to try and improve on that. We both agree, we don’t want to spend too much time on it and let ourselves get behind on race setups.” Even though Jim and Terri are still seeking sponsorship to cover the rest of the season and are considered an underfunded team, they are still able to provide Fensler with a fast and competitive race car as well as a team that gels really well together.

    Fensler added that, “Everyone on the team gives 110% to do the best we can, and at the close of the day know we can walk away knowing we did the best we can. We win as a team, we lose as a team and with that being said I personally focus on giving the best feedback I can to Roger on the chassis, and drive a smart race. These races are long races and you have to race smart and put yourself in the right spot at the end to have a shot at a victory or getting the best finish you can.”

  • Teamcassracing from the Toyota All-Star Showdown: New Driver, New Crew, New Outlook

    Teamcassracing from the Toyota All-Star Showdown: New Driver, New Crew, New Outlook

    There are many different story lines floating around the NASCAR garages during a race weekend.

    [media-credit name=”TeamCassRacing” align=”alignleft” width=”225″][/media-credit]The different angles that can be written about are vast as well as limitless, and depending who or what the subject may be about, it seems that most writers are always looking to the major players to get their next big story to write about.

    With the popularity along with the start status that surrounds these teams, it’s easy to see how the little guy, or, for a more apt description, the low budget team almost always gets overlooked.

    This weekend’s K&N Pro Series All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale is no different, and once again the buzz around the garages surrounds a few of the major players in the East and West series, along with one driver who is making his first start at the NASCAR level.

    This weekend could very well see the low budget team of TeamCassRacing once again visit victory lane when last season’s driver Auggie Vidovich, dominated the July 3 K&N Pro Series West race at this same race track.

    Teamcassracing, which is back in the showdown after announcing a week after last year’s win they would no longer be racing in the series, is fielding the same car that won on July 3 with driver Jason Fensler.

    Fensler, will pilot the No. 50 unsponsored Chevrolet which is entered in the showdown as a fan car, when during the weeks leading up to the race they gave the fans the opportunity to put their names on the car for a small nominal fee to help with racing expenses. In today’s high stakes game of racing, sponsors and budgets still need to be met in order for teams to be able to compete.

    How unfortunate is it to be considered a low budget team, especially when their outlook and morale are on the same plateau as those of the more highly-funded teams. Family values have almost been lost when you walk around the garages of some of the more high profile teams, but this team has been able to keep the family values alive while living by the phrase, “The family that races together stays together.”

    “You have to be a family in order to be a team, and family comes first with us. There is a bonding process that we go through, and once we mesh as family we should do good and that is one of our goals,” said team owner Terri Cass.

    Being a family-orientated team does have its ups and downs, and the team is hoping to run more than just the showdown since it takes more than a tight knit family to run the full season.“For my team we are a low-budget team, we are family-owned and to find sponsors it’s tough because of the economy. We run on bare bones, but we run on top dollar equipment,” said Cass.

    Cass also added that, “It does get tense without a sponsor, and sometimes those Top Ramens and hot dogs do get old. But my husband Jim and I are willing to sacrifice and eat those kinds of foods in order to put the money into racing.”

    With the start of each new season come the challenges along with the high expectations, and even in this third-tier series, the competition is just as fierce as the second and first-tier levels.

    When you think about NASCAR racing, try not to forget that there are still the other levels which bring just as much, and sometimes even more excitement than the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series. After all, each driver has to start someplace, and maybe that one driver who is racing on a Saturday night in your own backyard just might become NASCAR’s next big superstar.

    The outlook that Teamcassracing is carrying into the 2011 season is very positive, and one that will hopefully see their goals and dreams come true. “Our outlook is really good; I think that we will do very well this season. Those are our hopes and our dreams. We seem to be meshing as a team. We do have some humps and bumps to get over but we should go good.”

    Fensler, who qualified 7th for Saturday nights All-Star Showdown, will be looking forward to bringing his new team a better finish than last year’s race, when Auggie Vidovich finished 32nd after an accident took him out of the evenings. “Practice started off okay and we were struggling made some changes in the middle. Roger Bracken made some changes, and the car picked up a lot of speed.” said Fensler after the first practice session on Friday afternoon.

    Fensler also added that, “We have a great race car and I think we have a great shot at winning. I’m really happy from Jim and Terri and the rest of the team. I feel real confident and we will go out and see how the cards fall.” Fensler has one win in the K&N Pro Series West division which came back in 2008, and this weekend’s start will be his second in short tracks racing premier event when he finished 28 after an accident in the 2009 showdown.

    Fensler talked about this year’s start knowing this same car is the defending race winner at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale half mile oval when he said, “I think it’s the positive and gives me a ton of confidence and the people that own it and run the program.” Fensler finished with, “It puts pressure on my shoulders as far as being able to get the car to what it needs to be performance wise. I would rather have that type of confidence.”