August 28, 2003 DeLange Racing Finishes 6th In Final Lancaster Appearance The DeLange Racing Team was at Lancaster Motorsports Park in Lancaster, NY on Monday August 25, 2003 for our final Lancaster appearance of the 2003 season. Starting at the back of the pack in the heat, and with only 3 cars qualifying from each heat, Chuck decided to take it easy and save the car for the feature. The #22 DeLange Racing modified started the race in 14th and Chuck quickly began moving up through the field. Just past halfway through the 30-lap feature, #04 Kirk Rutherford tried to pass underneath Chuck (who was running 6th at the time) in turn one. Rutherford made contact with Chuck's left rear, causing Chuck to spin, and Rutherford to hit the wall. Chuck did a great job of keeping the car under control and was able to continue on from the rear of the pack. Chuck charged hard to get back to the front again, as the Hot Shoe seemed to find another gear and was passing cars both high and low. In a matter of laps he found himself back in 6th and in a great battle with #6 Kenny Troyer for fifth position. Troyer and Hossfeld put on a good show as they fought for position in the final few laps. Troyer managed to hold him off and retain 5th position as Chuck went on to finish 6th for the evening. The #22 DeLange Racing Team had a great season at Lancaster in 2003, with 3 wins in 7 races, and only one finish (this most recent one) outside of the top-5. Chuck will be busy with the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series for the next few weeks as the DeLange Racing Team makes preparations for our next and final race of the 2003 season - the 53rd Annual Sunoco Race of Champions at Oswego Speedway. Last year Chuck had dominated the race until he was taken out in the final few laps. We will be working hard to bring another stout car there this year, and to put on a good showing for all of our sponsors and dedicated fans. In regards to the incident in our pit area after the race, Chuck and the DeLange Racing Team would like to apologize to our fans and sponsors. We are racers at heart, and when we show up at the track we are there to race. Our crew is entirely volunteer and often miss work and family obligations to participate in the sport we love. Never do we show up at the track and intend to find ourselves in an altercation. One of the things that makes local short track racing great is the contact with the drivers and teams after the races. When an incident occurs, especially on the magnitude of what happened Monday, the safety of everyone in the pit area becomes a concern. This includes sponsors, family, friends, and fans - some elderly and quite often children, and their safety should never be put at risk. We feel that there is no place in racing for this kind of activity. It put a sour note at the end of what had otherwise been a great 2003 season for us at Lancaster. We can only hope that the Lancaster officials will take appropriate action and make whatever changes are necessary to ensure that the drivers, teams, sponsors, and fans have the safest possible atmosphere in the future.
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