Electrical Problems Slow Fast-timer East at Columbus

Brownsburg, Ind. (Sept. 20, 2009) – Bobby East set fast time in qualifying and looked like a solid contender for the win early on during Saturday night’s USAC National Midget Car Series feature at Columbus Motor Speedway, but electrical problems slowed East late in the going and dropped him to a 20th-place finish.

East’s Klatt Enterprises No. 4 Ford Racing Technology/Beast Chassis Beast lapped the flat one-third mile oval in 13.449 seconds during qualifying, topping the 27-car field. He started sixth in the 40-lap feature and had gained a couple of positions before Lady Luck looked the other way.

“We had a great car, just like we did here in the spring,” East said. “This is a tough track to pass on, but we had already picked up a couple of spots and we were up in the top five. Something happened with the electrical system and we lost two cylinders. It would run good for the first quarter throttle but once I opened it up it just started skipping and popping. That’s been the story of our year I guess. It’s a real shame because we’re just out here to win races right now and any time you don’t you’re disappointed. But we have a lot of good tracks coming up and I am really excited at our chances. The team won the Midget race at the 4-Crown last year, and we have Phoenix and Irwindale coming up too. We’re going to go out there and test and make sure everything we demand out of the car for those races is there.”

East sits sixth in the USAC National Midget Car Series points, just nine points behind defending series champion Cole Whitt for fifth.

Next up for East and the Klatt Enterprises No. 4 Ford Racing Technology/Beast Chassis Beast is the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway on Saturday September 26.