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Brownstown Speedway and ILMS Awards Banquet Saturday December 10th		10/13/11 - Update On 10/6-10/8, the Patus Racing Team competed in the annual FunFest held at Brownstown Speedway. The #49 took the track for ILMS heat race action on Thursday (10/6) and finished 4th, securing a spot in Friday evening’s ILMS feature event. Friday night didn’t fare so well as Matt was involved in a spin early in the race that sent him to the tail. Working back through the field, a collision with an infield tire broke a spindle on the car and ended the evening. On Saturday, the team repaired that car using borrowed parts from competitors and had it ready for racing action against a field of 40 Late Models for the open-motor event. 5th place in a heat race and 5th place in a consolation left the #49 outside looking in. The car also suffered significant damage to the left front shock from the previous evening which probably caused the handling woes suffered throughout Saturday. The team rounded out the season with a 9th place finish in the Indiana Late Model Series. 9/21/11 - Update 30 cars were in competition this past Saturday (9/17) at Brownstown Speedway for the 7th Annual Hall of Fame Classic – an open motor competition. The #49 machine advanced to the feature by virtue of a 3rd place heat race finish. In the feature, luck ran out when the #49 got caught up in a restart pile-up that caused enough damage to the nose of the car to force the #49 out of the race. The team will be back in action at Brownstown Speedway for the annual “Fun Fest” on October 6th, 7th, and 8th. October 6th and 7th will be the final Indiana Late Model Series points race of the season with heat race action on the 6th and the feature event on the 7th. The team also tentatively plans to compete in the open-motor Late Model race on the 8th. 9/14/11 - Update Over the Labor Day Weekend, the team competed both Saturday and Sunday evenings at the Twin Cities Raceway Park in Vernon, IN. Saturday’s race was an Indiana Late Model Series event. 18 cars were in competition and the team brought the car home to a 7th place finish in the night’s feature event. Sunday was the Ted Collins Memorial – an open motor competition. Matt missed the transfer into the feature from the heat race by one position and then missed the transfer into the feature from the consolation race also by one position. The team will be back in action on September 17th at Brownstown Speedway for the Hall of Fame Classic. 8/30/11 - Update 20 cars were in competition for the Indiana Late Model Series event at Brownstown Speedway on Saturday, 8/27. Despite starting on the tail of his heat race, Matt moved up to 4th in the heat to secure an 11th place start for the night’s feature event. There was good racing all through the field and the #49 machine found itself in the top 5 at one point in the race. The team came home with a 6th place finish – the team's best feature race finish so far in ILMS competition The team will be back in action over the Labor Day weekend on 9/3 at Twin Cities Raceway Park in Vernon, IN for an ILMS event and the following day (9/4) for the Ted Collins Memorial (an open-motor competition event) also at Twin Cities Raceway Park. 8/25/11 - Update The team had this past weekend off from racing. But on Saturday, 8/13, the number 49 was in action at Twin Cities Raceway Park in Vernon, Indiana for an Indiana Late Model Series event. With threatening weather in the area, just 12 late models were in attendance. The team missed the setup and settled for a 5th place finish in the heat race. The team was confident that they had the car dialed in for the feature but a first-lap pile-up in turn 2 causes front suspension damage and a flat right front tire. The crew got the tire changed in time to return to the track where Matt salvaged a 7th place finish despite an ill-handling car with heavy right front damage. The team has the car repaired and back together and is ready for racing action at Brownstown Speedway for an ILMS event on Saturday 8/27. 8/1/11 - Update The team competed on Thursday (7/28) at the Jackson County Fair (Brownstown Speedway) for an Indiana Late Model Series event. 23 crate late models were in attendance for the event. After a 4th place finish in the heat race, Matt drove the #49 machine to an 11th place finish in the feature event. Then, on Saturday (7/30) the team returned the Brownstown Speedway for the Jackson County Grand Champion Fair Race. Under the open motor rules, 30 late models were in attendance. Despite starting near the tail of his heat race, Matt advance to the feature by virtue of a 4th place finish. In the feature, the #49 was dicing it up in the middle of the field throughout the 30-lap event and finished 12th place after starting 15th. 7/25/11 - Update The team hit the track on 7/16 at Twin Cities Raceway Park in Vernon, Indiana for an Indiana Late Model Series event. After running up front for the first few laps of a competitive heat race, the car suddenly lost power and Matt was forced to retire from the race. The crew went to work on the #49 machine and discovered an ignition problem that they were able to resolve. Despite starting shotgun on the field for the night’s feature event, Matt drove the car to an 11th place finish. After the big crash in May which made for very little racing in June, July has provided some solid finishes which have vaulted the #49 machine from 27th to 11th in the ILMS points. The team has taken advantage of an off weekend on 7/23-7/24 for mid-season maintenance and improvements to the car. Next on tap for the team will be the Thursday Night Thunder event for the Jackson County Fair at Brownstown Speedway on 7/28. Thursday Night Thunder is also an ILMS points race. Then, on Saturday, 7/30, the team will compete in the Grand Champion Fair Race against the open-motor Late Models.