by Kari Shear-Carlson
May 30, 2015 – ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment Touring Star, Andrew Morrissey, is off to a strong start in 2015. With podium finishes in every Tour race so far, including a big win in the ARCA Midwest Tour Calypso Chicagoland Showdown event combined with the ARCA/CRA Super Series, Morrissey is definitely proving his level of contention wherever he goes.
His pass for the lead at Illiana Motor Speedway had the fans on their feet and was the perfect way to show that the 2011 Midwest Tour Champion is back in top form. Morrissey, along with the rest of the best of the Midwest Tour, had an additional challenge going up against the best of the ARCA/CRA Super Series.
“There were a lot of good drivers there. I mean, they (CRA) had their best, so it means a lot to me,” said Morrissey. “Going in I never would’ve thought that I was going to win,” he joked, but Morrissey and the team made the right adjustments to get into victory lane.
Adjustments seem to be the key to Morrissey’s recent success. After struggling for a good part of 2014, Morrissey and his team made some changes and seem to be heading back in the right direction.
“We got some things straightened out from last year. I started making my own spindles and changing up the suspension a little bit. We got things rolling in the right direction at the end of last year and it has carried over so far this year,” said Morrissey.
As the ARCA Midwest Tour heads into Dells Raceway Park on June 13th for the Bill Meiller Memorial 101 presented by Assembly Products, Morrissey is confident that he will have a strong car. While he doesn’t claim a home track, he admittedly has as much experience as anywhere on the 1/3-mile oval.
When the ARCA Midwest Tour visited DRP in 2014, Morrissey qualified fifth, finished second in his qualifying race, and came out with a top ten, finishing in seventh. Considering he was not as strong as he could’ve been, it was a good run for the team.
“Last year I was kind of struggling but still had a good run. I think the way things have been going, I will have a good car and a good shot at winning the race,” said Morrissey.
Of course Andrew and the rest of the Touring Stars will be challenged by the likes of Travis Sauter, who has proved dominance at the track as of late. But Morrissey doesn’t feel intimidated and plans to work on his program to be a challenger.
“Travis is going to have a good handling car. He’s definitely going to be tough. I’ve been better than him on the short runs, so if we get some late race cautions, that would be good. But we also need to get better on the longer runs. If we can figure that out, I think we’ll have a good shot at the win,” he explained.
Earlier this year, Morrissey took part in the track’s season opener. He had a fast car all day and was set to start the 100-lap feature from the pole position only to have a panhard bar break during warm-up laps ending his night and hopes for a victory.
“I was trying to do everything I could to not pull off the track. I was pretty disappointed and felt I had a good car, really good starting spot, and pretty good chance at winning, but it wasn’t meant to be,” said Morrissey.
On Saturday, June 13th, Andrew Morrissey hopes it will be meant to be and find victory lane for the second time this season. With his solid top ten runs and continued adjustments, chances are pretty good that he will be up front and in contention for the win.
Practice will begin at 1:30pm with qualifying at 5pm and racing at 7pm. Tickets are available online today at shtrk.us/arcamtix
For complete event details, log on to arcamidwesttour.com
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (/midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on to arcamidwesttour.com. The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedway.
