RACE RESULTS
2006 Racing Season
August 30th - Kasey Kahne Foundation Race @ Skagit Speedway - Time in: 12.8
Heat race: 8th
C-Main: 2nd
B-Main: 15th
August 24th - NST @ Elma, WA - Time in: 13.300
Heat race: 10th
C-Main: 2nd
B-Main: 16th
August 5th - Skagit Speedway - Heat race: 7th
B-Main: 7th
July 29th - NST @ Elma, WA - Time in: 13.625
Heat race: 9th
July 28th - NST @ Elma, WA - Time in: 13.9
Heat race: 10th
July 26th - NST @ Lebanon, OR - Time in: 14.052
Heat race: 10th
July 25th - NST @ Cottage Grove, OR - Time in: 12.639
Heat race: 10th
C-Main: 4th
B-Main: 14th
July 24th - NST @ Medford, OR - Time in: 13.1
Heat race: 6th
C-Main: 6th
June 2nd - Skagit Speedway - Chris timed in tonight with a 13.4 and a faster 13.1. He started in the back of his heat and gained a few spots before the checkered. Chris started inside the third row of the B-Main, on the second start of the race Chris got a good jump and passed one car on the first lap. A red came out for Kirkpatrick and Chris was in 4th, the last transfer spot for the A-Main. He fell to fifth on the restart and was unable to get the pass back on the fourth place car to make the show. Having the transfer position we got Chris ready for the main just in case a car couldn't make the start. Chamberlain's car wouldn't fire giving Chris the transfer into the A. Chris raced the best race so far this year, making great passes, holding the bottom line and staying out of trouble. He finished eleventh overall, no complaints for the first A-Main in the 360! Chris said he felt more confident after gaining some seat time and knowledge at the Jimmy Sills school last week and is ready for more racing next week as the team goes to Elma, WA.
April 28th - NST @ Lebanon, OR - Tonight was the opening night of the 2006 NST season at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR. Due to car troubles and bad weather this was Chris' first time on the track with his new 360. Chris ran all four hot lap sessions, spinning a couple times while trying to get a feel for the power this car has, he came in reporting that the car was extremely loose and the crew made changes to tighten it up before time ins. Chris' fastest lap was a 15.491, which wasn't too impressive, but not bad either. After qualifying all Chris could say was "this car is a different animal," there are tons of differences in driving the old sportsman and now the 360. Chris finished last in his heat race and started at the back of the B-Main. On the first lap Chris experienced his first (and hopefully last) flip onto his lid. He basically went nose into the air, resting on the tail tank before falling onto the side of the top wing. Safety crews righted the car and he was pushed into the working area in the pits. After a quick look over the car, Chris refired and ran three more laps of the event before calling it a night. The second race of the weekend was scheduled for Elma, WA but rain kept the event from running. See you next week at Skagit Speedway.
2005 Racing Season
September 3rd-Round 15-Chris raced tonight with the 360 class. He started in the back of his heat and finished there as well. He started the main but pulled in after 7 laps with problems.
August 27th-Edmonton Gold Cup-On the second night of racing Chris was 12th in points, with the top 16 place drivers in points making the A-Main after timing ins and heat races Saturday night. Racing didn’t start until very late on Saturday, after having a few days of rain the track was very hard to prep for racing and it took a couple of hours to get the track worked in. Chris timed in with a best lap of 14.822, just like Friday night. Chris started his heat in 7th position and finished in the same spot. The main event started after midnight tonight. Chris was 14th in points after earlier racing Saturday and so he started the A-Main in that position. Chris spun once early in the race and was put at the back of the pack. On the start, Chris passed a few cars, but lost oil pressure and pulled in on lap 15 to be sure not to damage anything. His final finishing position was 15th. So for having a Sportsman car in another 360 show, Chris did amazing and was able to make the show each night, very impressive and we look forward to next years Gold Cup!
Pattenaude Racing has a long list of people to thank for helping us race this weekend. The hospitality of everyone at the track was unexpected but very much appreciated, a big reason of why we plan to make the trip again next year. Thank you so much!
Tow money to Edmonton:
-Indent Trucking
-Compass Animal Health
-Winterhawk Enterprizes
-Lakeland Insulations Ltd.
-SRS Vending
-Dewar Western Inc.
Also, thank you to the following teams for their help in the pits:
-Jeff Hodgson and crew
-Dawn-L Morrison and crew
-Chris Schmelze and crew
-AMS Engines--Thanks for the water pump--we wouldn’t have been on the track without it, thank you for your generosity!
Finally, our weekly sponsors:
-Lovers Package
-Cost Cutter
-Stallion Vinyl Graphics
-Jerry Chambers Chevrolet
-Ferndale Bob's Burgers & Brew
August 26th-Edmonton Gold Cup-Pattenaude Racing was back on the road this week. Jeff Hodgson's crew convinced us during 360 Nationals that it would be worthwhile for us to travel up to Bud Park in Alberta to race the 360 Gold Cup. With $700 of tow money just to show up, we couldn't pass it up. Bud Park is a lot like the old Elma track, but appears very narrow. Chris was the only Sportsman car that entered the event out of 32 cars. Tonight Chris timed in with his best lap a 14.8, which was only good enough for second to last on the time in sheet. He started his heat in the very back, but quickly ran up to 4th place. A caution was thrown when Chris and the number 6 car spun in turn 1. Chris was brought to the work area to change a right rear and was pushed out to join the end of the field in 8th place. The rest of the heat ran straight through and Chris finished 4th, which earned him a transfer spot in the A-Main! Chris started 20th in the main, outside the last row. He had two spins throughout the race but ran great despite them. Chris finished the race in 12th place and that left him 12th in points going into the second night.
August 20th-Round 14-Heat race finish: 4th Main event finish: 14th (Didn't finish due to spin)
August 12th & 13th-360 Nationals-Chris lightened up his Sportsman and ran with the 360's this weekend. Friday night Chris didn't finish his heat because of a vibration in the rear end. He went out for the C-Main and pulled into the pits again to call it a night before doing any damage to his car. After a long day of working on the car in the campground, Chris was ready to go at it again Saturday night. Chris would like to thank everyone for helping him with the car today-Chris Brown, Clarence, Hodgson's Crew, and Ridge's Crew-Everyone's efforts were appreciated by the team. If Chris would have finished his races Friday night, he would have had enough points to be up near the B-Scramble starting position, but his lack of points started him in the back of the C-Main. Chris finished 15th.
August 6th-Round 13-After a few weeks off from racing, Chris was cleared to race again and his car was back together thanks to the help of his dad and his crewman Clarence. Chris drew a number 7 pill which put him in the front row for his heat race. He started outside next to Robbie Vaughn who pulled away on the start. Chris held off Jimmy Dietz the whole race to take second place. When Chris pulled into the pits, the crew determined something was wrong with the rocker arm and scratched for the night hoping they didn't damage anything already. Tough break on Chris' first night back on the track but he should be out for 360 Nationals next week.
July 12th-NST Speedweek-Cottage Grove, OR-Chris's fastest time in lap at Cottage Grove was a 12.326 which placed him in another non-qualifier heat race. During the first warm up lap for the heat race, Chris broke a bolt in the rear end making the car spin and whip around off of the track in turn 3. Chris was completely off of the racing surface, but someone managed to drive straight into him. The accident didn't look bad, but it proved different, as Chris lost another frame after just four races on the new Rocket. So our week at Speedweek was over after this. The team went to Lebanon to be fans and enjoy the racing for the night, then made our way home for the week. Looking forward, Chris is going to take a couple weeks off to start feeling better and hopefully get another car put together. See you when we get back on the track.
July 11th-NST Speedweek-Medford, OR-Pattenaude Family Racing hit the road with the NST Speedweek and Medford was the first stop. Chris wanted to get seat time at some new tracks and just go for fun, even with his sportsman motor. Chris timed in fast considering his sportsman car, but was still placed in a non-qualifying last chance heat race. He started 7th after an inverted field and finished in 7th as well. Overall, Chris liked the track and had a great night.
July 9th-Round 10-Mid Season Champs-Racing tonight was started by the current owners point standings. Chris started the A-Main in the 7th position. He ran the first half of the race before spinning in turn 2 and was hit in the front end by another car, ending his night. He finished 16th and has dropped to 7th in points.
July 2nd-Round 9-Tonight Chris finished 5th in his heat race and 10th in the main event. He remains 6th in driver point standings. See everybody next week for the Mid Season Race and Fireworks show! Then it's off to Speedweek.
June 25th-Round 8-This week was definitely a refreshing one after the last points race. Dirt Cup couldn't have come at a better time to give the team time to get another car put together after the accident two weeks ago.Chris went out for hot laps and came in happy with the new car and the set up for the night. Chris started his heat race 3rd and quickly got around to take the lead and took the checkered flag first after 7 laps of racing. Way to go Chris on your first heat race win this season! The main event came and Chris started inside the second row. After a few cautions at the beginning laps of the race, Chris moved up to second place and was racing for the lead. When lapped traffic came into play Chris made smooth passes to keep up with the leader and hold onto second place for his best finish this season! A great points night, we remain in 6th place in the points standings, only 97 points from the leader!
June 11th-Dirt Cup Tuner Night-What a weekend. Bill drew a pill in the 90's for the night which put Chris at the back for his heat race. He finished 7th out of 8 cars. The main was the same way, Chris was on the back row. The first lap Chris got around a couple cars and was moving on up through the field. Between turn 3 and 4 Robbie Vaughn and Justin Knowles made contact sending Knowles' off the ground and high on the track. Chris was entering turn 4 when Knowles car landed right on top of Chris. Both Justin and Chris were luckily not seriously injured, and we wish we could say the same for their cars. Chris' car is totaled, a new frame already ordered. The team will take advantage of the off week for Dirt Cup and have the car back out on the track for Round 8 on July 25th. Have a great Dirt Cup!
June 4th-Round 7-Drivers around the track said tonight's track was the fastest track of the season so far. Chris started his heat race on the pole but after a jumbled start in turns 1 and 2 found himself in 3rd place and finished the race there. Chris also started on the front row for the main event next to Kelsey Carpenter. Kelsey got the lead from the start and Chris followed him around keeping pace until the first caution came out a few laps into the race. On the restart Chris again kept up with the 78. Chris was racing a smooth line just fast enough to stay ahead of 3rd place car Vaughn who was pressuring to pass Chris. On the last lap Chris got a little high in turn 2 and left just enough room for Vaughn to make the pass for second place. Chris finished the race in 3rd place behind Carpenter and Vaughn. Another strong finish for Chris and should bump him in the points to 5th place or better.
May 28th-Round 6-John Carroll Classic-After a week of sun on the track, the surface was fast but proved to be tough to tame with a night full of accidents. Luckily, Chris wasn't involved in any of them. Chris finished 5th in his heat race. After drawing a horrible pill, Chris started the main event way back--17th position. The race started with a couple of accidents in the front of the pack and knocked out a few cars. Chris raced a clean race and wound up finishing 7th for the night, much improved from starting 17th! Pattenaude Family Racing would like to thank Joe from Lovers Package and his family for attending the races tonight and their continued support for Chris and the team. Don't forget to stop by the car in the pits after the races each week. Chris has photo cards for the kids, Lovers Package coupons and other freebies from Lovers Package. Come check it out!
May 21st-Round 5-Rain Out.
May 14th-Round 4-Heat race finish: 4th. A-Main finish: 10th. After tonight, Chris moved back up to 9th in points.
May 7th-Round 3-Chris pulled the #5 pill draw and a 6 was rolled for the invert. Chris started his heat on the pole but finished 3rd. The main was started with Chris in 5th and he went backwards from the drop of the green flag. He finished 11th and dropped to 10th in the points race.
April 30th-Round 2-Chris tapped in his first top 5 finish in the main event of the season tonight during the second night of racing! Before the main event, he finished 2nd in his heat race. Chris started the A-main outside the second row and raced clean, smooth and fast. He wound up finishing 3rd behind Bergman and Woods. Way to go Chris!
April 23rd-Round 1-Cars packed the pits to enter the first night of racing for the 2005 season at Skagit Speedway. Drivers were eager to get onto the track and test out the wider backstretch and turn 3 and most drivers said the track was fast and awesome. Chris hot lapped his new car and came in and agreed it was fast and he liked the feel of his new set up. Next on the lineup were heat races and Chris had a rough one as he was spun on the second lap and forced to the back of the pack for the restart. He rounded out to finish 5th. The car also suffered damage to the header during the bump, which almost put him in the trailer for the night. But with the car fixed and all Sportsmen making the A-Main, Chris hit the track. Another spin put Chris to the back, where he remained the rest of the race, testing out different lines on the track and finding his way around. Chris ended out 12th tonight in the main which was not bad for opening night. Happy 22nd Birthday Chris!
2004 Racing Season
October 9th: Tonight was the last night of the 2004 season, ending with the awards banquet held at the Skagit Valley Casino. Skagit gave away ,000 in end of the season awards cash. Chris earned the 'Rookie of the Year" title and trophy after finishing 8th in points, beating the other rookies in the Sportstman Class. Plaques were also given for driver and owner champions finishing 4th-10th in points for each class. The big trophies went the top three driver and owners in each class. Congratulations to this years champions: Danny Bullock in the Sportsman Class, Andy Jacobson in the 360 Class, and Jesse Whitney in the 410 Class. Also congratulations to Kelsey Carpenter for receiving 'Best Appearing Sportsman' as well as 'Most Improved Sportsman Driver.' Rod Perkins received an award for racing at the track for 26 years, and Alan Munn for racing for 30 years. Thanks Skagit Speedway for the wonderful night, and we'll see everyone in spring at the "New Skagit Speedway!"
September 18th: The season wrapped up with the final night of racing during Skagit Speedway's 50th Anniversary Season. The night was a short one, racing only hot lap sessions, trophy races, and main events. The Sportsman Main event was caution filled. Chris started in 8th place, and stayed there most of the race. Having to go to the back of the pack during a caution for stopping on the race track while avoiding an accident didn't help, but with cars falling out of the race, Chris finished 5th, adding another top five finish to his roster for the season. Congratulations, what a way to end this rookie year. Chris jumped from 10th to 8th this final race as well, and should receive Rookie Of The Year Honors. The rest of the racing was great also, Rod Perkins won his Trophy Race and Brandon Harkness took home another 360 Main Event; winning four total this season. It's been a great rookie year for Pattenaude Family Racing. Already looking forward to next year, see ya then. The website will be updated with news from the team throughout the winter.
September 4th: Tonight was the second night of racing this weekend, with main event finishes from Saturday as well as heat finishes tonight being the deciding factor to the main event line ups. Chris started inside the third row for the main event, after finishing 5th in his heat race. Chris wound up finishing 9th in the main and remains 10th in the points chase.
September 3rd: Racing this weekend marked the 50th anniversary of racing at Skagit Speedway. The two-day event was kicked off with Chris's best finish in a main event to date! Chris raced well in his heat, finishing 5th. He started 3rd in the main event and finished there as well, just ahead of Kelsey Carpenter and Andrea Smith. Congratulations Chris!
August 26th: Lots of cool things happened this week for Pattenaude Family Racing. The team decided it was time to get away from Skagit and test out a new track, so on the road we went! Going South to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington, we joined the Thursday night NST race. The night of racing started out a little rough, with the amount of rain Elma had the week before racing, the pits were literally a lake, if you needed a port-a-potty, you better have a boat with ya. Due to the conditions of the pit area, teams were forced to pit as far back from the track as possible to stay out the mud, which was still unavoidable. Chris went out to pack the track, but was sent back to his pit before heading out on the track. With all the confusion and odd placement in the pits, we were unable to hear the pit officials announcing race calls. Chris missed his hot lap session and was forced to run his first lap on the 3/8-mile oval-during his qualifying laps. Never racing on the track before and having a brand new motor, lets just say Chris's qualifying lap times were pretty bad. Out on the track for the heat race, Chris finished 7th out of the 9 cars. He did gain confidence with the new track during the heat race laps. By the time the C-Main event rolled out, Chris was racing well. He wound up finishing 4th in the C; missing the transfer position by two places. It looked as though Chris was done for the night; he went along with the crew to watch the rest of the races from the pit stands. But little did we know, two cars dropped out of the B-Main, making Chris an alternate for the race. A big thanks to Ryan Kentch for informing Chris that he should have been out on the track. Chris ran and got Austin to get the car and himself ready to head back out to race. A little gas, a few more tear offs, and Chris was in the car ready to go. Another thank you goes out to Jeff Thompson and his crew for being there to push Chris to the staging area. After all of the running around, Chris made it out to start his first B-Main event racing with the NST. At the green flag, Chris drove high and passed two cars right off the bat. He raced very strong and pulled off an 11th place finish (18 cars), very impressive for being 200 horsepower under the rest of the field, racing with his Sportsman class motor. Chris was the highest finishing and only Sportsman in the B-Main! Overall, the night of racing went very well for Pattenaude Family Racing. A big congrats to Brock Lemely, picking up his first NST victory! The rest of the weekend was spent camping out and watching the World Of Outlaws race Friday and Saturday. Back home and ready to race the two-day show this weekend at Skagit Speedway.
August 21st: Rain out.
August 7th: Tonight Chris started 4th in his heat race and finished in the same spot. He started in the 4th row for the main event, which ran smoothly. Chris finished 8th, picking up his second top ten finish of the season.
July 24th: Car problems kept Chris from racing in his heat tonight but he got to start the A-Main anyway. Chris finished 12th in the main.
July 17th: Sportsman got the chance to time in tonight for the first time this year. Chris timed in about 14th out of the 19 Sportsman Cars. He placed 2nd in his heat race giving him a spot for the A-Main event. Chris started near the back of the pack during the A-Main and finished 14th and holds onto 10th place in points.
July 10th: The mid season champs and fireworks show brought great weather with it. The A-Main fields were set by the current point standings, so Chris started outside row 5. The race went well for Chris as he passed cars to finish with his best finish to date: 8th place! The night ended with a great fireworks show to match all of the great racing!
July 3rd: The main event tonight was running smoothly until about lap 12 when Chris spun in turn three, missing the wall and other cars. After the restart at the back of the pack, Chris made up 2 more positions on the track to finish 11th in this main event race. Chris moves back to 14th in the points standings for the season.
June 26th: Chris raced well in his heat race tonight, gaining a transfer position to the main event. But damage sustained in an accident during the heat race ruled out being able to compete in the main tonight. There was rear end damage and break damage to the car after another car ran up the back of Chris's number 21. Sitting out from the main cost the team a few points, but they'll get them back next time.
June 12th: Rain Out.
June 5th: Rain Out.
May 30th: After a week off of racing and a bit of work on the car, tonight was set out to be good. Chris started outside in his heat race and on the green he blasted out front to lead the field for the first few laps. A caution slowed him down and Danny Bullock passed him after the restart. On lap 5 Chris was passed again and settled in to take third place, but he came high out of 4 into the apron and corrected all the way to the bottom of the track, hit the bottom berm and spun just short of the finish line to take 6th place. The main event got under way and Chris was starting middle of the pack. Middle of the race Chris was hit by another car, but was left undamaged. Having to start in the back of the pack was hard, but Chris managed to pass a few cars and finish his first main event race.
May 29th: Rain Out.
May 22nd: Rain Out.
May 15th: Tonight Chris finished last in his heat race, the car not feeling too strong. He started outside the 7th row in the A-Main event but didn't even make it through the first turn before hitting the wall pretty hard. When they went back over the videotape you can see that Chris had a flat tire before the race started that was what sent him into the wall. A tough night in the points and some car damage but next week is looking good.
May 8th: Mothers Day Weekend racing at Gramma Racin' was a good one, Kathi got to see her son win his first heat race. Congratulations to Chris on the win, job well done. Winning the heat, Chris was able to bypass the B-Main and start outside for the A-Main Event. When the race started, Chris held his own very well despite the caution filled start to the race. During the yellow flag laps, Chris noticed the temp in the car rise, and knew he was going to have problems again this week. After 16 laps of the race, he decided to pull into the pits while running in 8th place and not risk damaging the car. He finished 17th overall. It was a bummer to be running so well in the main and have to pull out, but hopefully overheating won't be a problem again. The plan is to replace the water pump and radiator before racing next Saturday. Let's hope for another win. In other racing, congrats to Brandon on his second 360 win this season and the 360 point lead.
May 1st: Saturday was another good day of racing at Skagit Speedway. The weather was hot and the track was fast. Chris finished second in the B-Main giving him a transfer spot to the A-Main event. During the A, Chris was racing pretty well until he was tapped by the 31 going into turn 3, getting him a little loose, and he spun in turn 4. Stopped in the middle of the track was just asking to get hit by someone who hadn't seen the spin, and the number 17 ran right into Chris. The car had been running great and hadn't overheated yet, but the damage was too much to fix and Chris was done for the night after the accident.
April 24th: Tonight was a great night of racing for Chris. He transferred to the A-Main where he held his own for many laps. On the first lap, he ran over another car, but kept it going down the track. The Sportsman main was filled with cautions, Chris bringing one out on about lap 12 when he turned himself around coming out of turn 3 and was hit by the number 26. His night was over after that when he overheated really bad and he was pushed to the pits. He faired out finishing 15th. Also, congratulations to Brandon on the 360 win, and Jason for sweeping the 410 event.
April 16th & 17th: These first two nights of racing went better than expected for Gramma Racing. Chris finished 7th each night in the B-Main event.
April 10th: Chris made his debut appearance at Skagit Speedway April 10th during Play Day practice. His first laps in the car were a little shaky and cautious but showed much improvement through the day. An oil leak was found after the first hot lap session, giving the crew some trouble. Overall it was a great first run and everyone is excited for race day next Friday!