April 25-26th, 2015 – Waterfall/Area 81 Adds Another Epic Battle to the History Books

The Waterfall/Area 81 Racing team returned to Roebling Road Raceway in Savannah, Ga., for the Jim Stark Memorial Double SARRC/SECS.  Seven years after the team was formed, both Tim and Richard are in the hunt for championships. Tim placed second in SECS both races, while finishing third on Saturday overall and second on Sunday overall. Richard earned first-place finishes both days in SARRC with a fourth overall and a third overall.

Throughout Saturday severe thunderstorms pelted the area including lightning, 80 mile-per-hour winds and 2-3 inches of rain. At the start, Tim passed seven cars before Turn 1 and soon another epic battle between Area 81 teammates would ensue. Each lap, Tim would pull away in the first sequence of turns, only to have Richard threaten in the second half of the course. A disabled car in Turn 1 brought out a standing yellow caution, which thwarted Richard’s plans to pass from Tim’s draft on the front straight. 

Sunday’s race featured sunny skies and expected temperatures into the 90s. Richard qualified on the second row and Tim directly behind on the third row. This time, Richard fended Tim off at the start for five laps until Tim drafted going into the first turn. The teammates resumed their fight, but both encountered lapped traffic. Tim passed two lapped cars deep into Turn 1, leaving Richard to wait to get around. By the time he was able to navigate around the slower cars, it was too late.

“My car had the same shifting issues from the last event, and I wasn’t as fast as I expected to be,” Tim Pierce, driver of Car 18, said. “(Franklin’s car) was definitely the faster car this weekend.”

Franklin said, “It’s no secret that Roebling is my favorite track, and I felt confident all weekend that sufficient speed was in the car. On Saturday, I drafted alongside Tim for at least nine laps every time down Roebling’s front stretch. … On Sunday, I led him for five laps, but we were able to draft by. Going nose-to-tail for lap after lap is why I love racing.”

The team continues its 2015 racing schedule at the SARRC/MARRS Double SARRC/SECS at VIR on May 8 and 9 near Danville, Va. Be sure to stay tuned to www.Area81Racing.com and our Facebook page for updates.