Tag Archives: DDR motorsports

Monday morning update, August 2nd, 2021

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Hi all, as we are now into race season, it is time we keep you up to date on our racing activities.

To begin with, we are still waiting for the completion of our primary powerplant rebuild. Like many others have experienced during the pandemic, parts have been slow to arrive, but we are confident Ashaway Performance Engines will do a good job and give us the power we need.

As for the on-track activities, this past week, we ventured to the great state of Maine and visited a track we have never raced on. The team competed with the Modified Racing Series in the MRS VACATIONLAND 100.

The day would include three practice rounds, a qualifying heat, and a 100 lap main event.

During the practice session, Derek showed good speed and gave fantastic feedback, which allowed us to be in the top ten in speed all day and rise to 3rd on the charts for practice round two. This speed gave the team a good feeling for the qualifier race.

The team bolted on 4 new Hoosier tires for the qualifying heat and lined up in the third starting spot. Derek was able to get the early jump and settle into second place behind car number 55.  On lap three, the leader bobble on the backstretch, and Derek dove under him to jump into the lead.  Derek would hold the top spot for the next 8-1/2 laps of the 12 lap event. On the final lap of the heat race, car number 25 would make a move under him going into turn three, and they would drag race out of turn four towards the checkers where Derek would have to settle for position number two. This finishing position would put us in the third starting position for the main event.

Excitement was brewing as the team knew they have a good car and had high hopes of a strong finish. The plan was to play it smart and race smart until halfway and then begin our move forward. As the race started, Derek tussled for the first lap and a half to try to gain second place but eventually settle into third.  Third place was okay with all as the top three cars ran nose to tail and would start to pull away. Derek settled in and, despite a short-lived challenge from the 7 car, he didn’t have any pressure from other competitors. The early portion of the race was playing into our hands.

As it has been for our season this year, lady luck did not accompany us to Maine. On lap 23, the official notified the team they saw fluid leaking from the car, and the Black flag was displayed to us. Derek brought the car to the crew’s attention in the pits only to discover an oil line had a hole worn through when it rubbed up again a pulley. The issue could not be fixed quickly and would end our day and relinquish to spectators for the remainder of the event.

What can you say? This is racing; no one on the crew would have expected a line to move nearly 3 inches and rub up against the pulley? It is one of those things that forces you to the next level, and you learn from it.

That’s it for now; thanks for following DDR Motorsports and driver Derek Robbie. We’ll see you at the next race on Aug 14 at Monadnock Speedway, where the team will attempt to qualify against 40 other races in the Tri-Track Modified Series.

Doug Robbie
Owner DDR Motorsports

 

A lazy Sunday

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All racers know you win races in the shop, but how do you continue making progress with your racing when you are waiting on a part. For me, I never stop thinking about being better in racing, and one of the aspects of racing too often getting a little attention is the business side. So, with parts in transit and a chilly Sunday, I decided to sit down and update the website and freshen the marketing brochure.

That means this afternoon; I searched through the archive of files I have and found the previous marketing brochure, and updated it for 2021. It has been a while, for the one I found still references the Pro4 modified and spoke of Derek and his college days. With that, I again dug through a pile of photos and revised the wording to bring it up to date and reflect our current racing endeavor of Tour Type modified. For those interested, you can download the file here: DDR Motorsports Brochure

I am also working on updating the website a little and trying to add content every two weeks or so. This week I uploaded our proposed ten race schedule for 2021. You can find it listed below or go to the Schedule page

Of course, the schedule and the marketing brochure go together as being able to gather more partners means we can run more races. So, I ask if you are reading this, please point to your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even enemies if you choose to contact us on how we can drive new business for them.

Thanks again, see you real soon at the race track.

Doug Robbie
Owner,
DDR Motorsports
doug@ddr-motorsports.com

An Unexpected Off-season

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Every year from November to April, the short track racer has a lot going on. First, they reconnect with their family in preparation for the holidays. After months of spending every free in the garage, on the road, or at the race track, they take a well-deserved break.

In unison with the end of the season, reboot comes planning for next year. Racers will visit trade shows, gather new parts, and take their chassis to the builder for updates and corrections from the bumps and bruises of the past season. The lack of immediate urgency translates into more time in the shop, but the time is more controlled and predictable. You can easily say to your spouse; I’m going over to the shop for a few hours; I’ll be back for dinner and mean it. With correct time management, there is less stress to make it to the next event as the next event is still several months away (this is not to say you won’t be thrashing as the season approaches. We are still racers and that’s what we do).

So now here it is approaching April, you’ve spent the winter gather all the latest parts to improve performance. You’ve taken the engine back to the builder to have it freshened and ready to take on all challengers. You’ve refined your setup to perfection based on the plethora of notes gathered over the years and are prepared to load the truck and trailer and go racing.

Then boom! We enter a time in history none of expected; we are in a time of social distancing. The government has placed limits on attendance at events; there are businesses shut down; you face the possibility of “self-isolating” yourself for some time. And you say to yourself, but I’m ready to go racing, now what?

You are left asking yourself what can I do while I wait for the world to catch up. My excitement to go racing is at its season’s highest, and now the car just sits in the garage and waits and waits.  I can tell you I feel your pain. For our team, we race an indoor series with a Three-Quarter Midget, and the afternoon before the race, the state of New York banned all gatherings over 250 people. This order forced the promoters to cancel the event, and there was little chance of having it rescheduled. Baring a major winter snowstorm, who would have thought an indoor activity would be cancelled?

Now, moving forward, what do you do? The car is ready, you’ve stocked the trailer with spare parts, and your uniform is clean. You are ready for the season, but the season is not ready for you. Here at DDR Motorsports, we are planning on taking it as just an extended off-season and will be using the time to better prepare ourselves for when the season does open up. Weekly maintenance tasks such as nutting and bolting and fluid changes are not necessary for the time being, but what about learning more about the car? How about training the junior or new team members more thoroughly? You could research new sponsors or, at the very least, stay in touch with the current ones.

For myself and my team, we expect our first race to be April 18, and though they have not officially canceled it, with the current state of things, it is in jeopardy of being postponed. From a planning standpoint, it does not make it easy as you need to prepare still as though it’s going to happen, but the enthusiasm is not as high as it usually would be. Much like we do with our race strategy our team as spoken about the various avenues this could go, will the race go on or not, if not when will our season open up, what other projects can we do, etc. 

From our team’s standpoint, it is still the off-season, and we are preparing for racing it like any other off-season. This season just doesn’t have a start date yet. We also have a few other projects in the works.

Tell us what you are working on and what is keeping you busy during the unexpected off-season.

Doug Robbie
Owner
DDR Motorsports
#27 Tour Type Modified

DDR Motorsports looking for help

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Our race team is looking for someone to assist with PR for the team.
This position would entail working with the various Social media accounts, writing blog articles for the website and getting news out to the public about the race team.

The ideal person will have an outgoing personality, possess a strong passion for racing, willing to spend long days at the race track and willing to go the extra mile.

This is not a paid position but race day expenses (pit pass, food) will be covered.
This is not a sales or sponsorship seeking position.

Must be located in the New England area as we race in Mass, NH, CT, and Maine.

Send all inquiries for the position to jobs@ddr-Motorsports.com

2020 Schedule

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With the 2020 season quickly approaching, DRR Motorsports continues to pull together its schedule for race season.

The team will open up the season at the largest track the team runs on, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, by participating in the inaugural Northeast Classic on April 17 & 18. After two consecutive top-ten finishes in the team’s past two appearances in the Short Track Showdown, it was a no brainer to run the event. Opening the 2020 race season at a track the team and driver, Derek, Robbie, has had some success at, the team looks for a positive start.

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