Danny O’Brien Looking to Find Opening Weekend Magic After Another Disappointing Weekend at Mohawk Raceway and Brockville Speedway

If it wasn’t for bad luck, Danny O’Brien would have no luck at all.  That cliché has been around longer then the rich history of racing in the O’Brien family, but fits the story well after bad luck continues to plague the team.  After sweeping both opening night events at Mohawk International Raceway and Brockville Speedway back in May, O’Brien has struggled to find consistency in his 2012 racing program, with bad luck being the culprit of their misfortunes.  The troubles continued this past weekend as O’Brien returned to Mohawk Raceway on Thursday night for their 358 Modified Mr. DIRTcar Series race and Brockville Speedway on Saturday for a regular night of racing.

The night started out well for O’Brien on Thursday night, winning his qualifying heat, and then drawing the pole position for the 75 lap main event.  Danny ran strong through the early stages of the race, running solidly in third at the first yellow on lap 16, patiently saving his equipment for later in the race.  Danny’s strong run at Mohawk would go bad in a hurry on a lap 47 restart.  As the green flag dropped, contact from another car got O’Brien’s 1000 Islands RV car sideways with several cars piling in.  The wreck ended O’Brien’s night.

After working hard to get the car fixed for Brockville, Danny and the team made the necessary repairs and were at the track with plenty of time to spare.  O’Brien was third fastest in opening practice, and backed that up with a strong run in his qualifying heat, taking the win convincingly.  During the final practice session before the feature, O’Brien developed a mechanical failure, and would be unable to run the feature.  He did start the race in Tabatha Murphy’s Sportsman to get some points, but would be unable to do more then just start and park.

“We can’t seem to catch a break here lately”, says O’Brien.  “I have to thank Tabatha and Ralph Murphy for letting us use their car to start the feature.  It allows us to get a few points that we may need later in the season”.

This coming week, Danny will be back at Mohawk International Raceway as they return to their regular Friday night routine, and back to Brockville Speedway on Saturday night.

Danny O’Brien would like to thank 1000 Islands RV Centre, Pat’s Rad, BOB FM, Ponte Bros. Masonry, Morrison Racing Engines, Snap-On Adam Way, Wurth, Bicknell Racing Products, and Integra Racing Shocks for their support going into the 2012 season.

For more information on Danny O’Brien and the 17D racing team, please visit our brand new website, www.dannyobrien.ca.  The website just received a new look this week.  You can also follow Danny O’Brien through www.1000islandsrvmotorsports.com, a new website recently launched by longtime sponsor 1000 Islands RV.

Danny O’Brien Battles to a Second Place Finish at Brockville Speedway; Mohawk Raceway Rained Out Again

Like most weekends this season, Danny O’Brien had his regular schedule of events planned, consisting of Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York on Friday night, and Brockville Speedway on Saturday evening.

After getting rained out at Mohawk Raceway the previous week, O’Brien had hoped that the forecasted rain would hold off this week.  It stayed dry throughout the day, and Danny and his 1000 Islands RV Motorsports team made their way to the track.  As they got close to the Speedway, dark clouds began to surround the track, and heavy rain began to fall, which soon turned into a large hailstorm that lasted 15 minutes.  Once the storm was over, the skies became much brighter, and track officials decided they were going to take the time to get the racing surface back into racing shape, and a couple hours later, the track was really close to being race-ready when another rain show hit the track, and ended the night at Mohawk Raceway.

There were still some lingering showers in the area on Saturday, but racing at Brockville Ontario Speedway continued as scheduled.  O’Brien began the night with a win in his qualifying heat race.  After making some minor adjustments to keep up with the changing track conditions, Danny would start the 30 lap main event from inside row three in the fifth starting spot.  By lap seven he was up to second, and with several restarts throughout the remaining laps, O’Brien was able to challenge for the lead early, but unable to complete the pass.  His second place finish puts him back into the BOS Five Star program, in third place in track points.

“It was a much better run this week, but we still have some work to do”, admits O’Brien after the race.  “We will continue to work hard, and hopefully get back to victory lane soon.  “I really want to thank my crew, our sponsors and all the fans for supporting us this season, and we will be back next week looking to finish one spot higher”.

This coming weekend, Danny will be back in action at Mohawk International Raceway, as they will be looking to get their season back on track after two consecutive rainouts.  On Saturday night, it will be back to the BOS as Brockville Speedway hosts another regular weekly racing program.

Danny O’Brien would like to thank 1000 Islands RV Centre, Pat’s Rad, BOB FM, Ponte Bros. Masonry, Morrison Racing Engines, Snap-On Adam Way, Wurth, Bicknell Racing Products, and Integra Racing Shocks for their support going into the 2012 season.

For more information on Danny O’Brien and the 17D racing team, please visit our brand new website, www.dannyobrien.ca.  The website just received a new look this week.  You can also follow Danny O’Brien through www.1000islandsrvmotorsports.com, a new website recently launched by longtime sponsor 1000 Islands RV.

Danny O’Brien Gets Hard Fought Top Ten at Brockville Despite No Power Steering; Rain Washes Out Friday’s Events at Mohawk Raceway

After a busy couple weeks, Danny O’Brien was back to his regular routine with events at Mohawk International Raceway on Friday night and Brockville Speedway on Saturday.  While the team still prepared for both events, one eye was kept on the weather both days, as rain was forecasted for much of the weekend.

It rained through the early afternoon in Kingston on Friday, and the feeling was that there would be no racing at all, but as the afternoon went on, reports from the track were that the rain had held off, and racing was still on.  The forecast didn’t look good, and by 4:30pm track officials decided to cancel the evening’s racing program.

On Saturday night, rain was in the forecast once again but the precipitation stayed away from the track, and racing at Brockville Speedway was on as scheduled.  After taking the win at Brockville Speedway on opening night, the last couple weeks haven’t gone as planned, as he fought to a sixth place finish last week, and was unable to finish at all the week before.  After starting fifth in his qualifying heat race, Danny advanced to finish in third.  After making some minor adjustments, O’Brien was ready for the 30 lap main event.  Starting from 13^th, Danny worked his way forward, and by halfway he was in sixth place, and looking to advance inside the top five.  In the second half of the race, O’Brien had lost power steering, and was struggling to hang on, and with three laps remaining he brought out the final caution of the night with three laps to go as the car spun in turn one and two.  O’Brien would rejoin the field, and fight his way back to finish ninth.

“It was a tough night at the BOS this week”, says O’Brien after the race.  The track was really heavy because of the rain.  We were moving up ok, but we lost power steering and ended up off the track with a few laps to go”.

Danny O’Brien would like to thank 1000 Islands RV Centre, Pat’s Rad, BOB FM, Ponte Bros. Masonry, Morrison Racing Engines, Snap-On Adam Way, Wurth, Bicknell Racing Products, and Integra Racing Shocks for their support going into the 2012 season.

For more information on Danny O’Brien and the 17D racing team, please visit our website, www.dannyobrien.ca.  The website will soon be getting a new look over the next couple weeks.  You can also follow Danny O’Brien through www.1000islandsrvmotorsports.com, a new website recently launched by longtime sponsor 1000 Islands RV.