After not competing in a race even remotely close to home so far in 2022, Bryan Kruczek and Bobby Webber Racing are finally set for their first home stand of the season. The New Hampshire team has competed in five Pro Late Model events down south, with four of them at New Smyrna Speedway during the World Series of Asphalt Racing back in February.
While things had not gone as smoothly as hoped, Kruczek was able to park the No. 19 in victory lane on Night 7 of the 9-night event. Their first triumph at New Smyrna is one that is continuing to provide a competitive drive for driver and team.
“That was more than I thought we were going to get, I’m still pretty pumped up about that. It was a big booster for us considering the field we had to go against down there every night. We had some trouble, had some stuff break one night, then the last night we caught up in an early scuffle and then had the battery die on us. But, we had a fast car and got a win at New Smyrna, cool stuff,” Kruczek told Racing America.
Following a sixth place performance at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in CARS Pro Late Model Tour one month ago, the focus has now turned primarily to operating Epping, New Hampshire’s Star Speedway; which has been under the care of the Webber family and friends since the 1980’s. But, there are still opportunities for racing this season.
Running select races with the Granite State Pro Stock Series, the No. 19 camp will start off on home asphalt this Saturday at Star in the Hedges Excavating 100. They will also use the same car that won this very race one year earlier.
“We’re going to be running our Shaw car this weekend and anything else up north, tried and true piece. Our Port City car is for the southern stuff. We’re only going to do a couple of races up here this year, we’re going to focus more on the race track for Bobby, a bunch of us work there. So that’s the plan, we’re still up in the air for what our other races are going to be. But we’re planning on keeping it local when we do race up here, that way all of us can still work and provide.”
At the moment, Kruczek’s Pro Stock schedule outside this weekend and the Star Classic in September are undecided. No matter what though, winning twice at Star is the major goal both for home track pride, and to keep a smile on the face of Bobby Webber.
“Racing the Pro Stock at Star is still a priority for us, it is our backyard. We plan on having a good showing, it’s the do or die ones here in the spring and again in the fall at the Classic. We tried last year and came close to getting both of them, but just couldn’t quite get the Classic done. At Star, I’m sure he’s kicking and screaming if we’re not leading the thing. He’s definitely got a bigger smile on his face if that 19 is in victory lane.”
Should the team repeat on Saturday afternoon, Kruczek hopes it will be done with a little less drama after 2021; when late race mechanical trouble and a late yellow flag forced him into some physical racing against Joey Polewarczyk.
“It always seems to be tight racing, last spring was definitely tougher than I thought it’d be at the end of that race. We had some mechanical issues going on, we had a late caution, and things got crazy. Hopefully this time around we can get it done with a few less marks on the car.”