The calendar has turned to March and everyone is once again chasing Ty Majeski in the Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway.
Seeking his record extending fifth win in the event, Majeski led the final round of practice with a 15.453 second lap around the venerable .4-mile short track. This time, it comes in the Toby Nuttleman built chassis that made its debut in the Snowball Derby.
Immediate speed, but the 27-year-old isn’t taking anything for granted.
"There are always different variables, right?" Majeski said. "The tires, with the tire shortage, is a big variable because the tire sizes aren’t as precise as they should be. Everyone else is constantly working and evolving to stay on top but we feel really good about this weekend. …
"I feel like it is driving very comparable to what we’ve had here the past two years and hopefully it’s good enough again."
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Even though Majeski won this race again last year, Stephen Nasse was poised to pass him if not for a late race caution. Majeski admitted it immediately afterwards and Nasse hopes to get this one back on Sunday.
Nasse and crew chief Chris Cater swapped over their Pro Late Model into a Super Late Model after Thursday testing and was still trying to get the right feel for Sunday’s race on Friday.
"I had just a slight vibration under power, down the straightaway about halfway down and kind of threw the chip," Nasse said. "We checked the filters and there was no metal in the oil, so I don't know if it's something drivetrain related or what the issue is there.
"But with it being a long race and a pretty big one that I do want to win because I don't want to leave anything to question. I can feel these cars so well when something just ain't right. I'd rather just take it back to the shop and figure out the true issue.
"We know that this car here is a real good car as well, so we're going to change some things around and just try this car."
Bubba Pollard won the Rattler 250 in 2018 but is going to have to solve some issues from the past two days if he’s going to do it again. It’s not that Pollard didn’t think his car was good over the past two days, but when everyone is so equal, he just doesn’t think he’s found that fraction of an inch to take the fight to Majeski on Sunday.
Pollard uses Watermelon Capital Speedway as a baseline for South Alabama Speedway - notable because he won Speedfest in January - but just didn’t have the feel he think he needs.
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"I don't know," Pollard said. "We've been flipping back and forth on different things. We’ve been kind of running in circles and I really don’t have the feel I’ve been looking for and just ain’t happy. I don’t know. We’ve gone back and forth on a lot of different things and can’t find what I like."
The good news for Pollard and his fans is that he says he wins most of races following days where he was the most frustrated in practice.
"It just goes to show you that we keep searching until the last minute and getting it right," Pollard said. "I mean, the car doesn't drive bad, but everyone is just so tight, and competition has changed because we're all buying the same cars. So, you just have to find those things that set yourself apart from other people. We just have to keep working until the end."
A week removed from his victory in a Pro Late Model in the Alabama 200, Hunter Robbins is hoping to get the momentum going in his home state with a win in the Ronnie Sanders Racing No. 18 Super Late Model.
"We've been a little tight the last two days just trying to get our car to really turn, turn well enough to drive off," Robbibs said. "It's just crazy how you take a chassis and give it an extra 200 horsepower compared to the Pro and it just kind of has completely different characteristics.
"That's kind of what we've been fighting but I think we made gains today. We're getting more speed in the car."
Casey Roderick won the Rattler 250 in 2014, but this wasn’t even a race that was on his schedule until he was offered the chance to drive TM Porter’s Pro Late Model on Saturday night. So, if he was going to race on Saturday, he might as well take his self-owned No. 25 Super Late Model to the track too.
But he didn’t have time to prepare it due to work obligations in Mississippi so the car was prepped directly by Cody Glick and HAMKE Race Cars.
"They got it close for me, but there's only so much you can do before you get to track," Roderick said. "So, we've got to find that extra little bit tomorrow before Sunday."
With an updated schedule for Saturday to avoid frigid evening temperatures, Late Model practice will begin bright and early at 8:30 a.m. CT Saturday morning. Qualifying will begin at Noon CT for Sunday's Rattler 250 and Saturday's Grasshopper "Baby Rattler" 125, which will roll off at 2 p.m. CT.
Fans unable to watch the action in person this weekend at South Alabama Speedway can watch live on Racing America.