Bad luck strikes again for Bonstell Racing
Sunday August 17th, 2008

It is said that you need a good car , a good driver, and the most important good luck to win a race.  The #11 was definely missing the luck in the feature event Saturday night.  The team started off the day 2nd and 7th quick in practice, with a 9th place qualifying effort the team knew the car would race well.  In the heat race the #11 charged from 6th to 3rd and had to deal with the car bottoming out.  With an adjustment to the front of the car it was ready to go for the feature.  The #11 ran in second place for 22 laps and was looking to the high side of the leader when it was passed for second.  The passing car then got loose under the leader and ran into him.  The #11 and others checked up to not be involved in the incident.  The #11 was hit from behind and spun sideways into the turn 3 wall not hitting a thing.  The #50 car was nose to nose slowing to avoid contact when both the #11 and the #50 where sent to the back of the field in a surprising and very wierd call.  The #11 ended up 11th and the #50 ended up in the 13th spot.  The #11 team will learn from its mistakes and hopefully find a little more luck for the next race at the end of August.

August 16th
Qualifying 9th
Heat 3rd
Feature 11th
Points 3rd



Rough night for the #11 Team
Tuesday August 12th, 2008

The day started off decent for the #11 being 6th and 7th quick in practice.  The team qualified 6th, giving us a great starting spot.  However the car did not race well.  The team finished 4th in the heat and was running in 8th place when we spun with 2 laps left in the race.  We learned some excellent information from this race and will us it in the future.  With 5 races left in the season the team is upbeat and optimistic.  Thanks some much to our great sponsors.  Please join us this Saturday for another awesome summer night!

August 9th
Qualified 6th
Heat 4th
Feature 12th
Points 4th



Top ten finish to start August for Bonstell Racing
Monday August 4th, 2008

The #11 team was back at work Saturday at Berlin Raceway after having 2 weeks off.  The car started out good on the charts at 4th quick for the first session and 3rd quick for the second session.  The car qualified in the 4th position and the invert had the team starting 9th.  The car had been tight all day and with the crew working to free it up we were able to manage a 7th place finish after narrowly avoiding a wreck with 2 laps left.  It was a good day overall.  The team will be out Tuesday at test and tune working to find a little more speed. 

August 2nd
Qualified 4th
Heat 6th
Feature 7th
Points 3rd







Win #3 comes in July for the #11 Team
Sunday July 20th, 2008

After a lot of hours in the shop and a ton of hard work from the team, the #11 was able to find victory lane for the third time this year.  The day started off with the car being tight and after several small adjustments it was coming around.  The car qualified in the 7th spot after running an exact lap as the 6th place car.  This however would be good fortune due to the inversion putting the Bonstell Racing team on the outside pole to start the race.  In the heat race the #11 broke a rim for the second time this year and was very lucky to not sustain any damage to the car.  With a few more small adjustments the car was ready for the feature.  On the first lap the #11 sucked into the track and took off.  The team led all 25 laps of the feature and ended up winning by 1.9 seconds over the second place car.


Thank you once again for this awesome year to our families, sponsors and the good lord with out you this would not be possible!!!
Advances Equities  (First Allied)
ALTL INC.
The Closet Factory
MPA (www.oilheat.org)
Ottawa Engine and Performance

July 19th
Qualified 7th
Heat 7th
Feature 1st
Points 3rd

photos courtesy of www.randyellen.smugmug.com

Second top five finish in July for Bonstell Racing
Tuesday July 15th, 2008

Saturday was a day with a little trouble but a LOT of teamwork.  The day started off with a 7th place effort in the first practice, however the car felt off.  When second practice came around on the opening yellow flag laps the sway bar mount broke.  It took all of second practice to fix.  Luckily the track gave us two laps to scuff our tires in before qualifying.  With no clue what the car was going to do we qualified in the 3rd position.  After making some changes for the heat race the car felt a lot better and made it from second from the back to second place in the heat race.  The car started the feature decent but once again wound up super loose.  After racing extremely hard we finished 4th.  The team really came together and worked hard and the efforts were rewarded with good finishes.  Thanks to our sponsors and family and the good lord. We will be back out this Saturday July 19th, see you then.

July 12th
Qualified 3rd
Heat 2nd
Feature 4th
Points 3rd




July brings a top five finish for the #11
Monday July 5th, 2008

A sunny and warm day brought the Bonstell Racing team to the Berlin Raceway on Saturday.  The car was 2nd quick in the first practice and with a few adjustments fell to 12th in the 2nd practice.  With the crew working hard all day to make the car right, the #11 qualified in the 7th spot.  This ended up putting us on the pole due to the inversion.  In the heat races the #11 started to experience a brake problem which was slowing the car down.  The #11 ended up 4th in the heat race and the crew went to work in the pits to make the brake changes for the feature event.  The car started out very tight and ended up coming to us on lap 25 of the 40 lap feature.  With a long and hard fought battle between #11 and the #76 of Brian Tillema we ended up 4th (.053 sec) out of 3rd.  This was a great effort for the team and the work they put in.  We will be testing at Berlin on Tuesday July 8th.  Please come and visit at the races next Saturday July 12th.  Thanks once again to all of our sponsors who make this possible.

July 5th
Qualified 7th
Heat 4th
Feature 4th
Points 4th



Pictures courtesy of www.randyellen.smugmug.com




A top ten finish for the end of June
Tuesday July 1st, 2008

Practice started off decent for the #11 team, with the #4 spot for both practices.  The car was loose all day and qualified well at the 3rd spot.  The nights inversion had the #11 starting in the 9th spot.  The car started the race a little loose but ended wicked loose just being able to hold on to the 10th spot.  Some good information came out of the night for the #11 team for the future setups for the car.  Please join us on Friday July 5th for another 40 lap feature!

June 28th

Qualified 3rd

Race 10th

Points 5th



Victory for the second time in 3 weeks for Bonstell Racing!
Monday June 16th, 2008

June has turned into the most successful month ever for #11 Team.  After heavy down pours and brief  clearings the night of racing actually took place.  With one limited practice session the #11 was top of the charts with a 17.96.  Qualifing was rained out along with the heat races.  The feature race started at about 9pm.  The car was great from the start, however an early pass on the #17 car led to a touch which sent the #17 around and bunched up the field behind taking out the #76 Brian Tillema and the #17 Ryan Meldrum.  The race got back underway and led to a fight to get up to the lead which took 29 laps.  Once the #11 took the lead there was no looking back.  It was the second 40 lap feature win in 3 weeks for the Bonstell Racing Team! 

We would like to thank our sponsors because without them we would not be able to race. Please visit them!

Advanced Equities (First Allied)
ALTL INC 
The Closet Factory
MPA (Michigan Petroleum Association)
Ottawa Engine and Performance

June 14th
Feature 1st
Points 5th


Photos courtesy of randyellenphotography.com



June starts out great for the #11 Team
Monday June 9th, 2008

With a shot of confidence and a week off the #11 Bonstell Racing Team was back at work this Saturday.  The early practice went well with the #11 being second fastest, however the second session and Qualifing led to struggles.  The #11 qualified 9th which put it on the outside pole for the feature.  After a few changes the car was ready to go.  After 25 laps in the feature the car was still good enough to try to make a few shots at the lead, however every time the #11 went to the bottom it was just too loose.  We still came home with a second place finish, which was definely a great finish.  Please join us this week Friday for the 40 lap feature.  Pictures will be uploaded this week.

June 7th
Qualified 9th
Feature 2nd
Points 6th

Bonstell Racing claims first career feature win
Monday May 26th, 2008

After three years (second year full time) the #11 finally found its way to victory lane this Saturday.  With great weather and the crew in good spirits the #11 was 3rd quick in both practices and Qualified 4th for the feature event.  The inversion had us starting in 7th  position.  It took 7 laps to get from 7th to the front and there was no looking back from there.  After leading 33 laps of the 40 lap feature Bonstell Racing found itself in Mountain Dew Victory Lane for the first time in their career. Bonstell Racing would like to thank their families and sponsors, Advanced Equities, ALTL Inc, The Closet Factory, Ottawa Engine and Performance, Michigan Petroleum Association (Oilheat.org) and the good lord.

May 24th
Qualified 4th
Heat 8th
Feature 1rst
Points 6th

Pictures from www.randyellen.smugmug.com

Bonstell Racing adds another top 5 finish to the year
Sunday May 11th, 2008

Sunny skies and warmer temps filled Berlin Raceway Saturday.  The #11 team had a good first practice session toping the board on speed.  After a few adjustments the second practice session was good also with a 2nd spot.  During the heat race contact was made #7 buckling the hood.  After a few cosmetic repairs the car was ready for the feature event.  The car was decent in the feature being a little free off.  After a long hard battle with the #17 we ended up with a 5th place finish.  We will be at the test session this week trying a few new things.  The next race is May 17th.  New pictures will be uploaded this week.

May 11th  
Qualified 5th

Feature 5th

Season Points 7th        

First race of the season proves to be successful for the Bonstell Racing #11
Monday April 21rst, 2008

With the chance of rain on Saturday the #11 team packed up and headed to the track.  The day turned out to be 70 degrees and sunny.  The team discovered a miss in the motor in the first practice session.  After installing new spark plugs the miss seemed to be gone.  The car was a little free but ready to qualify.  The times were very fast with four drivers in the 17.9 second range.  The number #11 ran a nice lap of 17.94 and set fast time.  The roll of the dice would make the team start 12th in the feature.  The feature race was full of very close hard racing with few accidents.  With the engine miss returning for the heat and feature races the #11 team managed a top five finish.

The new picture will be uploaded soon.  The next race is this Saturday April 26th.  Hope to see you there.

April 19th
Qualified  1rst
Feature  5th

Season Points 2nd





PHOTOS COURTESY OF RANDY ELLEN @WWW.RANDYELLEN.SMUGMUG.COM