Highs and Lows at Kansas

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was filled with highs and lows, but I think we’re headed in a better direction. The Ergon Racing team and I have just returned from racing in Kansas. We had our best showing yet. Unfortunately, it all ended too soon.
That was my first race in a Toyota. Our manufacturer switch is already paying dividends. We were able to transfer information between teams and help each other out a lot now that we’re both using Toyotas. Both crew chiefs at Billy Ballew Motorsports could compare setup notes much easier than before.
We were not as fast as we wanted to be when we unloaded off the truck. I was 23rd quickest at the end of practice. The truck was tight through turns 3 & 4, so Doug and I put our heads together and made some changes to the setup. It made a huge difference. I was able to qualify in fifth-place for the race. When we took the green flag, the truck was awesome. We rode in the top-10 the whole night.
Things were looking up, then bad luck struck on lap 73. I was passing for third when the truck that was racing above me turned down across my hood. The result being the Ergon Toyota too torn up to return to the race.
It was definitely a heart breaker. I know we could have finished in the top-10 that night. But at the same time, it’s a real confidence booster to know we can race up front. It’s really cool to think we were at the head of the class competing with guys like Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday. This Ergon team is awesome and the race at Kansas confirmed that. I can’t wait to go racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in my new home state of North Carolina and get a finish we deserve.
I think we really showed our potential at Kansas. We know what we can do. We’ll forget about what happened at the end, and now concentrate on moving to Lowe’s. First, however, I wanted to take time and do something that I feel is always important. I played in a charity golf tournament on Tuesday. Me and a couple of guys from Ergon teed it up for the Victory Junction Gang. We played OK, but no doubt had a lot of fun. It was for a good cause and that’s what matters. I want to thank everyone from Ergon who took part and thank all the fans who are cheering us on. We’ll be back strong in a few weeks.
Ya’ll have a great week.
Take care,
Marc

O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Lap 72

Marc's day took an unfortunate turn. After a promising start, the No. 15 Ergon Toyota was involved in an accident on lap 72. The truck racing in the groove above Mitchell came down into his lane and caused him to spin into the wall. The damge was terminal.

O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Lap 33

We just completed out first pit stop. The truk was handling great. It was a tick too tight, so Doug George called for a pit stop. The crew gave Marc 4 fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. He also added some tape to the grill to give the truck more downforce. Marc's currently in 9th place.

O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Race Updates

Hey Race Fans!
Brookes Versaggi here. The green flag is just about to drop. I'll be giving you periodic updates on the #15 Ergon race team throughout the night. We've got our best starting position of the year (fifth place), so stay tuned! It should be a great night!

Thanks Ergon

Hey everyone, I just wanted to send a quick note to say thanks to everyone I spent time with this past weekend at the Ergon company picnic. It’s amazing to see nearly 2,000 people show up. The opportunity to showcase our truck, and take time with the employees of Ergon is humbling. Me, the employees and their families were treated to food and drinks, they had trampolines for the kids to play on, and I hope everyone enjoyed taking time to look at the Ergon Toyota race truck. That truck will be the same one that will be on the track this Saturday at the Kansas Speedway. It’s a lot of fun signing autographs and taking pictures with the employees of Ergon. These people work hard and I promise I’m doing the same at the track for Ergon. I was really honored to be a part of the festivities this past weekend. It was cool to see how many people are rallying behind the race team and keeping up with how we do each week. I'm going to do my best to give them something to cheer for this weekend. I appreciate it.

We'll be racing at Kansas this Saturday and you can catch the race on SPEED Channel. Man, it's going to feel good to be behind the wheel of the Ergon truck again. This will be my first race in a Toyota. My teammate has been driving a Toyota all season long, even while I was in a Chevy. That kept us from sharing information and combining notes, so we should have a lot more to compare now.

I’ve still been keeping busy. I’m working at the shop every day, and I entered another late model race a couple weekends ago. It was a crazy race. I won the pole, but had to start in the back because I missed intros. I drove up to second-place, but had a right-rear tire go down. I ended up finishing in fourth-place. It was definitely one of the most eventful races I've ever been a part of.

But, now it’s on to Kansas and back into the swing of things. Thanks again for all your continued support.

Take care,
Marc

Lots to Do Before Kansas

We’re only two weekends away from our next race. The last time I was in the truck was Atlanta, and that was over a month ago. Man, it’s going to feel good to be behind the wheel of the Ergon truck again. Time seems to be dragging, but I’ve been keeping busy.
Of course I’m always working at the race shop. We’re switching from Chevy to Toyota, so there’s a lot of body work to be done on the trucks. That’s got our whole team working around the clock.
I spent last Friday signing autographs at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. It was the annual auto fair - me and a few of the other truck drivers were on hand to promote the event. It was a lot of fun and there were some sweet rides there. I enjoyed checking out all of the cars as much as I did meeting the fans.
I was supposed to go racing last Saturday. I was going to run my late model car down Georgia, but that race got rained out. There’s another late model race this weekend that I’m entered in, so hopefully the weather will cooperate this time.
We’ve got a big weekend coming up. Ergon is having a company picnic at their headquarters. Around 2,000 people are going to show up. It should be pretty sweet. My hauler and race truck will be there for everyone to check out. I’ll be signing autographs. We’ve got some old hoods and sheet metal off my trucks that we’re raffling off. Most importantly, they’re serving all you can eat fried fish and chicken tenders. I once ate 50 chicken mcnuggets in one sitting. I’ll see if I can’t break that record at the picnic.
It’s cool to have a sponsor that does this stuff. It’s exciting to see how much pride they take in their employees and how they reward them with fun things like the picnic. Ergon treats the race program the same way. They want their employees and customers to have something to cheer for and to rally around. I’m glad to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to meeting all of the people who make our race program possible.
Take care.
Marc