news

Molly Rhoads Motorsports

APRIL 19, 2010 SEASON OPENER AT RACEWAY PARK WAS BOTH SUCCESSFUL AND PROMISING
Practice was going great and the Citizens Independent Bank, River City Stitch, Leos Upper Dells Bar, 2nd Street Depot, Ford Fusion was one of the fastest cars. After the second practice we
came in and noticed that the right front wheel had split the bead off the back. We were lucky that the tire didn't go flat and that the only damage was the wheel. We had made some changes and
went out for our qualifying run and I didn't qualify as well as I had hoped for but I know that next week I will do a better job- I think not driving a car for a year had an impact on my qualifying run. We
started 3rd in the heat race and was able to jump to the outside of the leader within a few laps. With 4 laps to go I was able to clear the leader and started to pull away from the field. I drew an 8 for
the invert for the feature, so I lined up last row outside. My car started out pretty good and I was able to pass a few cars but made it to the 5th place car and tried him on the outside for a few laps
but I wasn't able to clear him because he kept using up both grooves of the track. After running on the outside for 6 laps, I had to duck back in and try to gain enough momentum to be able to hold
him to one lane. My car was getting more and more loose off and I wasn't able to complete the pass for 5th and had to finish with a 6th place finish. It wasn't the finish I had hoped for but my car
didn't suffer any damage and we know what adjustments we want to make for next week. I guess taking one of the two trophies for the Super Late Models isn't bad for my first night back in over a
year. I would like to thank all who came out to support me this past Sunday, I truly appreciate all of the tan support every week ! I will have t-shirts available for sale after the races in the pits
every week. The shirts come in two colors- black and white. Sizes from small to XXXL are available for $15.00 each.

ARCHIVES:

Twin sisters hope to get noticed for their skill at race track

Women Racecar Drivers Inspired by Indy 500

Motor-vated

Rhoads Scholar

Rhoads has shot at big break

Golfing for Groceries

All Rhoads Lead to Indy

Local Female Racer Invited To Women in the Winner's Circle Luncheon

WOMEN IN THE WINNERS CIRCLE

FINISHLINE RACING SCHOOL ARTICLE

UWRF Falcon Online Success Story

Rolling For Raptors -July 2009

Rhoads named NASCAR Craftsman Mechanic of the Year-Feb 2010

Rhoads Teams up with Advanced Racing Motorsports

Rhoads on Speedtalk 1360 April 17, 2010

May 2, 2010 "A competitor will find a way to win. Competitors take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves just that much
harder. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as reasons to give up. It's all a matter of pride" Nancy Lopez
After last weekend we went back to the shop and literally cut everything off the front suspension. This was a very busy week and a lot of hours were spent in the shop trying to find what is going
to work. We tested on Thursday and the car was a lot quicker than it had been in awhile, we were confident that the results would change this Sunday. We made a few adjustments before
qualifying and qualified 5th quick, still not where I would like to be but I am improving every week. I started second row inside for the heat race and was running in third position when I was spun
and sent to the rear of the field. I was able to make it back up to fourth before the race was over. During intermission, we were chosen to compete in the Best Appearing Car and Crew. We were
one of the 15 or so cars that the fans would have to cheer for which driver/car was the best looking. It was a very close run with the 32 Hobby Stock but we were declared the winners! Special
thanks to those who donated the hotel room and also the flowers. I will post a picture of the car and crew next week. We came back from the competition and changed a ton of things on the car
again. Kevin Lang was able to make it before the feature and he was instrumental in the changes that were made. The invert placed me on the outside pole for the start of the feature, right next to
the car that spun me in the heat. I didn't get the best start but was able to drop into fourth place and was running down the leaders. The laps were ticking down when all of a sudden the engine
started to make a different sound and I new something had broke. I had to pull to the infield and was unable to finish the race. We were having the best run of the year but were taken out by a
broken rocker arm in the engine. Bryan and I pulled the engine out on Monday and drove to Appleton Wisconsin on Tuesday and had the guys at B & B Racing Engines take a look to see how much
damage the engine sustained. They were able to look at the engine right away and luckily not too much damage was done. Dave, Donnie and Ronnie were able to replace the rocker arm and lifter
and put the engine back together within a couple hours. A huge thank you to the best engine guys in the business, they dropped everything and fixed the engine and I was able to be back on the
road and I will be putting the engine back in on Wednesday. We are going to take what we learned in the first 15 laps of the race and use that knowledge to make our car even better next week.
Thank you Bruce, Donnie, Ronnie and Dave for your hard work and building me a great powerhouse! Remember that this Sunday is Mothers Day and all Mom's get in for free at Raceway Park!

April 25, 2010 "You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones" Dale Earnhardt
Golfers get a mulligan in golf so I am going to take this weekend as my mulligan. We have been trying new setups on my car this year and we were a little off on Sunday. We were quick in practice
and I thought that we were going to have a good night. Qualifying went better this week but still not as fast as we have been in practice. I finished 3rd in the heat race after battling a very tight race
car. The car started out way loose and then ended up way tight, I am not sure why it is changing so much but we changed everything except for the kitchen sink before the feature and we thought
it was going to be better. I started on the outside second row and wasn't able to clear a car to get on the preferred inside groove. I was shuffled to the back and found myself behind a few slower
cars and had to battle to get by them on the outside. At that point the lead pack was a straight-away away and I was so tight and very loose off that I couldn't catch them. We went caution free for
the second week in a row. We have a busy week ahead of us as we are going to change some more things and practice on Thursday. This was a very frustrating night but I am confident that we
will find what works and that we will win races and be a contender for the championship. There is a long season ahead and many more races to be won. I hope to see you all at the track and make
sure to come and say hi after the races !

July 11, 2010
The last couple weeks we have been moving in the right direction, qualifying in the top 5 every week and finishing in the top ten in the features. The car was good this week in practice and all night up
to the feature race. The 21 car field is the biggest we have seen all year and we were going to be starting 15th. The car was awesome right away and we were passing people on the outside. There
was a few cautions in the first few laps and we were able to make it through all of them except one. I had cleared the wreck on the front stretch but was hit and turned sideways and then the car that
hit me drove up the left side of my car and stopped on top of my roof and driver side window. I was able to drive away from the wreck and during the red flag, I got out of my car to look at the damage
and make sure that I would be able to finish the race with out having to pit. We were up to 5th place at that time and I didn't want to have to start at the rear of the field. I restarted the race after a long
red flag and was in fifth place with a ton of damage to the right side of my car. With 21 laps to go I had hoped that the quarter panel that was rubbing on the left rear tire would wear through and not cut
the tire. We were running strong in fifth but with about 9 laps to go, the car started to get loose in and loose off and I was unable to hold off the #89 and #11 cars. I finished the race 7th which was very
good for the shape that my car was in. Bryan and I took the most of the body off the car today and we will be fixing most of it. As of today we will not be racing this Sunday in the ASA Midwest Tour
race. If anyone is interested in sponsoring the tires for the race, I would love to compete in it. My car is starting to be really good on the outside and I think that we would be pretty racey in the 100 lap
event. Below are pictures of the damage of my car. Please email me if you are interested or click on the PayPal link if you would like to help me run the race this weekend!

June 20, 2010
The past couple weeks my car has been getting better and better. We are finally in the chase for a win every week. This year at Raceway Park the racing is very tight and the competition is very
close and strong. We had a good run in the heat race, starting 5th, we were able to make it up to third place before the race was over. We were excited for the feature race because I was going to
start on the pole for the first time this season. We had loosened the car up a bit for the feature but we found that it wasn't enough. I was able to lead for the first 15 laps but the car was getting tighter
and tighter and I wasn't able to hold onto the lead. I ended up fifth but it was a very close race and a well fought race. I am excited for next week because I know that we will get a feature win soon.

May 23, 2010 Special Thanks to the 2nd Street Depot Gang for coming out tonight!
After a week of pulling all nighters we were able to get my car back on the track. After last weeks wreck we had to start all over and try to figure out the sweet spot with my car. It looked as if I was
going to have a great qualifying run but during the second lap the car tightened up and I had to stick with my first fastest lap. We lined up seventh for the heat race and were able to pass one car and
finish sixth. Since it was the first really hot night, the track was pretty greasy and we were trying to figure out how to adjust the car for the hot day race and try to guess how much if any it would
tighten up for the feature race at night. We started sixth in the feature and was running on the outside lane trying to pass some cars but wasn't able to make the car stick enough on the outside lane.
We dropped into line on the preferred bottom groove and I knew we were faster than the cars in front of me but couldn't make the pass on the outside. I tried a few times on the outside but was ran up
into the third groove a few times, so then I drove in high and turned the car to the bottom of the track to get underneath the cars that were pushing up in the middle. I had gained position on the 62 car
but instead of holding his lane (which now was the outside) he turned down and I clipped him and spun him out. We were both sent to the back and I would have to try to pass him all over again. I
again tried the outside but wasn't given a lane to race so on the last lap coming out of turn four, I was able to get him coming to the line for the checkers for 8th place. Special thanks to all who came
out with The 2nd Street Depot and I hope you all had a great time. We hope to see you all again at the track real soon!

May 16, 2010
Today started out great and I thought that our luck was turning around. I qualified 5th with a 13.92 and was running third in the heat race but was spun out and sent to the back. I was able to make it
back up to 4th. We were pretty happy with the car all day and were only making small changes to free it up in the middle. We started second row inside for the feature and after we warmed up the
tires I thought to myself that tonight is the our night. The car felt awesome and I was excited for the start of the race. The car on the pole didn't get a very good start and I found myself being dragged
backwards. I knew that I had to get around him fast. I jumped to the outside on lap three and was running well and I thought that I was going to get past him and start competing for the lead. I got
loose coming out of turn four and was tagged in the left rear which turned me in front of the field of cars. I was then hit in the left front and that sent me directly into the wall. My night was over and my
car was in very bad shape. We tore the front end apart on my car today and pushed the frame straight. There is a lot of damage to every part of the front end. I will have to replace the nose, fenders,
radiator, rack, and all suspension parts. We have another busy week ahead of us but we will be ready for Sunday's race. Thanks to all who came down to the pits after and thanks to the 89 team for
offering up one of their cars if I am unable to get my car finished. This weekend the gang from 2nd Street Depot will be taking a party bus from Hastings to Raceway Park!

May 9, 2010 "A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success" Elbert
Hubbard
Happy Mothers Day to all the Mom's who came out this past Sunday! After a very busy week Sunday found us still struggling with the front end of the car. We chased a loose in car all day and were
making adjustments but nothing seemed to fix it. We tried to find what was binding but wasn't able to find it until right before the feature. We discovered the left front upper ball joint was just binding
ever so much - just enough to upset the car getting into the corner. We fixed the problem and made the necessary adjustments for the feature race. I started outside third row and ran in the 6th
position for the entire caution free race. I am happy with how the car ran in the feature because we were running very quick times in the feature but were not able to make any passes. We all finished
in the same order as we started. We will keep going and I know that we will find the sweet spot with this car and we will start winning races and being a contender in every race. It will be another
busy week in the shop but it will be worth it come Sunday. I will be at Raceway Park on Tuesday May 11th for Media Day. Thanks to all who came out this past weekend.