Three Days. Big Competition. One Tough Finish.
The Outlaw Invasion at Greenwood Valley Action Track was circled on the calendar for a long time.
For Dominic Slesinski Racing, this was one of the biggest events of the season. The three-day weekend brought together the KKM Series and some of the best 600cc Micro Sprint drivers from across the country, along with a few competitors traveling in from outside the United States.
Thursday was a dedicated test day. Friday featured preliminary racing. Then came Saturday, when the field would battle for one of the biggest wins of the weekend.
We knew the competition would be tough. We also knew we had a lot to learn.
Thursday Practice: Searching for Speed
Thursday’s practice sessions gave us a solid starting point.
The 30s was handling well, and Dominic felt comfortable in the car. The biggest question was speed. We knew we needed to find a little more if we wanted to compete with the deep field coming into Greenwood Valley.
Throughout the day, we made adjustments and continued working to find more speed without giving up the handling we already had. By the end of practice though we felt something wasn’t quite right, we seemed to be losing power.
Friday: A Rough Start Gets Tougher
We rolled into Friday with high hopes, but there was no shortage of uncertainty.
This wasn’t a typical race night. The Outlaw Invasion brought together a stacked field of 600cc Micro Sprint talent, and we knew every position would have to be earned. After the pill draw, Dominic was scheduled to start fifth in Heat 1. Then we made a mistake.
A crew chief oversight left us late rolling onto the track for the heat race. Instead of starting fifth, Dominic had to drop to the rear of the field and take the green from P10. Not exactly the way we wanted to start one of the biggest weekends of the season. Still, Dominic went to work.
The heat race included a couple of cautions and plenty of racing action. The 30s worked its way forward, picking up a few positions before losing that power he found in the beginning. He crossed the checkered flag in seventh, but the night wasn’t over.
D-Main Battle: Power Problems Begin to Show
With the seventh-place heat finish, Dominic would line up second in the D-Main.
The mission was simple. Finish in the top two and keep the night alive. When the green dropped, Dominic held onto the second-place spot for the opening laps. The 30s was in position to move on, but the battle at the front started to change.
Dominic eventually slipped back to third. The top three cars had built a sizable advantage over the rest of the field when the caution came out, setting up a restart with only a handful of laps remaining.
The 30s was showing signs of losing power again! Dominic struggled to maintain the speed he had earlier in the race, and the car began slipping backward. When the checkered flag flew, Dominic had fallen to fifth. Our Friday night was over.
We packed things up, headed back to regroup, and knew Saturday was going to start with a lot of questions.
Saturday: Chasing the Problem
Saturday morning looked a lot different than we had hoped.
A huge thank you goes out to Scott Scholl for making the trip to Greenwood Valley and helping us dig into the 30s. We immediately started looking for the reason behind the power loss we experienced these past couple of nights.
We tested and retested coils, fuel injectors, electrical connections, and anything else that could potentially explain what we were seeing. After working through the possibilities, we determined that we were dealing with two or more weak cylinders. Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be a quick fix in the pits.
Sometimes racing gives you a problem that can be solved with a wrench, a setup change, or a few laps around the track. Other times, the right decision is knowing when to stop before a small problem becomes a much bigger one.
After realizing there was no easy fix, we made the difficult decision to end our weekend and withdraw from the Outlaw Invasion. Definitely not an ending we came looking for.
But sometimes the biggest lessons come from the weekends that don’t go according to plan.
Trackside Takeaways
- Keep Digging – The Outlaw Invasion gave us a chance to race against an incredibly talented field and learn where we need to improve.
- Details Matter – The mistake that sent us to the rear of our heat was a reminder that at an event this competitive, every little detail matters. When the field is this strong, you can’t give away positions.
- Listen to the Car – The power issue ultimately forced us to end the weekend, but the work on Saturday helped us identify where the problem was coming from. Finding the issue is the first step toward getting it fixed.
- Bigger Events Bring Bigger Lessons – Greenwood Valley gave us a taste of what it takes to compete at one of the biggest 600cc Micro Sprint events of the season. We may not have gotten the result we wanted, but we gained experience that will stay with this team.
Appreciation Lap
A huge thank you to Scott Scholl for making the trip out and spending Saturday helping us chase down the power issue. Having someone willing to jump in, turn wrenches, test components, and help troubleshoot means a lot to our family-owned team.
Thank you as well to our sponsors and everyone who followed along, cheered for the 30s, and supported DSR throughout the weekend.
- A2Z Mobile Maintenance
- Kurpakus Chassis & Fabrication
- Dietz Fabrication & Powder Coating
We left GVAT with some tough lessons, a better understanding of the 30s, and even more motivation to keep moving forward.
You take the wins when they’re there. You take the lessons when they’re not.
See ya at the next one!
Photos: Wyatt Snyder Media
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