Since the last site update, the Carl Bowser Racing team has run just a hand full of races as the 2011 Season winds to a close. While we haven't picked up any more wins to this point, Carl did clinch his first career Lernerville Speedway Sprint Car Track Championship, winning the title by over 40 points, and grabbing 3 feature wins in Sarver over 5 of the last 6 points races.

Along with the end of the Lernerville points race, Carl has also ran the World of Outlaws Commonwealth Clash, All Star races at Lernerville and Mercer, and a pair of races at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. On August 20th at PPMS, Carl ran 4th in his heat race. After starting 3rd in the feature, Carl lead the second half of the race until Ed Lynch passed the #10 in the final pair of turns to steal the win. The next Friday at Lernerville, the CBR team knew that the points title was locked up, so just focused on trying to garner a 4th A-Main for 2011. Carl looked determined from the start of the night, making a daring move in the first corner on lap one of his heat race, as he maneuvered from 7th to 2nd. Winning the previous week, Carl managed to drive to 6th place after having to start 12th in the feature.

The next night at Mercer Raceway Park, Carl joined the All Stars for their second visit of the season. Carl qualified 18th, putting him on the front row of his heat. He won the heat going away, and looked primed to make a run from his 18th place starting spot in the feature event. The 10 was quick from the start, and was on the verge of entering the top 10 before the halfway point. However, the extremely dusty conditions saw Carl come up over the edge of the racing surface of turn 2 before momentarily getting back on track in turn 3. With no traction to speak of, Carl got out over turn 3 as well, and had managed to save the car. As he attempted to get back on the track, he hit a huge ditch caused by the water run off from the rain earlier in the week, flipping the #10 J&J machine and unfortunately ending the night with moderate damage.

Carl again competed with the All Star Circuit of Champions on September 2nd at Lernerville Speedway. Qualifying in the middle of the pack for the second race in a row, Carl won his second straight All Star heat race from the outside pole, positioning him 15th for the start of the A-Main. After being collected in a lap 1 red flag, slight wing damage allowed him only to crawl back up to 12th place as the checkered flags waved. On the 17th of September, the team traveled to PPMS for the Pittsburgher weekend. With the large crowd of late models on hand for the Friday opener, the track was more slick than usual as the sprint cars returned to Pittsburgh. Carl drove from 4th to 1st to win hi heat race, but a poor tire compound choice to start the night gave him next to no traction in the feature, finishing in 9th from his 11th place draw.

The next Saturday, the World of Outlaws returned to Lernerville. With 32 cars on hand, Carl's qualifying time was much further off the pace than the lap he turned seemed to be, putting him behind the 8-ball for the rest of the night. He started and finished 7th in his heat, putting him 6th in the B-Main. Though he needed to advance to 4th place, he came up one spot short of making the night's main event. Plans for the rest of the season are not yet set in stone, but it looks like we will head to Pittsburgh for their final show on October 15th, along with attending the Steel City Stampede the following weekend at Lernerville.

This past Friday at Lernerville Speedway, Carl started off the night well, winning his heat race from the outside pole. The track was already getting slick before the heat ended, and the redraw positioned Carl in 11th place for the start of the feature. Even starting back in the sixth row, Carl looked determined to make his way to the front. He made his way to 5th before lap 4, and was in to 3rd place by lap ten. The #10 J&J was into the runner up spot two laps later, and grabbed the lead on lap 16. The caution flag came out on the next circuit. After the lap 17 restart, Carl had nearly a straight away lead by lap 20. For the second straight time when out front, Carl had to maintain his lead through a green-white-checker finish. The extra lap was a mere formality, after Carl turned his fastest lap of the race on lap 25, and cruised to victory by nearly two seconds. The Bowser Motorsports team made their 3rd visit to victory lane at Lernerville Speedway since July 1st, with Carl having won three of the last 5 features in Sarver.

The team looked to carry their momentum into Saturday night, where bad luck has blanketed them for the majority of the season at Mercer Raceway Park. With a good pill pull, Carl won his heat over points leader Bob Felmlee. After starting 7th in the A-Main, Carl made his way into the top 3 by lap 6. He continued to make up ground on the leaders, but with a small field of cars, the leader was nearly a straightaway out by the time Carl got to second place on lap 16. Carl would have to settle for the runner up spot by just under a second after the feature went green to checkered.

Following the team's victory July 29th, Carl and the crew knew that a 12th place start was awaiting them at Lernerville Speedway, pending a redraw position finish in their heat race this past Friday night. A poor pill draw handed Carl a 9th place start in his heat race, but he managed to make his way into 4th before the finish.

Starting 12th, Carl cracked the top 5 by the 8th lap, sitting in fourth as the sprints made their eighth circuit. Carl was quick, but the car managed to jump the cushion in turns 1 and 2 nearly every time he seemed primed to get inside the top 3. He dropped back to 5th on lap 18, but was able to redeem himself by making a last corner pass for 3rd before crossing the finish line for the final time.

The next night, Mercer Raceway Park avoided the seemingly sure rain showers, allowing the 10 team to run for the second straight Saturday. After starting 4th in his heat race, a pair of mid race cautions along with a leaking right rear tire saw Carl slip back to 5th. He was drawn a 6 pill for the A-Main for the second week in a row. Early in the race, Carl was helplessly collected as another racer attempted to pass for the lead following a hanging green false start. The Terry Bowser Excavating #10 was towed off the track at MRP, an all too common occurrence there, this time with a bent front axle and junk front wing. The team has already made the necessary repairs as we look to hit the track this Friday at Lernerville.

This past weekend, Carl was ready to get the #10 back on the track after last weekend's washout at Lernerville. Carl won his heat race from the outside pole, turning the fastest lap of the race while averaging 108+ mph. The track would maintain its speedy surface most of the night. The sprint car feature was the first A-main of the night, with Carl redrawing a 3 pill in the lineup. He wasted no time making moves for the front, grabbing the second position on the first lap.

The moisture made the track lock down and fast, and Carl followed pole sitter Brian Steinman throughout the race. It seemed as though every time Carl would reel in the 24s, that the caution would come out. These yellow flags hurt Carl's momentum, as our freshly installed backup motor would stumble to a near stall on the corresponding restarts, allowing Cowboy to pull away. Carl closed in on the race-long leader in the closing laps, with Carl on Brian's rear bumper as they passed under the white flag. He didn't get a chance to try for a last lap pass, as the caution came out once again for a stopped racecar on the back stretch. Under this final lap yellow, Steinman's car ran out of fuel as the field came through turn 2 for the final time before the green-white-checker was about to restart. The Cowboy ran a great race, but Carl was in position to take over the point. Knowing how poorly the motor had been stumbling on the slow restarts while in second, Carl brought the field to the final restart at a quicker pace. The crowd watched intensely as Carl was followed to the cone by Rod George, who dove to the inside of the #10 J&J in turn 3, but Carl quickly closed the door and went unchallenged on the final circuit to grab his second win of the 2011 season at Lernerville Speedway, crossing the checkered nearly a half second ahead of second place. Carl pocketed over $2,000 for his efforts, and positioned himself alone atop the point standings. This win was Carl's 5th visit to victory lane at Lernerville.

Grabbing the win Friday, Carl and the Bowser Motorsports team headed to Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday for the annual Sprint Slug Out. Carl held par in his heat race, finishing 4th. He started 6th in the A-Main, but was up to 3rd by the 3rd lap. Carl bounced between the 3rd and 6th place positions for the majority of the race, but used a late lap restart with just 6 laps left to go from 6th to 3rd. He maintained his position to finish 3rd in the final rundown.

Last Tuesday night, the Bowser Motorsports team battled the World of Outlaws as they invaded Sarver for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. Carl and the team knew that as the points co-leader, that they would be locked into the twin features, but still looked to race into the night's dual A-mains. The 10 car hit the track later in qualifying, positioning Carl 34th quick with a solid car count of 44 on hand. He started and finished 9th in heat 2, landing him in the B-main. Carl held par in the B as well, starting and finishing 14th in the last chance qualifier.

Though disappointed, Carl and the crew quickly readied the car to start near the tail of the first feature event. With the format of the twin features, Carl pulled off early in the race after being lapped by eventual winner Dale Blaney. After making some minor tweaks, the crew pushed the Terry Bowser Excavating machine back onto the track for feature #2. Using some early cautions and red flags to his advantage, Carl advanced up to 13th from his 27th place starting spot by the 12th circuit. However, under the lap 12 open red, the team decided not to make too many changes, which cost Carl most of the positions he had gained. Carl ended up finishing 18th, after being passed back by some of the stiffest sprint car competition in the country, the same cars he had passed early in the race.

The team was pumped to be running along side some of the best drivers in sprint car racing, but Carl was still dissatisfied with his finish, as it failed to show how good he ran for a portion of the race. Carl looks to get back to the front of the field this weekend at Lernerville Speedway after being rained out last weekend. The CBR team will return to Mercer Raceway Park this week as well after a missing the last couple shows at MRP.

Last night, the Bowser Motorsports team returned to Lernerville Speedway after weather washed out last Friday's racing. The team drew a 14 pill, putting Carl outside of the front row in the first heat race. As long as he finished inside the top 6, Carl knew he'd be locked in to a 12th place start in the night's feature after his victory on July 1st. The #10 jetted to the lead off of turn 2 on the first lap and never looked back, even after a close call with fellow front row starter Dan Kuriger. Nearly halfway through the heat, as Carl got to the back of the field, a lap car began to spin in the middle of 3 and 4, forcing Carl to get on the brakes. As he slowed, Kuriger slammed Carl's left rear, causing Kuriger to get several feet of air before slamming back on the ground, ending his night. Damage to the 10 was merely cosmetic, as Carl went on to win his heat after the restart.

Starting 12th, Carl was loose early, but once he got his wing moved back, he started to move ahead. He continued to find moisture in the track through the late stages of the nights third feature, allowing him to pick off more cars after running around 8th or 9th for the majority of the race. Action heated up over the last five laps, featuring some very close racing between Carl, Brian Ellenberger and Rod George. Carl used the low groove to get by George coming to the white flag and held off a hard charging 20E to grab 5th in the A.

Carl looks to carry his recent momentum at the Action Track into Tuesday night, as the Outlaws come to town!

Early morning showers on Friday, July 8th, forced Lernerville to cancel, leaving the Bowser Motorsports team only one race this past weekend. Saturday, Carl and the team started off well at Mercer Raceway Park by winning the second sprint car heat race. The Bullet was drawn a 9th place starting spot in the feature. As the race progressed, Carl began to move forward, grabbing the 6th position on lap 13. That was as far forward as the Terry Bowser Excavating #10 made it, after the cushion in turn 1 bent the tie rod. The bend in the front end caused the race car to become tighter, preventing Carl from being as good on the cushion as he was early in the race. On lap 23, Carl was drilled in the left rear wheel, demolishing the w-link and causing wing damage, forcing him to pull off the race track a few laps short of the finish.

The team will make the necessary repairs to get the #10 Kistler powered J&J back on the track for this weekend, as Carl gets one final tune up on Friday at Lernerville before the World of Outlaws invade Sarver on Tuesday July 19th.

This past Friday at Lernerville Speedway, Carl returned to the track for the first time since suffering a concussion June 11th at Mercer Raceway Park. After drawing a 45 pill, the team knew they would have their work cutout for them in the heat race. Carl started 10th, but after taking advantage of a few rare heat race yellows, he managed a 4th place finish, earning him a spot in the top 12 feature redraw. He was then drawn a number 1 pill for the A-Main, and after pulling to the lead in turn 3 on the first lap, Carl never looked back. He dominated the dusty, slick surface, turning the races fastest lap by sixth tenths of a second. Carl captured his first win of the season by 11.5 seconds, putting an exclamation point on his return to the seat. The team would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Kemenah & Dave Deyo of Kistler Racing Products as well as Kole Kahne from Factory Kahne Shocks for all of their help in getting us back on the race track, along with their fantastic support. We’d also like to thank our sponsors - Terry Bowser Excavating, Country Road Car Sales, Reesman Body Shop, MSMDesigns.com, Delp Powder Coating, J&J Auto Racing, Kistler Engines, and Bell Helmets for their continued support.

Saturday marked Carl’s return to Mercer Raceway Park after his violent crash there just three weeks earlier. He showed no ill effects of the crash early, as he ran second in his heat race. Following Friday night’s win from the pole, Carl’s redraw luck began to run dry, as he was slated to start 10th in the feature. With a fast car for the second night in a row, Carl began to pick off the competition right from the drop of the green. He made his way to 5th by the 3rd lap of the race, and ran there until a lap 17 restart involving the two leaders allowed Carl to charge into 2nd. Even though Carl turned his fastest time on lap 21. he was unable to pass for the lead, settling for 2nd place by just .7 seconds.

Carl and the rest of the Bowser Motorsports crew headed to Franklin, PA on Sunday for the Midwest All Star Series race at Tri City Speedway. Carl qualified 3rd, his best qualifying effort to date, locking him into the night’s dash, and a top 6 starting spot in the 30 lap feature. He finished 4th in his heat race after starting fourth, and redrew a 1 pill for his position in the dash. Carl was forced to move back a row in the dash after the initial start was called back. His finish in the dash put him outside row 2 for the feature. Carl was running third around lap 5 when he got a little high in turn 2, making contact with the water barrels, causing a light rollover. The car was unscathed, but slight wing damage was compounded by the tracks’ high speeds after deciding to push back off and finish the race. As the race went on, the left sideboard began to buckle, forcing Carl to slip a few spots, before finishing 15th in the A-Main.

While you're here, check out pictures of the team's new racecar that debuted with a dominating win at Lernerville Speedway last Friday.

At Lernerville Speedway this past Friday, Carl managed to grab the point lead for the first time in his career following his second straight runner up finish. Carl started third in the A-Main after finishing sixth in his heat. He made his way to second on the first lap, and stayed hot on the trail of pole sitter and race-long leader Brian Ellenberger the entire race. The Bowser Motorsports number 10 finished second, which was the 3rd top 3 finish in the 5 races ran this season at Lernerville.

The next day at Mercer Raceway Park saw Carl start in 6th in his heat race for the second night in a row. Carl looked fast from the start of the night, and was able to finish 2nd in the heat from his 3rd row draw. The evening seemed to be going well, and the team was confident even after being handed a 9th place pill for the feature. Things took a dramatic turn on lap 1 of the A, when Carl and another car touched wheels entering the first turn, shooting Carl up in the air and causing a series of violent flips. Carl's wing was ripped from the frame when the car came back to earth after the first flip, which seemed to make the next few rolls even quicker and more ferocious. His car finally came to a rest along the outside barrier in the middle of turn 1 and 2. The damage to the car was quite severe, and the crash resulted in a concussion for Carl. The Bowser Motorsports team is already hard at work rebuilding and preparing to get Carl back on the track as soon as possible, even though he will be forced to sit out for at least a week of racing as he recovers from the crash.

To track any updates on Carl's status and the latest Bowser Motorsports news, you can like us on Facebook and follow CBR on Twitter.

This past weekend, the Bowser Motorsports team ran Friday night at Lernerville Speedway and Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park. At Lernerville, Carl ran 5th in his heat race from his 4th place starting spot, handing him a 6th place start in the A-Main. Carl maneuvered his way into 3rd by the 12th lap on the super slick and wide racing surface. On lap 16, Carl passed race long leader Cap Henry for 2nd place just after eventual race winner Jack Sodeman grabbed the top spot. As the 10 car closed in on the leader in heavy lap traffic, a caution came out on lap 18, allowing Sodeman the clear track surface needed to retain the lead. Carl turned his fastest lap of the race on lap 24, but a poor exit from turn 2 on the 25th circuit gave 3rd place runner Danny Holtgraver the window to drive past Bowser down the backstretch, but the Boggsville Bullet used the high line to get back the runner-up spot in turns 3 & 4 before going under the checkered flag.

The next night at Mercer Raceway Park was not as successful for the Bowser Excavating J&J. The night started off well, with the team drawing a pill good enough to put Carl on the pole of his heat race. He jumped out to an early lead and won the qualifier by nearly two and a half seconds. The feature redraw was not nearly as fortunate, handing Carl a 10th place starting position. With the track narrow and rough, conditions were not ideal for passing, nor was the surface preferable to the team’s liking. Carl managed to muscle the car to a 9th place finish, while unable to get fully on the throttle because of the car’s poor handling on the rutted surface.

If the weekend stays rain free, Carl and the Bowser Motorsports #10 will be in action at Lernerville and Mercer. Check us out on Facebook, and follow CBR on Twitter! While you're here, check out the new photos in the gallery from Rick Rarer.

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