Five-Seven Motorsports / Tyler Hartzell Racing
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05/19/2026
RACE RECAP - May 15 & 16
In racing, they say you're only as good as your last race. That being said, we're looking forward to the opportunity to get back on track this weekend for the Freedom 50 at Miami County Raceway Friday and Saturday this upcoming weekend.
Friday - Miami County Raceway
3rd in Group / 4th overall in Hotlaps
Heat 2 to 3
Feature 9 to 6
A solid run but just didn't feel right.
Saturday - US 24 US 24 Speedway
Hotlaps - 5th - We wanted to test something, and it didn't work. Luckily hotlaps don't impact starting position so no worries. It's good to try things on occassion. Felt down on power.
Heat - 8 to 5 - Solid run. Car much better. And again, something wasn't quite right.
Feature - 10 to 16th (DNF). Got two positions quickly with a good first few laps, but what I started to feel Friday was noticeable. Lacking power. Instead of slugging through 25 laps, I took caution and pulled in.
So, here's what happened... First two nights of the season at US24 we had an overheating issue that was intermittent. Ended up being a loose wire on the water pump. Car would behave normal sitting still, but put 16,000 RPM to it and drive in circles and the issue occurs. We were nervous as the temps spiked to 250+ and we steam cleaned the internals losing a lot of coolant. Keep in mind that 250+ is only what a dry ECT sensor could read, it was likely much worse than that. Ran decent for a few weeks as our speed showed, we thought we were out of the woods. Not so...
We lost compression on 3 cylinders. Due to the overheating we had those two race nights- not sure if we burned valves, damaged rings, or both. So, off to Shively Racing Engines for this engine for some TLC and we'll have a spare in tonight.
Hate to damage a strong engine with something dumb like what occurred, especially when it could have been avoided.
Don't like sharing the information, but the one thing we've always been on this page is honest with our results. We don't only post the good. And, we certainly wanted to control the rumor mill narrative, which, once again, was humorous.
We'll get back next week with the SlateUp, Inc. clip of the week. For now, we're getting this Concept Chassis Inc. designed by Shietze Creative Co. prepped for a great weekend.
Race Update | May 1&2
Friday @ Miami County Raceway
No times were given in hotlaps.
Heat – 3 to 3
Feature – 7 to 7
Solid run, good speed. Not really much else to say other than we’re definitely dialing in the car well.
Saturday @ US24 Speedway
Hot Laps – 2nd fastest in group, 2nd fastest of 30 cars (keep in mind it means nothing ).
Heat – 7 to 4
Feature – 10 to 9
Normally don’t get too excited about a 9th place run. Didn’t have the luck of heat race shenanigans to gain a few more positions to start us up front further. But looking at lap times is the positive to take away. The feature track was pretty slick all the way to a little bit of top grip and a narrow cushion to lean on- definitely a technical track.
I’m confident we have speed and dialed the car in further to the point where our notebook is pretty consistent. Now we can begin trying for the extra little bit that is elusive. We’ll also see some change in track conditions as the weather warms up soon so that will also challenge what everyone has done these first few weeks.
The Slate Up clip of the week is a great example of how difficult some of the grip levels were Saturday night. It was challenging to pass. Even going off-line when you had a good run on someone to throw a slider proved to be challenging. Luckily, we dodged a spinning car- from a great driver that probably has the highest winning percentage of anyone the last three years. The track definitely kept us on our toes Saturday…
As always, thanks to all of those who help support what we’re able to do. We don’t take it for granted…
And finally- if you work in manufacturing or would like to explore opportunities in a new career, check out one of our partners @ www.slateup.co to see how manufacturing talent is approaching a new way to find their next job.
RACE UPDATE – 4/25/26
Mother nature won Friday night at County Raceway in Peru, IN so we spent the evening switching a few things over that we wanted to test out at US24 with our new Concept Chassis Inc. C6 4.0 chassis.
Saturday night at US24 brought a stout field of 38 cars in the class, the largest of the evening.
Hot Laps | P4 – Car was a little loose, which is what we were looking to find to feel a few things. Starting order in heat races is based off of random draw, so we were being a little more aggressive than normal.
Heat | P2 to P2 – Car was really good. Settled into 2nd pretty quickly and pushed for the lead a few times, but stayed there till the end. Transferred directly to the A Main, which always just relaxes the night a bit. Provides us more time to catch up with others and read the track throughout the night.
Feature | P10 to P7 – Could have gotten a bit more aggressive on the setup, but was still a solid run for the 25 lap feature. Definitely better than last week.
The SlateUp, Inc. clip of the week is all about reaction time. You never expect two cars to get together on the fastest part of the track, but you need to be prepared for it.
Looking forward to another opportunity to dial the car a little bit more for a double race weekend as Friday we are again scheduled for a Miami County Raceway and Saturday at US24 Speedway.
As always, thanks to our sponsors and partners that help support our family-owned program. We don’t take for granted the opportunity to do this and spend time making memories.
SlateUp, Inc.SlateUp
Concept Chassis Inc.
Rodco Machine Products
Competition Suspension Inc.
Shively Racing Engines
Miller Fuel Injection & Dyno Service
Dawg's Custom Powdercoat
Shietze Creative Co.
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