Despite having a very fast car at the 29th Annual Coors Light Fall Classic, a mechanical failure on the M2 car caused Caden to pull out of Saturday's race.
On the Friday, Oct 13th, Caden Mullinax and the Mullinax Racing team took their M2 CRM Motors Black Diamond Late Model to Whynot Motorsports Park for the Fall Classic. The weekend would consist of two nights of racing, Friday's split $3,000 features, and then Saturday's $15,000 feature race.
This was Caden's second time at the famed "House of Hook", last year's Fall Classic being his first where he finished a very strong 19th in the 604 Late Model division. This year he was in his Super Late Model and up against many of the regions' best drivers, 48 in total.
Caden was placed in the second group for Friday's features where he would be middle of the field after practice. By the time he went out for qualifying the track had already dried out slightly, but the wrong gear in the car had Caden starting near the back of the field for his heat race later that night.
Caden made improvements during his heat race as he used and secured himself a 20th position starting spot for the feature later that night. Despite starting near the back, the team was confident going into the feature because of the noticeable improvement in both Caden and the team that was taking place.
When the green flag dropped, Caden started going forward quickly. By the time of the first caution in the 30-lap feature, Caden had already moved up to 16th place. As the feature went on, Caden started running lap times similar to the leaders and started to pick off the drivers in front one by one.
Caden was making moves all while battling very rough track conditions which caused all four of his wheels to leave the ground when coming out of turn four. This beating on the car and driver took its toll on the last lap when Caden had to save the car from a near spin and finish the race in 12th place.
Confidence was high going into Saturday; the team was improving with their new motor and the car was faster than it had ever been. Caden also drew a good number in the first group, creating a great opportunity in Hotlap/Qualifying to start up front.
Caden got up to speed for the green flag when his driveshaft came out of the car in turn three, ending his session before it started. When the team got the car back to the pits, it was clear that the beating that the car had taken combined with the high-speed nature of the track caused brackets holding the rear end to fail and causing damage that ended Caden's night.
Though the weekend had a disappointing ending it was still one that left the team confident for their next showing. Next up on the schedule is East Alabama Motor Speedway for the National 100 from October 27th to the 28th.
To keep up to date with all of Mullinax Racing news follow them on Facebook or on Instagram @MullinaxRacing.