Shaffer To Chauffeur Titan #36

( Jan  3, 2012 ) - Celebrated USA Sprintcar star Tim Shaffer will fly into Australia this Friday morning just in time to take the wheel of the #36 Titan Garages / Oven U Maxim for the two night Australian Open at Archerfield Speedway.
The Open, which is also Round Nine of the Hi-Tec Oils World Series Sprintcars Championship will see Shaffer slide into the seat for the first of several commitments with the team between now and The Warrnambool Classic.

“Tim is a great racer and we’re pleased he could come in at such short notice,” says Titan Team Principal Reeve Kruck, “he’ll do the next three nights of World Series with us plus the Kings Challenge and the Classic.”

Shaffer, the 2011 All Star (Circuit of Champions) Champion has previous racing history with the crew on the Titan #36 having driven for Bingo Jenkins’ (Titan crew chief) Dad Gene Jenkins in the J&M Racing #55 back in 1996.

He is best known however for his stirring win at the 2010 Knoxville Nationals – the biggest win of the 46 year old Aliquippa Pennsylvanian hard charger’s career to date.

Shaffer’s vast experience on the World of Outlaw and All Stars schedules will see him adapt quickly to the tighter Australian circuits he faces at Archerfield, Speedway City, Mt. Gambier and Warrnambool.

“Tim’s a professional racer and a hard charger, we’re excited to have him in the car for these shows,” says Titan Crew Chief Bingo Jenkins.

Beyond The Warrnambool Classic the team has no concrete plans, other than to contest the Australian Sprintcar Championship at Adelaide and WSS beyond that weekend.

“Right now we’re concentrating on Tim right now and the races we have in front of us,” says Bingo Jenkins, “we’re working on what we’re doing with our car in the lead up to this weekend. We’re not completely sure that we didn’t hurt the car a bit more than we first realised when Shaun (Dobson) got caught up in the wreck at Mt. Gambier.”

On New Year’s Day morning Shaun Dobson withdrew as driver of the Titan Racing Team, and Matthew Reed was subbed in to run that night at Warrnambool.

Tim Shaffer will now compete at the following locations:

Friday, January 6 Archerfield Speedway
Saturday, January 7 Archerfield Speedway
Saturday, January 14 Speedway City SA
Friday, January 20 Mt. Gambier SA
Saturday, January 21 Premier Speedway, Warrnambool
Sunday, January 22 Premier Speedway, Warrnambool

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Dobson Leaves Titan Team

( Jan  1, 2012 ) - Shaun Dobson has withdrawn from the Titan Racing Team.The livewire Tasmanian teenager spoke with the team this morning and advised that he would no longer be steering the #36 Titan Garages / Oven U Maxim, effective immediately.

“I just don’t think it was working out for anyone involved,” Dobson explained moments ago, “I’m disappointed that we couldn’t see the season out and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Reeve (Kruck) and Bingo (crew chief) gave me, but I think I’m better off doing my own thing.”

Titan Racing crew chief Bingo Jenkins was nonplussed.

“I don’t think we were necessarily surprised that Shaun made this decision, but I think it would have been good if he’d finished up Speedweek before he left. It leaves us with not much time to fill the seat tonight for Warrnambool but we’re working on that right now. We wish him well for the remainder of the season anyway.”

One of those eleventh hour options for Titan tonight could well be “Mr. Speed” Matthew Reed.

Reed is currently sitting out the season with his own car due to budget constraints and is helping crew on the Michael Cunningham #74 PRP car in Victoria.

He’ll be in the pits tonight at Sungold Stadium.

“I’m available for tonight. It’s tricky because I have my race seat and my gear spread between Warrnambool, Perth and Melbourne but it might be possible,” said Reed just now.

As for Shaun Dobson, his immediate plans are to return to the #77 Dobson family car and map out the rest of the season in the days ahead.

“We don’t have any specific plans,” he concedes, “right now I think I just need to stand back from this and see what options we have. It hasn’t been easy making this decision but I think it’s the right one.”

Dobson’s decision to leave the team is perhaps not a surprise to people within the industry.

The results have not been encouraging since the Series began back in November at Archerfield so perhaps both parties had considered the parting might be an option.

Not ones to sit on their hands, the Titan Racing Team are already in negotiations with American drivers to take up the ride for Archerfield Speedway’s three nights next week.

The question is, will the Titan #36 line-up tonight, and if so, who will be behind the wheel?

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Shaun Dobson has withdrawn from the Titan Racing Team.

Tough Night At The Office For Titan Racing

( Nov  29, 2011 ) - It was a tough night at the office for Shaun Dobson and the Titan Racing Team at Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway on Sunday night for the rain-delayed first round of the Hi-Tec Oils World Series Sprintcars schedule.

The original date was set for Saturday night but the heavens opened towards the end of qualifying and the racing was postponed until Sunday afternoon late in front of a large and appreciative crowd.

Track conditions were superb for passing and the hot temperatures gave the evening a real carnival atmosphere – this was going to be a memorable night.

Unfortunately for Shaun and the Titan Racing Team it turned out to be memorable for perhaps the wrong reasons.

In qualifying Dobson spun the #36 Titan Garages Maxim on the first lap but fortunately the Tassie teenager was able to keep the car running and resume the time trial for the second lap.

Momentum is a critical issue in qualifying however and so recording a fast lap from virtually a standstill when his rivals would normally be at well over 100kph at the same point on their lap was going to be very difficult.

The 12.930s lap put Shaun in 26th position which – on the upside guaranteed him a front row start in his first heat but on the downside meant he was seriously down on points.

The team re-grouped and came out for the first heat but disaster struck before the car even reached the flag stand on the opening lap when Shaun rode the right rear wheel of his front row rival when the green lights came on and the car launched into the concrete wall.

It was a jarring impact at a critical angle on the chassis and also on Shaun’s knee which struck the steering box and gave him a slight limp after the incident.

Upon returning the car to the pits the team found with dismay that the damage was far too significant to continue any further that night.

A new car is now being prepared for the second round of the Hi-Tec Oils World Series Sprintcars event at Morris Park Speedway in Dubbo this Saturday night.

That’s the beauty of Sprintcar Racing – there’s always next week to record a good night and erase the bad one from your memory bank.

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Dobson Revs Up For Queensland Title

( Sep  17, 2011 ) - Titan Racing’s Tasmanian tear-away Shaun “The Kid” Dobson cranks up for his shot at the 2011 Queensland Sprintcar Title at Charlton Raceway Toowoomba this weekend and the teenager is feeling good about his build up.

“We had a pretty good run at Mackay a couple of weekends ago,” he admits, “we were unlucky on the first night but we learned plenty on the final night. I’d say we brought a great deal home from it.”

The Titan Garages / Oven U Maxim is prepped and ready for the Toowoomba showdown and despite limited track time at Charlton Dobson takes some confidence into the event.

“I’ve only run there once before, during World Series Sprintcars last year. We ended up getting into the wall and rolling but before that we were passing plenty of cars and I think we had a good result coming.”

Dobson’s not whistling Dixie, he was indeed lightning fast in the #77 but he pushed a little too hard into turn three and slammed the wall late in the feature race.

“Yeah, I got excited and stood on my….well, you know,” he laughs.

Crew Chief Bingo Jenkins has the #36 black beauty prepped and ready and the title waits.

“We approach every race the same,” says Jenkins, “we’re there to get to the front. Maybe this weekend we can do that with Shaun and put in a good showing in the Queensland title.”

More information on the Titan Racing Team can be gained by visiting www.titanracing.com.au

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Dobson Determined For Mackay Success

( Aug  29, 2011 ) - All of the photo shoots and Thursday Thunder Internet TV interviews are done for now.
Now it’s time for Shaun Dobson to do what he does best - wheel a Sprintcar around a clay oval at speed.

And this Saturday night the Tassie teen fires up the Titan Garages / Oven U Maxim for his first official ride with the team for the 2011/2012 season at Mackay for the $10,000 to win event.

Speaking at his photo shoot to unveil the car last Thursday Dobson was looking forward to getting the new season underway.

“I can’t believe it’s finally time to get started,” he grinned, “the car looks fantastic and I’m so excited about getting into it.”

History will show that Mackay last year wasn’t the most favourable location for Shaun, though he’s anxious to turn that around.

“For a few reasons we really missed the set up at Mackay last year,” he admits, “we just didn’t nail the set up and never really got settled in. I know we can be faster this time around with a different set of circumstances.”

Mackay is the first race of a busy season ahead for the Tasmanian tyro as he teams up with the ultra-professional Titan Racing Team based in Brisbane to tackle the gruelling World Series Sprintcars tour and the other major events on the national calendar.

“We had two runs in Brisbane earlier in the year for the final two events of 2011 at Archerfield Speedway and tried a few different things with the car and also our motors. This time though our emphasis is on getting the car on the money and getting the best possible result.”

The $10,000 to win event at Mac’s Speedway in Mackay is regarded as the first pre-season major hit out for the new summer and always features a crack field.

“It’s a great way to get the year off to a start and it’s always really competitive up there,” says Dobson, “I’m hoping we can start off with a strong result.”

Information on Shaun’s results from this Saturday night’s event will follow after the weekend.

Please visit www.titanracing.com.au for more details.

Titan Racing wish to thank:

Titan Garages - Oven U Oven Cleaning - Weld Wheels - XYZ Motorsport Products - HRP Wings - Dryden Signs - Torco Oils - ARIPPA Skid Steer- Moonah Auto Parts & Recyclers - Essa Stone - Quantum Quartz

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Q36 Locked and Loaded