"Z-Man" Enjoys Busy Weekend With ZTO Motorsports Team
by Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

West Park, NY- A full weekend of racing activity highlighted 14 year old driving talent Zachary "Z-Man" O'Connell's past week of racing. Beginning with a two-day weekend of racing scheduled at the Hamlin Speedway, O'Connell ran in the dual heat formatted events on Friday evening and the car was a bit off due to the drive chain causing some minor concerns to the team. Fixing the problem early the next morning, the team was set to go for the headline Saturday night feature events. A powerful storm came through the Hamlin area and halted the racing action not once but twice but some great work by the Track Management and the Slingshot and Micro Sprint Teams soon had the raceway back on track for the feature events. O'Connell started deep in the 29-car starting field but found the outside lane to his liking immediately and was soon making headway towards the front. Flirting with the devil on the outside lane coming off of turn four, O'Connell got a great run and moved by one car quickly and came up on another car in the middle of the straightaway. As O'Connell was making the pass, the competitor turned O'Connell into the Jersey barrier, causing damage to the track bar of the race car. O'Connell toughed it out and continued but was never a factor in the remaining laps of the feature event.

Back in the pit area after the event was completed, the ZTO Motorsports Team quickly went to work to fix the wounded race car as the car was assigned to NASCAR Crew member Ron Malec for the celebrity race that followed. Malec,who raced the car two times during the 2007 season and came away with a third and win in those outings, was anxiously waiting his turn on the raceway while the TNT network people were on hand filming the action for a promotional segment they were doing for a TV airing later the next day. Malec went out and hot-lapped the car and found the car to be a bit pushy. Some quick changes were made and Malec returned to the racing action winning his heat and setting up for a feature event run with fellow Lowes crewman Sean Kerlin and Aaron Kuehn from the Jeff Gordon Team. Twelve cars started the race and the battle boiled down to the three drivers who enjoyed past success at Hamlin with the Slingshot cars. After 20-laps of battle, Kerlin was the winner in close race over Kuehn and Malec. It was great to see the TNT network on hand for the action and a great promotional piece for the speedway and the ZTO Motorsports Team.

Wednesday night was to be the opening night of the Mid Week Madness Series at the Accord Speedway. Mother Nature had plans of her as the heavy rain that came down the night before left the speedway without power. Not being able to kick-off the season as planned, quick-thinking Accord Promoter Gary Palmer turned the night into a full blown practice session for the nearly ninety racers that came out to race. Racing until dark, all competitors enjoyed at least three solid track sessions on the speedway. Ten Slingshots were in attendance and the little cars were getting around the raceway in fine fashion. The "Z-Man" and the "Montgomery Missile" Anthony Perrego were clocked to be the quickest on the raceway and the times improved immensely once a layer of water was laid down halfway through the session. All of the drivers are looking forward to the great competition opening night will bring next week on June 18th.

This Friday evening will find the ZTO Motorsports Team back at Accord as the CRSA sprint group comes to town for their lone appearance of the 2008 racing season. Headed up by early season winners, Jamie Russell and Jeff Van Steenberg, the series is averaging 25-cars per race. While it was announced earlier the "Original Lady Outlaw" Mares Stellfox would be driving the car at Accord, a change in her work schedule will find her unavailable for the evening's racing events. With that "The Statesman From Slate Hill" Jerry Higbie will step in and assist the "Z-Man" with the learning curve of the powerful little sprinter. Higbie will take the car our for some hot laps first and then will return to the pits to have O'Connell take the car for the next session. Higbie will race the car during the evening's events.

O'Connell is learning as he goes with the new ZTO racer, making sure each successive outing with the machine allows him to be more comfortable with the car and his surroundings. Noting the major differences between the in-house Slingshot and the Sprint Car are staggering, Crew Chief and Dad Paul O'Connell has indicated he wants the "Z-Man" to feel at totally at ease with the car before cutting him loose on the racetrack. Another call during the week to consult with veteran sprint car crew chief Ray Brooks put the team at ease as each team member learns something each time a call is made to Brook's Oklahoma Shop.

The ZTO Motorsports Team is still seeking additional crew members to help alleviate the heavy workload on crew chief Paul O'Connell. Interest aprties should feel free to contact the O'Connells at the race track or through the team's website.

Through the efforts of Zach's Mom, Brenda, the team will be highlighted in the upcoming weeks at the Highland Middle School the "Z-Man" attends. Zach's fellow students will have the opportunity to see both race cars up close and personal as the ZTO Motorsports Team proudly displays the race cars on the school grounds. Zach will be graduating on the 25th of June and will lose another night of racing due to the graduation ceremonies.

With the school calendar now loaded with the many things the "Z-Man" is involved with at school, O'Connell remains focused on the books first. Continued efforts with the Jimmy Johnson Foundation now take a part of his spare time and learning the basic fundamentals of working on a Sprint Car to go along with the Slingshot, give the young driving talent a tremendous workload.

The new ZTO Motorsports Team T-Shirts are now available at a cost of $15.00 each and will be available at the racetracks where the "Z-Man" is competing and through the team's website: www.zacharyoconnell.com

The "Z-Man" continues to excel in the classroom to go along with his increasing on track skills. He has maintained Honor Roll status for every semester and will soon be completing 8th grade at the Highland Middle School, situated in Highland, New York. The Honor Roll status is part of an agreement worked out by his parents for the capacity to drive the in-house race cars. Zach will end his 5th year in the school band this year as he plays the jazz trumpet. Zach is heavily involved with the school newspaper, "The Blue Review" as an at-large reporter and has done an extensive amount of work with the school yearbook. He is also a member of the Ski Club and the Mile Club. Zach also competes in the Port Ewen Athletic Basketball Association. When not playing sports or completing his homework, the "Z-Man" likes to take the drive down to the S&S Speedways to continuously hone his skills in racing, as he finds the more laps he runs indoors, the more adept he is becoming on the racetrack during the summer.

ZTO Motorsports would like to thank the great supporting cast of sponsors who have come on board with the relatively new racing team. The list includes, Apple Greens Golf Course, Lowes Home Improvement of Kingston, D&D NAPA of Highland, Stock Car Fantasy, John J Pezzo, CPA, P&Z Rental Management Inc, Northern Dutchess Archery, Hig-Fab, Fast Dirt Racing Promotions, Port Ewen Athletic Association, and GA Motorsports Media.

For more information and further updates regarding the "Z-Man" Zach O'Connell and the ZTO Motorsports team, log onto their website at: www.zacharyoconnell.com