Ryan Timms piloted his CitGard Engine Oil / driveWFX.com No. 5T CITGO / Hampel Oil / Western Flyer Xpress / Mystik Lubricants Sprint Car to the $10,000 victory in Saturday’s Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout.
Timms charged from the fifth-starting spot to claim the lead on lap 18 and ultimately the win at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park.
“I’m just so stoked to be able to park this thing in Victory Lane and be up here on the podium in first place,” Timms said in Victory Lane. “After the Heat Race and Qualifying and the first few laps of the main, I knew we had a fast car. I’m just so excited to be up here.”
The Oklahoma racer had to withstand a two-lap dash to the checkered flag after seeing the caution flag fall erase his sizeable lead with just one corner remaining in his first attempt to secure the win.
“I was pretty frustrated,” Timms said of the late caution. “But I knew the slider line wasn’t necessarily faster in (Turns) 3 and 4, but I knew it was fast enough where I could hold off second for two or three laps. I knew the main deal was not missing the bottom. It was getting kind of thin in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 where it was easy to miss.
“It’s a big momentum boost for our team to get a big win early in the year, and this week we look forward to heading to the USCS events at Hendry County (Motorsports Park). Thank you to everyone, who supports our program.”
Returning to action in the warmer weather of Florida, Ryan Timms unloaded his CITGO/Hampel Oil/Mystic Lubricants backed No. 5T Sprinter at Volusia Speedway Park (De Leon Springs, Fla.) on Thursday evening for the opening round of the Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout.
Joining a stout field of 42 United Sprint Car Series (USCS) entries, Timms topped his 10-car group in time trials before streaking fourth-to-first in his hea racet. With a $2,500 top prize on the line in the opener, Ryan advanced five spots to register a third-place finish, which came behind Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Austin McCarl.
On Friday, Ryan raced into the $2,500-to-win preliminary feature with a convincing, flag-to-flag victory in his heat race. Fading in the final laps of the 25-lap feature, Ryan recorded a consistent seventh-place finish.
The second annual Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shutout drew to a close on Saturday with the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native squeezing into the finale with a third-place finish in his heat race. Soaring ahead of pacesetter Justin Peck on lap 18 of the feature, Timms paced the remaining 13 circuits to secure his first win of the season and the $10,000 top prize.
He finished 0.266 seconds ahead of Peck with Sam Hafertepe Jr., Austin McCarl, and Danny Dietrich rounding out the Top-5.
Full results are available at www.USCSRacing.com.
The team has a Florida doubleheader on tap for this Friday and Saturday with a trip to Hendry County Motorsports Park (Clewiston, Fla.). Timms will compete in a pair of events with the United Sprint Car Series.
- administrator on Jan 29, 2024
- Article Date: 1/27/2024 by Trent Gower photo