Inside Line Promotions - COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 7, 2013) - Trey Starks overcame adversity and improved throughout the annual ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek, which featured seven races at five tracks in nine days throughout Washington and Oregon.
Other than one race he didn't finish - when he was caught up in a crash running inside the top 10 - Starks recorded three top fives and six top-10 finishes to place fourth in the Speedweek standings. Minus his DNF, he passed a total of 34 cars during the features.
"Not a bad week overall," he said. "I just wish we could do a little bit better in our heat races and get a better starting position in the main. I think we had a car that could have won if we were up there to start.
"We learned a lot. It seemed as we got later in the week we got on racier tracks and we could pass more cars. My dad coming out for the last part of Speedweek and getting the car back square helped a lot. I was maybe a little more confident. Hopefully we can just build on it for this weekend and keep our momentum going."
Starks is scheduled to compete in a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. It will mark his first test against the premier 360 sprint car series this season.
Two weekends ago the ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek kicked off at Grays Harbor Raceway with Starks earning a top-five result and two top 10s. After taking last Sunday off, Speedweek continued with five consecutive nights of action in Oregon, beginning Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City.
Starks charged from fifth to second in his heat race to earn enough points to advance to the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 5. With the top groove preferred, Starks fell to eighth before being caught up in a crash near the midpoint of the main event.
"I think we were running around eighth and it began to take rubber right before we had a caution," he said. "I think (Kyle) Hirst went up through there and slid into (Travis) Rilat. Rilat spun and knocked Hirst straight, but we had nowhere to go. It knocked the front end out of it. We just didn't have enough time to repair it and get back on the track."
Starks was relegated to his worst finish of Speedweek - 19th - and the only race he failed to finish.
The team headed to Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay on Tuesday, when he maneuvered from seventh to sixth in his heat race on the narrow track. That forced him to the B Main, which Starks placed second to advance to the feature.
"In the main it was another one of those deals where there was a caution around Lap 9 and we had come from 18th to 11th," he said. "The car was a little bit off and the track kind of changed a bit. Toward the end during a couple of restarts we got some guys on the top. We ended with a top-10 finish, which I was happy with."
Starks rallied to place 10th before venturing to Willamette Speedway in Lebanon on Wednesday, when his father and grandfather rejoined the team after missing a couple of races because of work.
Another high pill draw forced Starks to start last in his heat race. He moved from seventh to fifth, earning enough points into the feature, which he started 14th. Starks was 11th with 11 laps to go and he managed to pick up a few positions in the closing circuits to finish seventh.
"The car was really, really, really tight," he said. "I managed to get around the track. It was good toward the end of the race when the track started to slick off."
The teams took Thursday off for the Fourth of July before wrapping up Speedweek with a weekend doubleheader at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove.
"We had some start problems in our heat race," said Starks, who was slated to start on the outside of the front row with Rilat as the polesitter on Friday. "The first one they said he jumped me. It was not a bad start at all. Then I tried to leave earlier thinking that you don't want the same thing to happen, but then Rilat decided not to go and we both got put back. We ended up having to start fourth with the points credit of starting second."
After being penalized one row, Starks regained second place, which was only good enough to have the 11th-most points. He started the 30-lap main event on the inside of the sixth row, but quickly worked toward the front.
"We really rolled the bottom nice, which I don't always roll the bottom very well," he said. "It was nice to know we could run the bottom good. We had a good fourth-place run."
He was up to sixth place by Lap 7 and climbed as high as third before setting for fourth place.
Starks returned to the quarter-mile oval on Saturday, when he maneuvered from fifth to third in his heat race to qualify for the feature redraw. However, he pulled the second-highest number - seven - to start on the inside of the fourth row for the main event.
"It was getting kinda tight so I decided to go to the top," Starks said. "Just that second half of the race the track started to free up and the bottom started to go away. We had an advantage. The track kind of came to our car."
Starks began to move toward the leader and a last-lap slide job ended just short of a podium as he closed his weekend with a second-straight fourth-place finish.
QUICK RESULTS -
July 1 - Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore. - Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 19 (5).
July 2 - Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore. - Heat race: 6 (7); B Main: 2 (4); Feature: 10 (18).
July 3 - Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. - Heat race: 5 (7); Feature: 7 (14).
July 5 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 4 (11).
July 6 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 4 (7).
SEASON STATS -
20 races, 2 wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/treystarks55
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing?fref=ts
VIDEO -
Here's a link to Trey's win at Skagit Speedway on May 25 with highlights beginning approximately 4:45 into the video: http://youtu.be/JlaX5Lvj4VI
Check out some in-car footage of Trey provided by Downforce Designs: http://youtu.be/dv2_v22rcO4
Here is a link to check out highlights from Trey's victory at Skagit Speedway on May 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axHzc9tXVaQ&feature=youtu.be
APPAREL -
Starks has men's and women's long-sleeve shirts, t-shirts and hoodies available at any race he attends and at http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - SpeedMart
Established in 2004, SpeedMart has developed into a leading supplier of sprint car and racing products in the Northwest. For more information, visit http://www.speedmartinc.com.
"SpeedMart really benefits us because they are right next to our home," Starks said. "Even though we are traveling a lot on the West Coast, I know SpeedMart will always have anything we need."
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Blue Dot Fabrications, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products and Masco Petroleum for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS -
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors' return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Admin Account on Jul 08, 2013
- Article Date: 7/8/2013 by Shawn Miller