Inside Line Promotions - COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 21, 2013) - After his self-described worst race of the season, Trey Starks put together one of his best.
In front of Lucas Oil Productions television cameras taping the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader at Cottage Grove Speedway during the weekend, Starks recorded a career-best third-place finish on Friday to lock himself into Saturday's feature as one of the top-four finishers.
"It seemed like we were coming off one of our worst nights last weekend and to come into one of our best weekends of the year, it's nice to know you can come off a bad weekend, turn it around and have a good weekend," he said.
After starting on the outside of the front row of his heat race, Starks led all eight laps to record his first Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour heat win of the season. It also tied him for the most points earned during the heats and a trip to the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 3 during the random draw to start the feature on the inside of the second row.
"We had a fairly good draw," he said. "We got out on the start and got into third behind (Johnny) Herrera and (Roger) Crockett. We were right with them through lapped traffic. We got up to Herrera and he was up there with Crockett."
The trio separated themselves from the rest of the field until entering traffic.
"The top was fast and it would have been hard to pull down to make a pass," he said. "We had a fast car. We were a first through third-place car. It seemed we were all pretty close to the same speed."
Starks ended with the podium result, which made Saturday much easier. As one of the top-four finishers on Friday, Starks didn't have to race in a heat race on Saturday and was locked into the feature redraw.
For the second straight night, he plucked the No. 3 and began the 30-lap main event on the inside of the second row.
With Crockett, Herrera and several others, Starks battled within the top five for the entire race. As traffic began to play a role in the closing laps, Starks, who was committed to the outside groove around the quarter-mile oval while most of the other drivers favored the bottom, looked to make his move.
"Our car was a little bit better at the top," he said. "We could seem to make the top kinda work and I knew it'd play into our favor when we got into lapped traffic. A couple of laps toward the end we were forced to go to the bottom because of a couple of lappers."
As Crockett held a sizeable lead, Starks and approximately a half-dozen other drivers were within striking distance of the runner-up position in the final laps. However, with two laps remaining, Starks slid up the track in turn two.
"Coming out of (turn) two I noticed it pushed all the way up the race track," he said. "It straightened itself out down the backstretch. Going into turn three I didn't have any steering input."
The tierod stud in the left front steering arm broke and Starks spun off the track in turn three. He was relegated to a 16th-place finish.
"Who knows what the outcome would have been," he said. "We had a shot at second or third going into the last lap. I didn't feel like any of those cars in front of me were going to take a gamble and go to the top."
Starks is scheduled to compete on Friday and Saturday during the Bob's Burger & Brew Summer Nationals, which are the second and third races of the four-race Summer Thunder Series at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. Starks placed third in the opening race of the Summer Thunder Series on May 11.
QUICK RESULTS -
July 19 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (3).
July 20 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Feature: 16 (3).
SEASON STATS -
24 races, 2 wins, 12 top fives, 17 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 23 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Friday and Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the Bob's Burger & Brew Summer Nationals
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 - Blue Dot Fabrications
Blue Dot Fabrications is owned by Trey's uncle, Dean Starks, who fabricates various types of vehicles, including vintage cars and road race cars. Blue Dot Fabrications even built quarter midgets when Trey began racing.
"Blue Dot Fabrications is another business that has been around my family my entire life," Starks said. "My uncle, Dean, has always been around ready to fix anything that gets dinged up at the track."
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Masco Petroleum and SpeedMart 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 22, 2013
- Article Date: 7/22/2013 by Shawn Miller