Inside Line Promotions - TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2013) - Henry Van Dam put together a solid performance last weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway during the 20 th annual Trophy Cup.
Although his feature finishes weren't as he hoped, Van Dam notched a pair of top 20s amongst more than 80 drivers in one of the premier events each season on the West Coast.
"I think overall we played the weekend a little bit conservative, but we were able to finish every race and load the car into the trailer," he said. "So overall, not a bad weekend."
Despite a late qualifying attempt on a slowing race track during Friday's opening night, Van Dam timed in 36th quickest to earn the final spot in the inversion for the 10-lap heat races.
"We went out not super late, but we were in the fifth set so I knew it'd be tough to qualify well," he said. "Getting that 36th spot was huge to start on the pole of the heat race. We were able to win that, which locked us into the feature. It set the tone for the weekend."
Van Dam led the distance of his heat race for the win, which started him 13th in the main event.
"We started moving forward and were racing with some good cars," he said. "Then we had a left rear start going low. I think the first caution was on Lap 10 and that was when I noticed it was really low. I kinda figured I'd give it a try on the next restart and we actually held our own. I kept thinking that the next time a caution came out I was going to have to get it changed.
"We actually fought the whole race with the left rear going flat. We had a good car, but weren't that great on restarts because the tire would go so low. We got a decent finish out of it."
Van Dam held on for a 12th-place result.
That earned him a spot in a heat race on Saturday, when the races were completely inverted based on points. It started Van Dam seventh in his heat and he finished eighth after a tight battle with a couple of top-notch drivers.
"With the heat races being fully inverted you're put up against all of the top cars back there," he said. "We raced really hard with Roger (Crockett) and David (Gravel). It just didn't work out great. I think it was just hard racing. We had a good car, but every time I'd pass them and get to the next car they were able to leverage that and get me back."
Van Dam was 14th in overall points heading into the 50-lap feature. Since the field was fully inverted, he started on the outside of the fourth row.
"I thought we were sitting pretty good with the eighth starting spot," he said. "I kinda jumped the curb and lost five or six spots on the start. It put me deep in traffic and with all of the fast cars that got inverted. We had a pretty decent car. Just the quality of talent that's down there is pretty amazing."
Van Dam ended with a 16th-place result, which marked his 39th top-20 finish of the season.
He is set to take this weekend off before returning Nov. 8-9 for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Cocopah Cup Challenge with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz.
QUICK RESULTS -
Oct. 18 - Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. - Qualifying: 36; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 12 (13).
Oct. 19 - Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. - Heat race: 8 (7); Feature: 16 (8).
SEASON STATS -
42 races, 1 win, 11 top fives, 24 top 10s, 33 top 15s, 39 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8-9, at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Cocopah Cup Challenge with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing
VIDEO -
Here is a link thanks to ARRacing Videos to Van Dam's victory at Grays Harbor Raceway on June 15: http://youtu.be/sFPjfxd5Vgs
APPAREL -
Van Dam has t-shirts and sweatshirts available at his racing trailer at every race he competes in. For his schedule, visit http://www.HenryVanDam.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - A.R.T. Speed Equipment
Established in 1976, A.R.T. Speed Equipment is a parts and fabrication shop with a huge inventory of sprint car and mini sprint parts. A.R.T. also builds top-notch chassis. For more information, visit http://www.ARTspeedequip.com.
"I think I've been with A.R.T. for the past four years and continue to choose them because of their extreme professionalism and great craftsmanship," Van Dam said.
Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Enumclaw Xpress Lube, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Factory Kahne, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, Bob and Joan Shumway, Kellan and Kelsey Hall, Foothills Auto Supply, American Powder Coating, Pete Vos, Char's Barber Shop, Wesmar Race Engines, SpeedMart, Van Dam Farms and Rich Van Dam Dairy 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 Oct 24, 2013
- Article Date: 10/24/2013 by Shawn Miller