Once again battling lady luck, McQueen Racing suffered another heartbreaking evening in the USAC-Western States event at the ¼-mile Ocean Speedway in Watsonville on Friday, July 12.
After opening hot laps with Oklahoma young gun Trey Marcham fastest in the McQueen Racing #37 Spike/Esslinger by Duane McQueen and team owner Shannon “Lightning” McQueen fourth fast in the McQueen Racing #7 Lucas Oil/Simpson Race Products Spike/Esslinger by Duane McQueen, McQueen Racing was hoping for a strong performance on the coast.
After suffering a broken power steering line on her opening qualifying lap, McQueen rebounded after quick repairs by the McQueen racing team to get her out on time for one lap, in which she was eighth fastest. Marcham notched the tenth fastest qualifying time. “I think we had a better chance of qualifying a little better if we would have gone out towards the beginning of qualifying. Towards the end of qualifying the track started to get a little rougher making it a little tougher to navigate. However, both cars in the top 10 is a good effort,” stated team owner Shannon McQueen.
Starting third in his heat, Marcham quickly made his way to the front, claiming a decisive heat race win, with smooth, fast laps. McQueen started fourth in her heat, and was unable to gain any ground on a narrow track, settling for a fifth place heat finish.
McQueen was setting some of the fastest laps on the race early on, dicing with several competitors on a racy surface that often saw three-wide action. After getting a great restart on Lap 5, overtaking Taylor Simas at the line, Cody Swanson’s left rear wheel came off, sending everyone scrambling for position to miss the runaway wheel and spinning car. Contact in the fray caused McQueen’s right front tire to come off the bead, and a driver mistake in missing the work area defrayed the team’s effort in getting the #7 returned to the track on time.
Marcham was impressing many, having moved into the Top five before contact between Randi Pankratz and Jake Swanson sent Trey’s #37 head-on into a 2,000-pound tractor tire, moving the tire approximately five feet. Here’s the video of the incident http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88hd9vMsRJk&feature=youtu.be
“The cars were fast just no luck again,” stated McQueen. “It was an encouraging but disappointing night. Both cars were fast all night long, we just did not get any breaks and suffered from some bad luck,” added McQueen.
Marcham will be competing in a $10,000-to-win Micro race in Illinois this weekend while McQueen will compete in the USAC-Western States event at the 1/5-mile Ventura Raceway on July 20.
Though not committed to a full USAC-Western States schedule, McQueen sits fourth in the overall standings, with two fast time awards and five top-10 finishes, also sitting fourth in the Dirt series point standings.
McQueen became the first woman to win a BCRA Midget championship in 2011 when she claimed the BCRA Dirt Midget crown, then claimed the 2012 USAC-Western States Midget championship, amassing four Heat race wins, nine Top 5 runs, three fast time awards and 13 Top 10s in 2012. McQueen also holds five track records at the 99 Dirt Track in Stockton, Calistoga Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway and Orange Show Speedway. McQueen also recently accepted the prestigious Kara Hendrick Spirit award, one of the top awards for women in Motorsports.
McQueen Racing has dedicated the entire 2013 season to Kenny Speck, a McQueen Racing team member who lost his life earlier this year.
McQueen is also the first female owner to boast a win with a female driver when Oklahoma’s Michelle Decker won a USAC Western States Midget Feature in April 2012 at McQueen’s home track of Bakersfield Speedway at the helm of one of McQueen’s potent Spike/Esslinger entries.
Marcham, a senior Engineering student at the University of Oklahoma, with experience in Micro Sprints, Ford Focus Midgets, 360 Non-Wing Sprint Cars and asphalt Late Models, has shown amazing poise and talent in limited Midget starts in the McQueen Racing entry earlier this year. Marcham has been seen passing drivers with thousands more laps and experience than he in a Midget. Marcham has amassed six Championships at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Newcastle, Oklahoma, as well as having claimed both the A-Class and Non-wing A-Mains at the Inaugural Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial/Race4Life in Tulsa in 2012. Marcham has compiled several wins and podium finishes thus far in 2013.
McQueen Racing would like to thank all of our wonderful sponsors: Lucas Oil Products, Simpson Race Products, Eibach Springs, DMI, Rod End Supply, K&N Filters, Advanced Racing Suspensions, MPD, Ruth Engineering, Jet-Hot Performance Coatings, Butler Built Seating Systems, Schoenfeld Headers, American Fabrication, West Evans Motorsports, Western Open Wheel Racing News and Esslinger Racing Engines by Duane McQueen.
Select Coatings, RD Marcham Energy, Inc., Simpson Racing Products, Pinnacle Energy Services, Best Western Tulsa Airport, Metals Supermarket Oklahoma City, J & B Digital Graphics, Madden Buildings and Mud-X support Marcham.
- Admin Account on Feb 26, 2014
- Article Date: 7/19/2013 by Robert Haugh