(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – YAKIMA, Wash. (Sept. 22, 2014) – Henry Van Dam recorded a pair of top 10s during the ASCS Northwest Region season finale at Central Washington State Fair Raceway last weekend.
“A lot of what I try to keep in perspective is our speed each weekend,” he said. “Friday night I think we would have been in the top two or three if we kept rolling. Obviously Saturday, minus lapped traffic, we had a car to beat. You definitely want to be on the frontstretch with the big trophy. On the other hand if you keep bringing good race cars to the track it gives you confidence.”
Van Dam kicked off last weekend on Friday by advancing from fifth to fourth place in his heat race. That started him on the inside of the eighth row for the main event.
“I was a little tight to start the feature,” he said. “We bided our time and started moving toward the front. We were up to fourth or fifth and ended up getting over the cushion. We got a bunch of mud under the hood and with about four laps to go it broke loose and leaned up against the top wing. We went into the pits, put the spare hood on and went back out.”
Van Dam restarted at the back after his team replaced the broken hood during the late caution. He picked up a handful of positions to finish ninth, which marked his 20th top 10 of the season.
Luck seemed to appear on Saturday starting in the heat race.
“I started seventh and got to fifth and on the last lap a car had some problems,” he said. “That gave us fourth place and locked us into the top eight in points. It turned out to be a good fortune because we drew the two.”
Van Dam, who was the final car in the feature redraw, started on the outside of the front row for the main event.
“I was able to pass (Trey) Starks in turn two on the start,” he said. “I set sail from that point on. I knew lapped cars would be really tough because the track would get narrow. On Lap 18 we had a red flag for fuel. We had a chance to look at the tires and we had gone through about 80 percent. I set a really conservative pace after that. For 11 of the 12 laps it worked. Logan (Forler) was in a good spot to capitalize and it worked out for him.”
Van Dam led until the final lap when he was pinned behind a lapped car.
“The rubber was right on the bottom of the race track,” he said. “I wasn’t going to leave the bottom open. We caught lapped cars with about four or five laps to go. I didn’t think it was going to be good enough for anyone to go around me. I stayed behind the lapped car on the last lap. Logan was able to catch me with some momentum.”
Forler made the move in turns one and two, and Van Dam was unable to repay the favor in the final corners. He finished second to earn his 13th top five of the season.
Van Dam will compete this Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 19 – Central Washington State Fair Raceway in Yakima, Wash. – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 9 (15).
Sept. 20 – Central Washington State Fair Raceway in Yakima, Wash. – Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 2 (2).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 6 wins, 13 top fives, 21 top 10s, 26 top 15s, 27 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing
VIDEO –
Here is a link to a video by ARRacing of Van Dam winning the Summer Thunder Sprint Series event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., on June 7: http://youtu.be/a2sBRaf5l1c
APPAREL –
Van Dam has t-shirts and sweatshirts available for sale at his race trailer.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Enumclaw Xpress Lube
Located in Enumclaw, Wash., Enumclaw Xpress Lube offers a full range of vehicle oil and fluid services. It can also service air filter and wiper blades.
“Enumclaw Xpress Lube was my very first sponsor and have been with us ever since,” Van Dam said. “They’ve been there for the good years and the bad years and have provided ample support.”
Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, Factory Kahne, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, D&L Equipment Repair, Zender Equipment, Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet, 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 and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Sep 22, 2014
- Article Date: 9/22/2014 by Inside Line Promotions