(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – YAKIMA, Wash. (April 6, 2015) – Henry Van Dam’s first race of the season in the Northwest didn’t go as planned.
Van Dam and the rest of the competitors at Round 1 of the Summer Thunder Sprint Series hosted by Yakima Dirt Track faced challenging track conditions throughout Saturday.
“It was rubber down in hot laps,” he said. “To start with that was a real bummer. They didn’t really have any equipment to fix it. The track was hard on tires. The only reason you could pass someone is if they made a mistake, which was hard because you were racing around in rubber.”
Van Dam qualified 22nd quickest, which lined him up on the outside of the fourth row for a heat race.
“We got a really good start,” he said. “We stayed pretty much lined up down the frontstretch and then everybody was fighting for the bottom in the rubber. I kept my momentum up through the slick and I was able to get to fourth. A lap later I got to third.”
Van Dam’s third-place finish locked him into the main event, which he started 16th.
“We were able to get a few cars on the start,” he said. “We had a restart midrace and I was running around 12th. I was going to try to make something happen to the middle and upper part of the race track and there was too much rubber at that point. I ended up losing four or five spots so I spent the rest of the race trying to get those positions back.”
Van Dam ended with a 12th-place result.
He is scheduled to return to action on April 24 at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., where he won twice last season.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 4 – Yakima Dirt Track in Yakima, Wash. – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 3 (8); Feature: 12 (16).
SEASON STATS –
8 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 4 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
April 24 at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing
APPAREL –
Van Dam has sweatshirts and hats available for sale at his race trailer.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Clems Enumclaw Powersports
Located in Enumclaw, Wash., Clems Enumclaw Powersports has been family owned and operated since 1974. Clems has been a one-stop shop for all powersports needs for nearly 40 years. For more information, visit http://www.EnumclawSuzuki.com.
“Clems Enumclaw Powersports makes sure our needs are taken care of getting around the pit area,” Van Dam said. “I’m very grateful for their support of the race team.”
Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Enumclaw Xpress Lube, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, 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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Apr 06, 2015
- Article Date: 4/6/2015 by Inside Line Promotions