(Photo by Collin Markle Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – ALGER, Wash. (June 28, 2015) – Trey Starks registered his career-best Dirt Cup result on Saturday at Skagit Speedway.
Starks capped the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour tripleheader, which culminated with Saturday’s $15,000-to-win and $1,000-to-start feature during the 44th edition of the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, by advancing to an eighth-place result on a track that was tough to pass on all weekend.
“Track position was critical all weekend and we never were in a great starting position,” he said. “I would have liked to be in the top five competing for the win, but we did the best given the circumstances.”
The event, which featured more than 50 drivers from across the country, began last Thursday with Starks advancing from fourth to third place in a heat race. He then placed third in a B Main to earn the final transfer into the main event, which he started on the inside of the last row.
“There really wasn’t a lot of passing all night,” he said. “The track was fairly narrow and you really had to work to get by other cars.”
Starks rallied from 21st to post a 13th-place result, which was tied for the second-most cars passed.
Friday’s program featured similar results as Starks picked up two positions in a heat race to place fifth before doing the same in a B Main to garner the third-and-final transfer position. He then maneuvered from 22nd to 11th in the feature to earn the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.
“The track was more racy on Friday compared to Thursday,” he said. “It had a little more grip and you could move around on the track better, but track position was still king. Fortunately we got close to the top 10, which locked us into Saturday’s main event.”
Starks ranked 12th in combined points from the preliminary nights, which lined him up on the outside of the sixth row for Saturday’s 40-lap feature.
“We were the fastest car in hot laps and I felt like we had a car that could work through there to get a top five in the feature,” he said. “Unfortunately we were involved in a crash on the opening lap that damaged my top wing.”
Starks was caught up in a melee, which nearly ripped the entire left side panel off the top wing, as the first lap was being completed. He stayed on the track and battled for a top 10 throughout the remainder of the race before finishing eighth.
“We got better as the race went on,” he said. “I wish we could have avoided that mess at the start of the race to see how things would have played out without a damaged car, but any time you can get a top 10 at the Dirt Cup it’s a good weekend.”
Starks will now tackle the Western Sprint Tour Speedweek, which includes events on Sunday at Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka, Calif., Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore., Tuesday at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore., Thursday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., or Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 25 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Heat race: 3 (4); B Main: 3 (3); Feature: 13 (21).
June 26 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Heat race: 5 (7); B Main: 3 (5); Feature: 11 (22).
June 27 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Feature: 8 (12).
SEASON STATS –
28 races, 3 wins, 12 top fives, 14 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Western Sprint Tour Speedweek – Sunday at Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka, Calif., Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore., Tuesday at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore., Thursday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., or Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Starks55Trey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing?fref=ts
APPAREL –
Starks has t-shirts and hoodies for sale at http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Starks Timber Processing
Starks Timber Processing is a logging business owned by Trey’s father, John, who is a third-generation logger. It has been based out of Washington for more than 15 years.
“Starks Timber Processing is what provides me the opportunity to race,” Trey said. “It has played a huge role in my life, both on the track and away from it.”
Starks would also like to thank Southstar Equipment, Blue Dot Fabrications, SpeedMart, King Racing Products, Masco Petroleum, RCC Powder Coating and Emory Transmission 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 Jun 28, 2015
- Article Date: 6/28/2015 by Inside Line Promotions