CG Motorsports- Glenpool, Ok. (March 22, 2016) Matt Covington wrapped up the opening weekend of the season for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour with two solid 4th place finishes.
Covington powered his T&L Foundry/ Triple X chassis to a 4th place finish at Waco on Friday, and also on Saturday during the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
“It was a great way to start out the season,” Covington said, “We really needed to start off the season on a strong note and we were able to do that. I knew going in if we could get through Waco on Thursday with a solid points night then we had a shot to go to Dallas and back it up. And that is exactly what we did.”
Covington began the weekend last Thursday at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, finishing 2nd in the heat race. That earned him the 9th starting spot in the feature.
From the 9th starting spot, Covington began methodically work towards the top-5. At features end, Matt found himself crossing checkers in 4th Place.
“I knew we were going to have our work cut out for us after starting 9th,” stated Matt. “With these national boys, it’s harder to advance once you’re in the top-10 because everybody is so fast. I bent the drag link early in the feature and it made the car hard to steer. I decided to run the bottom for the most part just trying to survive, keeping the car straight, and our nose clean until the end. Luckily we were able to do that and come home with a 4th place finish.
After Waco on Thursday, Matt and the team had an off night because Friday’s action at Devils Bowl was rained out. Luckily the rain stayed minimal and ASCS, along with the crew at the Bowl, was able to get the Saturday night’s show in.
“Saturday was also another good night for us,” the stated Matt. “This year with ASCS there’s is no point provisionals, and if there is more than 40 cars we have to run a heat and qualifying format like the Chilibowl. That makes things interesting. Luckily we were fortunate to get a good draw, which helped a lot, especially at Devil’s Bowl.”
Covington won his heat race from the pole position and finished 2nd in his qualifier. That ranked him fifth in overall points heading into the main event and lined him up starting inside row three for the feature.
Matt went to work once the green flag waved. But he found himself starting on the bottom, being shuffled to 7th, before he was able to jump into the top grove and start working his way forward. Matt had some challenges advancing late, having to use sliders to finally advance into 5th. Matt kept fighting for positions in his A-Rock Materials/Wesmar powered machine advancing one more spot in the closing laps. But when the checkers flew, Matt ultimately settled for the 4th place position.
“The track was tricky in the feature,” Covington said. “The moisture on the bottom was mostly gone and the groove had worked about ¾ up the race track. The track started to get a lip and small curb in a couple spots. It was really hard to maintain a pass unless you timed your slider just right. But to start 6th and finish 4th after getting shuffled early is a solid night for us. I am happy with it and glad to start the season off with back to back top-5s. The season is just getting rolling, but we are sitting third in points right now and my goal is just to stay consistent and fight for wins, especially on the nights that we have a good starting spot. I would also like to say “Thank you” to all the people and products that supports us. I couldn’t do it without them or my team and crew guys that put in the effort day in and day out alongside me so we can go up and down the road doing what we love.”
Matt and his Covington Motorsports team would like to thank all partners who have helped make the current 2016 season possible and look forward to the continued relationship throughout the year: T&L Foundry, Triple X Chassis, A-Rock Materials, Winters, Brodix, C.G. Martin Company, Factor 1 Racing, All-Star Performance, Outlaw Wings, Pro Shocks, DMI Components, Keizer Wheels, ButlerBuilt, Simpson Race Products, GME Steering, Wesmar Racing Engines, Bob Hurley RV, Eaton Industrial, Maxwell Oil, and Schoenfeld Headers
2016 STATS: Starts-5, Wins-0, Top 5’s-3, Top 10’s-5
ON TAP:
3/25/16 Cotton Bowl Speedway - Paige, TX
3/26/16 Bronco Raceway Park - Cleveland, TX
LIVE RACE COVERAGE: Visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio (Select Pay-Per-View video) during the season to catch all the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events.
MERCHANDISE: Leftover 2015 Shirts still available now on the website at www.mattcovingtonracing.com or at the races in the trailer! 2016 Shirts coming SOON!.
STAY CONNECTED: For all the latest news of Matt Covington during the 2016 season, visit his website, www.mattcovingtonracing.com, like him on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/mattcovingtonracing, or follow him
- Matt Covington on Mar 22, 2016
- Article Date: 3/22/2016