(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (May 2, 2016) – Henry Van Dam is kicking himself for one decision Saturday night at Grays Harbor Raceway.
“We got a caution and I ran up the track (on the restart) a little bit because I didn’t think you could run wide open around the bottom,” he said. “I didn’t try because I didn’t think it was that great. The top was only about halfway up the track. It just happened to be better on the restart.”
Van Dam had put himself in position to win the season-opening race at the 3/8-mile oval, where he claimed the track championship last season. He qualified seventh quickest to open the night and won a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. Van Dam then drew the feature inversion, which was an eight to line him up on the outside of the front row for the 25-lap main event.
“The first 21 laps went green,” he said. “The track was really fast and narrow. Lapped cars were really difficult on the narrow race track. I thought we were going to be good to go. Then we had a caution and I made a bad choice. I didn’t protect the bottom on the restart and it bit me.”
Van Dam led the following couple of laps after the restart before a fellow competitor made the bottom work and took the lead in turns three and four coming to the white flag.
“He had the preferred line so there wasn’t a lot I could do at that point,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but at least we know how to fix the problem. We know we had the speed to win.”
Van Dam placed second, which marked his first top five of the season.
He is scheduled to return to competition on May 14 at Grays Harbor Raceway, where he was victorious five times last year.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 30 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (2).
SEASON STATS –
10 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 3 top 10s, 3 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
May 14 at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing
APPAREL –
Van Dam has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at Enumclaw Xpress Lube.
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, Highmark Concrete Contractors, Northwest Welding & Fabrication, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, Factory Kahne, 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 May 02, 2016
- Article Date: 5/2/2016 by Inside Line Promotions