(Photo by Collin Markle Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BEAVER DAM, Wis. (June 27, 2016) – Top 10s pay the bills and that’s where Jason Sides has been running lately.
“I need top fives to make any money, but top 10s can keep everything going,” he said.
Sides nearly scored top-10 finishes during all three World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series events last week. He now has eight top 10s during 11 races in June.
Last week’s competition began on Wednesday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Showdown. Sides qualified seventh quickest before he finished third in a heat race to miss the dash by only one position. That lined him up on the inside of the fourth row for the main event.
“It was a good night, but it seemed like after the late models went out there the track actually was a little wetter looking,” he said. “I think the bottom came back in. I went forward and got to fifth and then on some of the restarts I kept getting tighter and tighter. I wish we’d have left the setup alone instead of tightening the car up.”
Sides ended with a 10th-place result.
Action resumed on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., where Sides timed in 30th quickest.
“When we hot lapped we were pretty decent,” he said. “I tried to run on the bottom and a little bit of grease on the track and the wind caught it and it went up the race track. We had a good heat race though.”
Sides maneuvered from eighth to fifth place in the heat to lock into the 18th starting position for the main event.
“It seemed like the track stayed wet most of the night,” he said. “Where the guys would run in too hard and slip up off the bottom we could rotate off turn two and get off the bottom where they were hanging. The same down in turns three and four.”
Sides rallied to post an 11th-place finish.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway for the Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial presented by Karavan Trailers. Sides qualified eighth quickest before he advanced from third to second place in a heat race to make the dash.
“Turns three and four were really good around the bottom,” he said. “On the first or second lap we ran down there with (Kerry) Madsen. I dove it in there to get the wet stuff and it stuck pretty good and I got by him. I held him off to run second to get in the dash.”
Sides started the six-lap dash on the outside of the front row.
“On the start of the dash when (Bill) Balog hit the throttle because the track was so good it drove out toward the wall,” he said. “I had to lift to keep from getting hit. (Daryn) Pittman went under him. Joey (Saldana) was beside me and got by.”
Sides finished sixth to start the main event on the outside of the third row.
“We were running around there then about six or seven went by on the top,” he said. “I sat there on the bottom too long. I think we were back to 13th or 14th at one point. When I finally got up there I felt pretty good. The car hasn’t felt good enough to run the top so I haven’t done it lately. The groove moved from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom. I picked a few spots back up.”
Sides took advantage of a late-race restart to rally for a 10th-place result.
He will return to World of Outlaws competition this Wednesday at Rockford Speedway in Loves Grove, Ill., for the Outlaw Clay Classic before races on Saturday and Sunday at Badlands Motor Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 23 – I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 10 (7).
June 25 – Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn. – Qualifying: 30; Heat race: 5 (8); Feature: 11 (18).
June 26 – Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wis. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 2 (3); Dash: 6 (2); Feature: 10 (6).
SEASON STATS –
45 races, 2 wins, 4 top fives, 20 top 10s, 31 top 15s, 42 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Rockford Speedway in Loves Grove, Ill., for the Outlaw Clay Classic and Saturday and Sunday at Badlands Motor Speedway in Brandon, S.D., with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SidesMotorsports.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SidesMotorsport
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sides-Motorsports/283833970847?ref=br_tf
LIVE AUDIO –
Keep up with Sides Motorsports via free, live audio from DIRTVision at every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event throughout the season. Select events also include live Pay-Per-View video. For more information, click http://www.DIRTVision.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – R.E. Enterprises
Based in Memphis, Tenn., R.E. Enterprises is a one-stop solution for sprint car parts and racing supplies, racing and performance shock services, chassis repairs and fabrication, and custom welding or machining needs. For more information, visit http://www.RacingEclipse.com.
“R.E. Enterprises does a lot for us and we really appreciate their support,” Sides said. “Chris and everybody over there are just as good of friends as they are partners.”
Sides would also like to thank Wetherington Tractor Service, Inc., King Racing Products, Clean Seal, Inc., VRP Shocks, Dancer Logistics Inc., BR Motorsports, FSR Radiators, Dancer Logistics, Inc., Jim Schuhknecht, East Coast Logistics, Driven Racing Oil, Ingles Racing Engines, Wings Unlimited and All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads 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 27, 2016
- Article Date: 6/27/2016 by Inside Line Promotions