(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – WEST LEBANON, N.Y. (Aug. 24, 2016) – Caleb Helms capped a busy weekend in the Northeast with a top-10 finish on Monday at Lebanon Valley Speedway.
It was his fifth top 10 of the season and a good conclusion to a four-race swing through Pennsylvania and New York with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.
The weekend began last Thursday at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., where Helms qualified 25th quickest before placing seventh in a heat race and fourth in the B Main to transfer into the back of the main event.
“We had an open red about halfway through the feature and made some changes based on my comments and we probably shouldn’t have changed anything,” he said. “The car wasn’t sticking and having as much side bite as it did before. The tires might have went away, too.”
Helms had been battling just outside the top 10 before the caution. He ended with a 16th-place result.
The team headed to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., the following night. Helms timed in 29th quickest and he ended eighth in a heat race, which relegated him to the B Main.
“I really think we were going to make it out of the B Main,” he said. “We were about to pass Andrew Palker, who finished one spot out of making it, about halfway through and then the power steering line broke so I had to go to the pits with a DNF.”
Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., hosted an event on Saturday night. Helms qualified sixth quickest and he scored a sixth-place result in a heat race, which was one spot shy of locking into the main event.
“We got into a transfer spot and was running fifth in the heat race,” he said. “I was trying to run down the guy in front of me. I had a bad lap with one lap to go and let (Brent) Marks by me. That might have been a big difference in the night. In the B Main it helped us dial the setup in.”
Helms finished second in the consolation race to garner a transfer into the back of the feature. Unfortunately, he was caught up in an early crash that damaged his race car.
“In the first couple of laps in the A Main we got caught up in a collision,” he said. “I was between (Danny) Holtgraver and the wall. We went into the work area and got things straightened out a bit. We went back out and were running high, but got lapped pretty early on the bottom. Then we moved down and nobody passed me after that.”
Helms was credited with a 23rd-place finish.
The weekend finale was delayed one day at Lebanon Valley Speedway because of wet weather. Once action resumed on Monday Helms timed in fifth quickest in qualifying and he finished fourth in a heat race to make the dash, where he ended seventh to start the main event on the inside of the fourth row.
“I think we were chasing gearing all night and got it good for the A Main,” he said. “There wasn’t much passing. We got up to fifth and ran there. Dale Blaney had a flat tire and we were up to fourth. We were up to speed racing with Chad Kemenah for third, but with about eight laps to go I started running out of fuel. I had a bunch of air in the lines so I lost a lot of ground the last few laps.”
Helms dropped from fourth to the eighth-place result in the final laps.
He will return to All Star competition this Saturday at Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Ind., and Sunday at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 18 – Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. – Qualifying: 25; Heat race: 7 (7); B Main: 4 (7); Feature: 16 (20).
Aug. 19 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 29; Heat race: 8 (8); B Main: 12 (9).
Aug. 20 – Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 6 (6); B Main: 2 (2); Feature: 23 (22).
Aug. 22 – Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 4 (1); Dash: 7 (3); Feature: 8 (7).
SEASON STATS –
41 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 29 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Ind., and Sunday at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio, with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://HelmsRacing40.wix.com/HelmsRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caleb_Helms40
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helms.Motorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Helms Construction Inc.
Helms Construction Inc. is a general construction company based in Findlay, Ohio.
“Helms Construction Inc. is my father’s business, which helps us get from race to race,” Helms said. “The people who make Helms Construction Inc. successful are the ones who make this opportunity possible for us. My dad is the only reason I have had the opportunity to race and everything I’ve accomplished so far is directly related to him.”
Helms would also like to thank Shelves.com, Helms and Sons Excavating, Schoenfeld Headers and Larson Trucking & Heavy Equipment Repair 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 Aug 24, 2016
- Article Date: 8/24/2016 by Inside Line Promotions