(Photo by Collin Markle Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (April 10, 2017) – Jason Sides scored his first two top-five finishes of the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series season last weekend during a doubleheader in the desert.
Sides, who had earned three consecutive top 10s to close the series’ visit to California the previous week, recorded a fourth-place finish on Friday at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., during the Yuma Valley Showdown and a fifth-place result on Saturday at Arizona Speedway during the Arizona Desert Shootout.
“It’s all coming together now,” he said. “The biggest thing is getting qualified and then that puts you in position to have a better night, to get in the dash and at least start in the first three or four rows of the A Main. Qualifying better in turn leads to better results all around.”
Sides qualified third quickest during his debut at Cocopah Speedway to open Friday’s event.
“I watched a few races while we were in Australia last year on the internet,” he said. “It looked a lot different than what the computer shows. I tried to compare it to something else. We sized it up like a track we’d been at and it worked out well.
“We went out early and made a decent lap in qualifying. By the time the heat races came around the only place you could race was around the top. The bottom off turn four was pretty decent. I jumped up in front of Brian Brown to take the line to run the top in turns one and two. I led the whole race. That was the key to it, getting the jump on the start.”
Sides won a heat race to lock into the dash, in which he advanced from fourth to second place to start the main event on the outside of the front row.
“Where I thought you needed to run the top in turns one and two, a couple of cars hit the bottom and it was laying rubber as well,” he said. “I didn’t realize that until four or five laps into it. I ran third for the longest time until a late caution. My right rear tire was really low and almost bald. On the restart I got into turn one and on the right rear pretty hard. When it did it shot out toward the wall and that’s when (Brad) Sweet got by.”
Sides ended with a season-best fourth-place finish.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Arizona Speedway, where Sides timed in third quickest during qualifying before winning a heat race for the second straight night. He then ended fifth in the dash to start the feature on the inside of the third row.
“On the start going into the corner everyone was running to the top,” he said. “I went to the bottom and got past Joey (Saldana) and Jason Johnson for third. I immediately got in line and ran third for the longest time. It started laying rubber to that curb. It was slick getting in the corners with rubber getting off. I was cheating it too much in turns three and four. That kind of track is for the younger guys who have nothing to lose and bang it off the curb and that isn’t me so a couple of guys got by toward the end.”
Sides held on for a fifth-place result.
He is slated to return to action with the World of Outlaws this Thursday at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, for the Gator Bash and Friday and Saturday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the Texas Outlaw Nationals.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 7 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 2 (4); Feature: 4 (2).
April 8 – Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 5 (4); Feature: 5 (5).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 8 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 11 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, for the Gator Bash and Friday and Saturday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the Texas Outlaw Nationals 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
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Clean Seal, Inc.
Clean Seal, Inc. has supplied extruded rubber products to the transportation industry since 1978. The company, which is based in South Bend, Ind., is a full-line, full-service source for standard and custom-designed seals and gaskets. For more information, visit http://www.CleanSeal.com.
“Clean Seal came on board a couple years ago and we’re excited to have them as part of our program,” Sides said. “I want to say thanks to Bill Dawson and the entire team at Clean Seal. We look forward to future success together.”
Sides would also like to thank Wetherington Tractor Service, Inc., East Coast Logistics, Dancer Logistics Inc., VRP Shocks, King Racing Products, R.E. Enterprises, BR Motorsports, FSR Radiators, Jim Schuhknecht, Mid-States Equipment, Pat Hanley Auction Co., Brad Roller, 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 Apr 10, 2017
- Article Date: 4/10/2017 by Inside Line Promotions