26 Promotions – Visalia, CA – (June 26th, 2017) – Colton Hardy earned two top-five finishes Saturday night at Plaza Park, placing fifth in the Non-Wing Feature and second in Super 600’s.
Hardy’s night in the Non-Wing car didn’t get off to a rousing start, eventually leading to the team having to break out the backup car.
“With how our night started out, we probably should have just loaded the two cars up and regrouped for Dixon on Tuesday,” said Hardy. “But my dad, Jake and Cameron busted their butts to switch wings over from car to car and roll our spare out of the trailer and get it ready to race Non-Wing.”
With Qualifying canceled due to internet issues at the track, a two Heat format was put into place.
Starting fourth in his first Non-Wing Heat, Hardy ran up to 3rd before a car spun in front of him, causing him to check up and lose his momentum, falling back to 4th.
Hardy started and finished third in his second Non-Wing Heat. With combined passing points from the two sets of Heats determining the Feature lineup, Hardy started eleventh in the thirty-lap Feature.
Hardy maneuvered his way through the field and picked up a position or two as cars dropped out, leading to a fifth-place finish in the Non-Wing Feature.
“I was just too free to run the top,” he said. “I missed the setup and apologize to the guys for it.”
Hardy started 6th and ran up to 3rd in the first set of Super 600 Wing Heats and started on the pole and checked out from the field in the second set of Heats. The combined passing points from both lined Hardy up on the outside of the front row for the Feature.
“I missed the setup some, but we were able to throw a couple sliders for the lead and hang on to finish second,” Hardy explained. “Track was a blast with a huge cushion on both ends, which is always fun to run.”
Hardy now has thirteen top-five finishes on the year.
“I can’t thank my dad, Jake, and Cameron enough for everything,” said Hardy. “They work so hard at the shop and the track, making sure everything is perfect. We’ll gear up the next couple days getting the cars ready and go tackle Dixon Tuesday for the first night of California Speedweek.”
The Third Annual California Speedweek is next up for Hardy, he’ll run both the Non-Wing and Super 600 divisions at Dixon Speedway Tuesday, Delta Speedway on Wednesday and Plaza Park on Friday before returning home to Arizona to run the Wing Sprint Car at Arizona Speedway on Saturday.
Colton Hardy would also like to thank A & C Remodeling, NPS Race Engines, Engler Machine and Tool, CSI Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, Hyper Racing, Bandit Racing, M & J Trophies and Apparel, Mark’s Nuts and Bolts, Diamond Mechanical and Napa Auto Parts for their continued support.
Non-Wing Results:
A Heat: 4th -> 4th
B Heat: 3rd -> 3rd
Feature: 11th -> 5th
Super 600 Results:
A Heat: 6th -> 3rd
B Heat: 1st -> 1st
Feature: 2nd -> 2nd
Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colton.hardy41
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colton_hardy41
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colton_hardy41/
Website: http://www.coltonhardy.com/
- Darren Ward on Jun 26, 2017
- Article Date: 6/26/2017 by 26 Promotions