Jamie Ball- Podium Finish
(White Lightning Motorsports) – May 31, 2010 –
This week would be full of racing for the Delta Oil #5J. First off on Thursday I would race my 360 sprint car at Nebraska Raceway Park (I-80).Than on Friday I would race my outlaw dirt kart at English Creek Speedway. Lastly, on Saturday I would race both my 305 and 360 at Knoxville Raceway.
Thursday- This would be my first 360 race any were other than Knoxville Raceway. It would be with the ASCS-Midwest Series. There would be a total of 32 sprint cars signed in to do battle. I would start off on the wrong foot, drawing a #70 pill out of a possible #72. So therefore that would set me to start 8th in the heat race. I would go onto start 8th and finish 7th in the heat race. Next up would be the B-Main, I would start 9th place and go onto to finish 8th place. Overall it was a great night, I learned how much easier the car is to drive if you stand on the gas.
Friday- This would be the opening night at English Creek Speedway. I still had my spare kart that I raced in 2008 so I figured we might as well go have some fun. So we put together the QRC/SUP Kart and went out. I would start 5th in heat race number one and would go onto win. Than in heat two I would start 2nd and once again go onto to win. By winning both heat races I would receive maximum points and start on the pole of the 15 lap A-Main. I didn’t get a good start and #5 Nick DeMoss got out to the early lead. I was running a close second throughout the first 11 laps until my engine blew up going into turn 1 on lap 11. This would end my night. But overall it was good to get back to English Creek and race with the guys I’ve raced with the past few years.
Saturday (305) - Night number five at Knoxville Raceway would start out with drawing a #20 pill to line up 305 heat race. In the heat race I was scheduled to start 5th, but due to a DNS by another competitor I would move forward to the 3rd starting position. The green flag would drop and I would come out of turn 2 in 2nd place. After about 3 laps I would able to pass the leader coming off turn 2, from there I would go onto the take my second career 305 heat race victory. The next event would be the 305 A-Main where the Delta Oil #5J would be scheduled to line up in pole position. The green flag would drop and I would be in 2nd coming off turn 2. The race would go green the entire way and I would go onto the finish in the runner-up position. This week was the highlight of my 305 sprint car career, being able to finish in the runner-up position in only my 3rd race in the 305’s is just awesome. I couldn’t be any happier with how my weekend has gone.
Saturday (360) Night number five at Knoxville Raceway would start out with drawing a #40 pill to line up 360 time trials/hot laps. This week the track decided to keep the group time trials but to do them in conjunction with the 360 hot laps. I would go out in the last group and have a best lap of 16.718 which would be good enough for 17th quick. In the heat race I was able to make the heat invert and I would start 1st in the second heat. The green flag would drop and I would come out of turn 2 in 4th place. For the first 5 laps I would hold my position in 4th, than with 2 laps to go there was a yellow. On the following restart I would get passed by #1M Chad Humston and I would go onto finish the race in 5th place. The best part about that was that the top 5 finishers made the A-Main. The next event would be the 360 A-Main where the Delta Oil #5J would be scheduled to line up in 13th position. I would fall back a few positions to 17th at the end of the race. This week was the highlight of my 360 sprint car career, making the A-Main direct through the heat race was awesome. That was our team’s goal this week.
A few more notes about the team:
White Lightning Motorsports has decided to have one of the best sprint car drivers in Knoxville Raceways history drive the Delta Oil #5J in the Masters Classic. That driver will be Randy Smith. Randy won the event two years ago and we are very confident in his abilities. The Masters Classic will be on Friday June 4, 2010.
I am ready for this weekend. This Thursday I will race at Knoxville Raceway in the 305 class which will be supporting the World of Outlaws. Then on Friday Randy Smith will drive my 360 car in the Master Classic, which is a support class to the World of Outlaws. Finally to end the weekend I will race my 360 at Knoxville Raceway, which is a support class to the World of Outlaws
Keep an eye on my progress this week and beyond at www.jamieball.com
If you would like to receive the weekly releases, send an email with the subject line “Jamie” to jamie@jamieball.com .
White Lightning Motorsports LLC would like to thank Delta Oil, L & J Enterprise Inc, JJ Kane Auctioneers, Iowa State Savings Bank, Fragola, VP Racing Fuels, Bell Helmets, Keizer Wheels, Driver Websites, Pro Shocks, Vortex Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire, DMI, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports, Wilwood Brakes, and all other family and friends for their support.
Photos Courtsey of Brandon Anderson
- administrator on Jun 01, 2010
- Article Date: 5/31/2010