Inside Line Promotions – KOKOMO, Ind. (April 17, 2018) – A fluke issue with his race car along with rain dampened Zane Hendricks’s inaugural visit to Kokomo Speedway last weekend during a USAC P1 Insurance National Midgets doubleheader.
Hendricks’s first laps around Kokomo Speedway in his Tucker-Boat Motorsports midget went well as he posted the second quickest time in his group during hot laps on Friday. Unfortunately, things suddenly went awry when he attempted his qualifying run.
“The car just wouldn’t run when I went out to qualify,” he said. “I didn’t even make one lap.”
His crew quickly went to work in an attempt to remedy the issue.
“We pretty much changed everything electrical that we could,” he said. “We were able to go out and try to make one lap at the end of qualifications, but it still wouldn’t run.”
Further effort into diagnosing the malfunction eventually revealed the cause of the problem.
“We removed the fuel pump and we could smell gas,” Hendricks said. “It turns out that we had been given the wrong fuel. It was some kind of methanol and gas mixture.”
The fuel was drained and replaced, but failing to complete a qualifying lap put Hendricks in a very difficult position to overcome as he started last in his nine-car heat race.
“We had to get to fourth to transfer to the A Main, but we just couldn’t move up that far and finished sixth,” he said.
With the B Main lineup determined by qualifying times, Hendricks was once again forced to start last – this time in an 18-car field.
“The car felt really good and I was able to move forward,” he said. “I got to ninth, but by then the field was pretty much strung out. It didn’t help that it was only a 12-lap race and there weren’t any cautions.
“We had a fast car. If we could’ve started a little closer to the front and had a restart or two, I think we could’ve made the A Main.”
A chance for redemption the following night was nullified early on Saturday when the night’s card was canceled due to rain.
“It was kind of a frustrating weekend,” he said. “I enjoyed driving at Kokomo and we moved forward in every race. But qualifying with USAC is extremely important and it showed how tough it is to recover if you don’t get a qualifying lap in.”
Hendricks plans to take this weekend off and return to the track on May 4 at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., and May 5 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., during the Missouri Mid-State Midget Nationals with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 13 – Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Ind. – Qualifying: No Time; Heat race: 6 (9); B Main: 9 (18).
SEASON STATS –
6 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 2 top 20s
UP NEXT –
May 4 at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., and May 5 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., for the Missouri Mid-State Midget Nationals with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.ZaneHendricks.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hendricks_zane
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zanehendricksracing/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shorty’s Machine Shop
Shorty’s Machine Shop is located in Stillwater, Okla.
“Nick Semtner, who owns Shorty’s Machine Shop, allows us to use his shop whenever we need to,” Hendricks said. “He has been a long-time family friend and we really appreciate his support.”
Hendricks would also like to thank Vacuworx, CK Power, Momentum Racing Suspensions, BP Fab, Esslinger, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Walker Performance Filtration, Eagle Motorsports, Intruder Chassis and Outlaw Wings for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
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- Shawn Miller on Apr 17, 2018
- Article Date: 4/17/2018 by Inside Line Promotions