(Photo by Loud Pedal Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – MANSFIELD, Ohio (May 1, 2018) – Caleb Helms raced smart throughout the Sprint Car World Championship last weekend at Mansfield Motor Speedway.
“We changed cars last week and are still trying to figure out where our baseline is at,” he said. “It was really worth it going to practice (last Thursday) to try to dial things in and get more time on that track. By the last time we went out we made some big improvements.”
Helms kicked off the inaugural event by qualifying 30th quickest out of more than 70 drivers. That caught the heat race inversion and lined him up on the pole.
“We didn’t qualify great, but it was good enough,” he said. “We were able to win the heat, which put us in the redraw.”
Helms started an A Main on the outside of the fourth row.
“We got up to fifth and were tracking down (Brock) Zearfoss,” he said. “He broke and I was feeling really good. We were running some good laps. Unfortunately, I got a pinhole in the right rear tire so those late yellows took our momentum away and we started getting tight because the pressure was coming out of the tire.”
Helms held on for a seventh-place finish, which was his fifth top 10 of the season.
The event wrapped up on Saturday with Helms finishing second in a heat race before he won a B Main to transfer into the $100,000-to-win main event.
“We got the jump on Kerry Madsen and was able to hold that position to win the B Main,” he said. “That was probably the best we felt all weekend. I thought I was feeling tight. The track was rough and treacherous. I didn’t want to get myself any tighter and not be able to handle the rough stuff. We kept it free for the A Main and should have tightened it up. We also put a harder tire on thinking we’d need it, but that wasn’t the thing to do.”
Helms raced near his 15th starting position throughout the feature before ending 17th.
“Put yourself in the right position and sometimes things go your way,” he said. “They went our way this weekend. There were cars that had more speed than us. We were able to put ourselves in the right position and it worked out.”
Helms will return to Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition this weekend with races on Friday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 27 – Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio – Qualifying: 30; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 7 (8).
April 28 – Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio – Heat race: 2 (1); B Main: 1 (2); Feature: 17 (15).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 10 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., and Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, 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 Big Jerk Jerky, Ferguson, Leiber’s Garage, Helms and Sons Excavating, CnB Chubby and Ted’s Market in Pandora 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.
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- Shawn Miller on May 01, 2018
- Article Date: 5/1/2018 by Inside Line Promotions