Inside Line Promotions – STOCKTON, Calif. (June 20, 2018) – Blaine Baxter advanced through the field both nights in the Restricted Winged micro sprint features during the Delta Summer Sizzler at Delta Speedway last weekend. The 10-year-old officially moved forward a total of 15 combined positions between the two main events, but he passed a lot more cars than that.
Baxter began the weekend on Friday by qualifying 18th out of 23 cars. He finished fifth in his heat, which slotted him into the 22nd starting spot in the A Main. Baxter charged forward to 11th midway through the race.
“About halfway through the race a car flipped in front of me,” he said. “I had nowhere to go and the car landed on mine. It took my nose wing off and destroyed the hood. The top wing was hanging on by maybe one post.”
Baxter restarted at the rear and managed to salvage a 17th-place finish.
“It was a decent finish for the situation, with no nose wing and the top wing hanging upside down,” said Blaine’s father, Dustin Baxter.
Blaine Baxter began Saturday’s racing action as the quickest competitor in hot laps, but he qualified 19th out of 22 cars.
“The track did a 180 and dried out,” Dustin Baxter said. “I threw too much at the car and got it too tight.”
A seventh-place heat race finish placed Blaine Baxter in the 21st starting position for the feature. He rallied to an 11th-place result.
“Blaine really did well,” Dustin Baxter said. “He passed a lot of tough cars on a difficult track.”
The Baxters will take this weekend off from racing before California Speedweek begins next Tuesday, June 26, at Dixon Speedway in Dixon, Calif. The remaining Speedweek shows are June 27 at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.; June 29 at Keller Auto Raceway at Plaza Park in Visalia, Calif.; and June 30 at Lemoore Raceway in Lemoore, Calif.
“I’m feeling pretty good about the way we’ve been racing lately,” Blaine Baxter said. “I feel we’re getting a little better each week. One of these times we’ll get a good time in qualifying and start near the front. That will make a big difference.”
Dustin Baxter agrees that qualifying is key.
“We’re racing well now,” he said. “We just need to get the car perfect for qualifying. We’re hurting ourselves in qualifying right now. When you start mid-pack or deeper, your chances of getting caught up in someone else’s mess increase. Sometimes the entire field is separated by only four to five tenths of a second in qualifying so we’re not missing it by much.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 15 – Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif. – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 17 (22).
June 16 – Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif. – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: 7 (5); Feature: 11 (21).
SEASON STATS –
14 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 9 top 20s
UP NEXT –
June 26 at Dixon Speedway in Dixon, Calif.; June 27 at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.; June 29 at Keller Auto Raceway at Plaza Park in Visalia, Calif.; and June 30 at Lemoore Raceway in Lemoore, Calif., for California Speedweek
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://blainebaxterracing.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blainebaxter25
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlaineBaxterRacing/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – FK Shocks
Factory Kahne Shocks is a leading manufacturer of shock absorbers for all types of dirt track racing. For more info, visit http://factorykahne.com/.
“We just want to say thank you to Willie for helping us stay on top of our shock game,” Dustin Baxter said. “He’s been a great help to us and we appreciate his support.”
Blaine Baxter Racing would also like to thank Westside Mechanical, Les Schwab Tires, Dirt Co Media House, Shell Shock, Dustin Davis Demolition, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Blackbeard, Arai Helmets, Simpson Fire Suits, D1 Chassis, Wraps N Motion, Keizer Aluminum Wheels and Low Voltage Security 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 Jun 20, 2018
- Article Date: 6/20/2018 by Inside Line Promotions