(Photo courtesy of Blaine Baxter Racing)
Inside Line Promotions – DEMING, Wash. (July 24, 2018) – Blaine Baxter overcame misfortune to rally to a top-15 finish during the finale of the three-day Clay Cup Nationals last Saturday at Deming Speedway, which welcomed more than 40 drivers in the restricted micro sprints division.
After getting caught up in a pair of crashes during preliminary nights on Thursday and Friday, Baxter advanced from his 12th-place starting spot in Saturday’s B Main to a sixth-place finish, earning him a starting spot into the Clay Cup main event. He charged forward again in the feature, scoring a 14th-place finish after starting 24th.
“We didn’t have the best finishes, but we worked our way forward in each race,” Baxter said of his first time in competition at the event.
“We were decent Thursday night, but got wrecked in the B Main,” Baxter’s father, Dustin, said. “We were really fast on Friday night. We were ninth overall in points going into the A Main and just basically needed to finish the main to lock into Saturday night’s main.”
Unfortunately, disaster struck in Friday’s main event.
“There was a pileup coming off of turns three and four and I jumped someone’s left rear tire and flipped all the way down the front straightaway,” Blaine Baxter said. “It destroyed the car, but my dad got it fixed for Saturday night.”
The Baxter’s hustled off the track as well as on it as the youngster capped the event with a solid performance.
“We were pretty happy with the way things went overall at the Clay Cup,” Dustin Baxter said. “We had good speed there all weekend. We stopped at Willie Kahne’s on the way there and we made a few changes with shocks and the baseline setup. Unfortunately, we tore up some equipment and Dad had to work his butt off.”
Blaine Baxter also showed speed the previous weekend. He charged from 18th to seventh on July 13 at Dixon Speedway in Dixon, Calif., and advanced again the following night to a 14th-place finish after starting 22nd at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.
“I feel more confident each time,” said Blaine, whose next race is scheduled for this Saturday at Delta Speedway. “I feel like I’m getting faster.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 13 – Dixon Speedway in Dixon, Calif. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 6 (6); Feature: 7 (18).
July 14 – Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 7 (6); Feature: 14 (22).
July 19 – Deming Speedway in Deming, Wash. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 4 (-); B Main: DNF (-).
July 20 – Deming Speedway in Deming, Wash. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (-); B Main: 3 (-); Feature: 19 (-).
July 21 – Deming Speedway in Deming, Wash. – B Main: 6 (12); Feature: 14 (24).
SEASON STATS –
23 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 4 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif.
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 Tire Center, Dirt Co Media House, FK Shocks, 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 –
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- Shawn Miller on Jul 24, 2018
- Article Date: 7/24/2018 by Inside Line Promotions