Lonnie Wheatley, EL PASO, Texas (September 26, 2018) – With a field of nearly 60 cars assembled for last weekend’s Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour “Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial” at Wheatland, Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway, John Carney II found himself in the mix over the course of all three nights before settling for a finish of 13th in the Saturday night finale.
“It was really good overall,” Carney said of the weekend aboard the John Carney Racing No. J2 Sprint Car. “We made the show all three nights and had a competitive car.”
Carney will be back in action next weekend at I-30 Speedway’s 31st Annual Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, AR, on Friday and Saturday, October 5-6.
Carney opened last weekend’s three-race set at Lucas Oil Speedway by posting a runner-up finish in Thursday night heat race action and then a fifth-place qualifying race run to earn the 14th starting position for the feature.
“With the heat race and qualifying race format, every position can make quite a difference,” Carney explains.
Track conditions led Carney to the decision to make an early exit from the Thursday night feature.
“The track was taking some rubber at the end of the non-wing race and we were just single file,” Carney commented. “I didn’t feel like I was going to be able to advance any the way the track was, so after about six laps or so I decided to pull off instead of grinding off four tires.”
Carney opened Friday’s action with a heat race win and then a fourth-place qualifying race finish to earn the seventh starting position for the feature. An infield tire brought an early end to a potential top-five feature run.
“We had a really good car for the feature, I passed a few cars and some got reverted by cautions,” Carney recalls. “Then I clipped an infield tire and broke a radius rod. Just looking at the guys that we were racing with and how it played out, I think we had a top-five car easy enough.”
While the broken radius rod prevented a probable lock-in to the Saturday finale, Carney still made his way into the ninth starting position by racing to victory in his last chance qualifier. From there, Carney went on to finish out the weekend in 13th.
“The track was actually hammer down on the top and the bottom,” Carney explains. “The car was just a little snug. Still, it was a strong weekend overall.”
Carney looks to Little Rock and the $10,000 Short Track Nationals winner’s share next weekend.
Next Up: 31st Annual Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR, on Friday and Saturday, October 5-6.
Keep Track: Keep track of John Carney II’s on-track action including schedule and results at https://www.johncarneyracing.com/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing/.
If you would like John Carney Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on www.sprintcarmania.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
- Bryan Hulbert on Sep 26, 2018
- Article Date: 9/26/2018