[i By Bill Sullivan, Sullivan Images Media]
[b SEBASTOPOL, CA 10-24-10] -Earlier in the month he wasn't sure he would be able to enter his favorite race of the post season. Through strong teamwork and some help from his sponsors, Sebastopol's Bradley Terrell made to the entry list of last week's 17th Annual Trophy Cup at the Tulare Thunderbowl and continued a family tradition of capping off his racing season in the race that boasts huge earnings and is all for charity.
"It's always a pleasure to come back to the Trophy Cup at the end of the year," said Terrell. "It's a great event. The track is fast and its all for a good cause. It would have been really disappointing if we weren't able to make the race."
For the last half of the regular season, Terrell raced aboard a borrowed car from Scott Dupont due to motor damage to his family owned #43 sprint car. As the Trophy Cup grew near, Terrell logged an entry and with the help of his team and sponsors made the needed repairs to the powerplant of the familiar blue and orange machine that is know for consistent top finishes wherever it competes.
"We combined our resources and got the parts we needed together to make the repairs," said Terrell. "I really appreciate everyone's hard work at the shop to get us to the Trophy Cup. We had a great weekend there once again and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year."
During the Friday night portion of the Trophy Cup, Terrell was one of the latest cars to qualify in the field that had some 80 cars featuring the best drivers in the sport from all areas of the nation. Struggling with new brakes on the car, he qualified 45th in the field which put the team behind before the weekend even go started.
In his career, Terrell is best known for his ability to rally back in the game even when his cards are down. The Trophy Cup was another example of that. His hard luck continued on Friday night when the motor overheated in the B-main and ended his night early but he returned on Saturday night to turn his luck around.
"I got up as high as fourth in the heat then a couple of cars got by me, then in the B main it started to heat up and the last thing I wanted was another damaged motor so I had to shut it down and end our night. It was unfortunate but on Saturday we came back pretty good."
After a solid run in his heat race, Terrell accumulated enough points to make the B-main on Saturday night. He started 17th in the field filled with racing talent and took no prisoners as he sliced and diced his way through the positions in an effort to match his finish of last season.
"Starting that far back I knew it wasn't going to be easy," I had to something pretty spectacular at that car is I had any hope to transfer in the feature or at least finish as good as last year."
In the opening five laps of the race, Terrell hugged the bottom line of the track until he ventured to the high side. Once running the top, the Analy High School graduate found a cushion around the rim that helped him rocket through the field. When the checkered flag waved he was three positions shy of a transfer but satisfied with the effort they made as a team.
"We needed a few more caution flags and I could have gotten up there," said Terrell. "We just took too long getting up there and time ran out for us. Overall it was a good weekend considering we didn't expect to even make it this year just a few weeks ago. I'm sorry the season has to end now, I'm ready to go back."
Prior to entering the Trophy Cup, Terrell drove to his first track championship at Petaluma Speedway where he garnered nine top five finishes and 11 top tens in the 2010 All Pro Campaign. He picked up two feature finishes, our third place finishes, two fourth place finishes, a fifth place, one eighth place finish and a 10th which took place on the night when he suffered mechanical woes.
Bradley Terrell wishes to thank his marketing partners for 2010 including Millhouse Glass, the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, Randy Hanson Auto Body and Paint. Vanlare Steering Repair, A1 Shower and Mirror Incorporated, Knockout Signs, Santa Rosa Moving & Storage, Altes Engineering, and 4 Wheel Parts.
To learn more about Bradley Terrell or to inquire about sponsorship of this racing team or driving opportunities visit his official website at www.bradleyterrell.com. Those who may be interested in assisting the team for the 2011 racing season may contact Bradley Terrell by email at bt@bradleyterrell.com or by phone at 707-888-9719 Bradley Terrell can also be found on the social networking site Facebook.
- Bill Sullivan on Oct 30, 2010
- Article Date: 10/30/2010