(Photo by Paul Arch)
Inside Line Promotions – NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (June 1, 2020) – Trey Starks enjoyed a successful debut at Park Jefferson International Speedway last weekend.
The Gobrecht Motorsports driver captured his first top-five finish of the season on Friday during his first-ever start at the oval, which hosted an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 doubleheader.
“It was a good run on Friday,” he said. “We still had our fair share of issues throughout the weekend, but it was definitely good to have a strong run. Racing with those guys and running in the top five was great. We haven’t been as competitive as we need to be this year so it was great to get a solid run in there.”
Starks qualified 15th quickest overall, but the quickest in his group to open the action on Friday. A third-place finish in a heat race advanced him into a dash. Starks placed where he started – second – to garner the fourth starting position for the A Main.
“It’s a tricky track,” he said. “It gets real slick. You’re searching around moving from top to bottom. I tried to get in a rhythm. We ran the bottom the first half of the race and then I moved up. We ran fourth early and then fifth part of the race before dropping to sixth when Brock (Zearfoss) got by us. Then we picked up a spot late to finish in the top five. We were coming on strong at the end of the race.”
The weekend concluded on Saturday. Starks timed in 28th quickest overall, which was fifth quickest in his group to narrowly miss the pole of a heat race. He placed sixth in the heat race, which relegated him to the B Main. Starks rallied from ninth and made a late-race pass to secure the fourth-and-final transfer into the main event.
“We got in a scramble before qualifying,” he said. “We were trying to sort things out and had a bad oil pressure gauge. We thought some things were going on with the motor. We got the wrong offset wheel put on so that put us behind from the start. Then we knocked the nose wing down and that killed our heat race. We had a decent car in the B Main and I drove hard to get that last transfer spot on the last lap. That was nice for us. The track came back and had more moisture on the bottom in the feature. We thought it’d be more slick. We were too tight in the feature. We were good early, but when the fuel load burned off we were too tight.”
Starks advanced from 24th to 19th to cap the weekend.
The team plans to head to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, this Saturday. Starks garnered the Rookie of the Year Award last year during his first campaign of running points at ‘The Sprint Car Capital of the World.’ But first Starks will make his debut in his family car on Thursday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.
“It will be different racing at home Thursday, flying out and then doing the stuff at Knoxville,” he said. “I’m excited to run our family car for the first time in a couple of years and I’m excited to get back to our local track and turn some laps.
“It will be good to get back for the opening points night at Knoxville. I’m looking forward to building on last weekend when we’ve shown more speed than we’ve had to start the year. I know the track a little more and I am more familiar with the racers I’ll be racing against. We’ve gotten settled in on our operation out there. It will be nice to build off last year’s success.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 29 – Park Jefferson International Speedway in North Sioux City, S.D. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 3 (4); Dash: 2 (2); Feature: 5 (4).
May 30 – Park Jefferson International Speedway in North Sioux City, S.D. – Qualifying: 28; Heat race: 6 (5); B Main: 4 (9); Feature: 19 (24).
SEASON STATS –
10 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Starks55Trey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing?fref=ts
APPAREL –
Starks has t-shirts and hoodies for sale at http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – E-Z-GO
E-Z-GO has become a world leader in transportation and a leading global manufacturer of golf cars, utility vehicles and personal transportation vehicles. For more information, visit http://www.ezgo.txtsv.com.
“E-Z-GO has supported Scott Gobrecht and his business for a long time,” Starks said. “We all appreciate their support of our team.”
Gobrecht Motorsports would also like to thank Champion Brands, FK Rod Ends, Golf Cart Services, J&J Auto Racing, Fibreworks Composites, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Beer Hill Gang, Gettysburg Rental Center, Gardy’s Enterprises, Baker Door Company, Moose Lodge 720, Pro Shocks, Auto Meter, KSE Racing Products, Fel-Pro, Taylor Ignition Wires, Miller Welders, K&N Filters, Mettec, Bell Helmets, AL Driveline, DMI, Champion Spark Plugs, ISC Racers Tape, Schroth Racing, HMS Motorsports, Kinsler Fuel Injection, All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads, Ultra Lite Brakes & Components, Rider Automotive, BAPS Motor Speedway and Saldana Racing Products 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 01, 2020
- Article Date: 6/1/2020 by Inside Line Promotions