(Photo by MF Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Aug. 11, 2020) – Garet Williamson experienced the highs and lows of being a sprint car driver in the span of four days.
On Thursday, Williamson competed against a stacked field during his 30th annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank preliminary night at Knoxville Raceway. He qualified 32nd quickest, charged from seventh to fourth in a heat race and came away with a solid 13th-place run in the main event.
The downside was that Williamson was forced to run Saturday’s C Main and after a fierce battle with Kelby Watt for a transfer position into the B Main, the 20-year-old Missouri driver got upside down in Turn 1 after the checkered flag flew at the half-mile oval in Knoxville, Iowa.
“One of our goals was to make it on our prelim night,” he said. “After we qualified bad, we weren’t sitting very good and we turned it around with that heat race going from seventh to fourth. It set us up pretty good for the A Main. We started in the back of that, but we made good laps.
“It started off decent, but obviously we tore up a car pretty good (on Saturday). We learned a lot, so I guess we take the good things with it and leave the bad stuff behind and move forward to the next track.”
Williamson only had to wait one day to put his 360 Knoxville Nationals experience behind him as the Bryant Paver Motorsports team towed to Southern Iowa Speedway for the Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Co.
After winning his heat race and placing seventh in a qualifier, which locked him into the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour main event, Williamson started 16th and advanced two spots to a 14th-place finish.
“I was anxious to get back in the seat after that big ride we took at Knoxville,” he said. “It was huge for us to get back in the seat and get that over with.
“We have a super-good team and when everything is right we have a really good team. I’m happy with the direction we are taking. It sucks to tear up a car like that, but we were fast all week. So we have to take that and move on.”
Thanks to the Knoxville Raceway crash Williamson won’t compete in this week’s ASCS Sprint Week, which carries no points for the ASCS National Tour drivers. Instead, he is going to head back to Knoxville Raceway to watch the 410 stars battle.
“Qualifying is something we struggle at and we are going to take that in and watch how those guys do it,” he said. “They are the best in the country so watching them can definitely help.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 32; Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 13 (19).
Aug. 8 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – C Main: 5 (6).
Aug. 9 – Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa – Heat race: 1 (2); Qualifier: 7 (6); Feature: 14 (16).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 2 wins, 4 top fives, 7 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 15 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Aug. 22 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garetw3
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Garet-Williamson-Racing-572353479787934/
SPONSORS –
Williamson would like to thank Mid-Mo Equipment, Lucas Oil Products, Sorrels Auto & Truck Parts, JBC Transport, LLC, Royal Power Sports, Mo State Construction, Schure Built Suspensions, Tiger Towing, Clems Signs and Maxim for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
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- Shawn Miller on Aug 12, 2020
- Article Date: 8/11/2020 by Inside Line Promotions