By Shawn Miller
CHICO, Calif. (March 27) – To say it was a tough day doesn’t give the word “tough” justice.
Justyn Cox wrapped up the Silver Cup Saturday at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., with a banged up car, a sore back and a 15th-place finish in the B main.
“It was a frustrating day to say the least,” said Cox, a 15-year-old from Clarksburg, Calif. “From the time we tried to qualify until the car was parked at the end of the night, it seemed like we couldn’t catch a break.”
In qualifying, Cox went out 14th of the 34 entrants. However, his car popped out of gear in turn two after taking the green flag. When he was pushed off again, Cox got on the gas only to have the car pop out of gear as he took the white flag.
The crew worked feverishly to fix the bracket for the shifter cable and he was able to turn one lap before starting last – ninth – in the first of four heat races. Cox worked his way up to seventh on the first lap, but without time to work on the car’s setup, he struggled on the top-heavy track and finished seventh.
Because of the qualifying woes, Cox was scheduled to start last – 17th – in the 12-lap B main.
On lap two, Cox was up to eighth – only two spots out of a transfer – when bad luck struck again. Just in front of Cox and a pack of drivers in turn four, Craig Swim spun out near the bottom of the corner. As everyone turned right to avoid the stalled car, Cox, who was running the high line, was knocked off the track.
His race car flew off the track and toward a wall down the frontstretch. Cox was able to stop the car, dropping him to the back of the pack.
“The marbles were shooting me toward the wall so I had to slam on the brakes,” Cox said. “I could run the top pretty fast so I knew I wasn’t out of contention for a transfer spot.”
Cox restarted 15th and was up to 13th two laps later after a caution for a flip by Kyle Harris. The frustrating night came to a head on the restart when Cox, on the top in turn two, was hit in the left rear by Matt Land, whose car pushed up the track.
Cox slid sideways and off the track, bounced into the air and skidded to a stop. It was his second stall, forcing him to the pits without making the feature for just the second time this season.
Roger Crockett won the Silver Cup finale for the second consecutive year.
For more information, including the final results, visit www.justyncox.com.