Todd Michaels
Tampa, Florida native Troy DeCaire added another first to his resume this past weekend as he made his wingless dirt sprint car debut at Lincoln Park Speedway and then backed it up with an impressive performance in the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series season opener the day following.
“This year I want to run as many sprint car races as I can, regardless of class, surface or sanction,” said DeCaire. “This weekend was great fun for me as I got to run my first ever dirt non-wing sprint car race and then jump in a winged sprint car for the Must See Racing season opener. I don’t think you can get much different than that for sprint cars in a given weekend.”
The weekend got kicked off at Lincoln Park Speedway, a track Troy had never raced at, in a car he had never raced in. “This was a new one for me and the track was like a swamp out there, I even saw the wrecker do a wheelie pulling out a stuck car,” continued DeCaire. “I started ninth in the fourth heat, with 42 cars total for the night. I finished sixth in my heat, but I kept guys like Dave Darland in sight, so I was really happy, especially since this was my first time running these things.”
For Sunday it was more familiar territory for DeCaire as he is the defending champion of the Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series.
“For this race I lined up a ride with Ron Koehler who also provided my car for the USAC Pavement Sprint Car Series opener recently,” continued DeCaire. “I knew we were down on power to the front cars and we would have our work cut out for us, but I really like Salem so I knew we would be in good shape.”
With a very strong field of cars, Troy qualified the Koehler entry ninth and with a six car invert, Troy was to start ninth. In his heat race Troy turned in a strong run that went sour on the last lap.
“The heat race went great and I finished second,” continued DeCaire. “But the problem was the engine blew up on the last lap. I thought I was done but Ron stepped out of his own car so I could race. This car was fifteen years old, but it was my only chance.”
Because of jumping into the new car, Troy had to start last for the feature, but when it was all said and done he brought home a hard-fought sixth place finish.
“I can’t thank Ron enough for stepping out of his car,” said DeCaire. “There was only one brief caution at the start of the race, so I think I got everything this car had to give to get all the way up to sixth by the end. Given a few more laps, I’m pretty sure I could have had fifth. Either way I’ll take it!”
Stay tuned for where Troy DeCaire will turn up next in his quest to be the most versatile sprint car driver in the country for 2011 – so far this year he’s already competed in four different classes, including the Chili Bowl!
About Troy DeCaire
Racing since the age of four, Troy DeCaire has been winning races and championships since he was old enough to hold a steering wheel in his hands. After graduating to full-blown sprint cars, and competing with what is arguably the toughest pavement sprint car series in the country while still a teenager, DeCaire proved to be a quick study, picking up the series championship in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, DeCaire also added a wingless series championship to his resume. This year Troy became the 2010 Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series champion. To learn more about Troy DeCaire, please visit his new website at www.troydecaire.com.