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– ELMA, Wash. (May 22) – It was a good tune-up.
That’s what Trey Starks got from Saturday’s race at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., where he finished eighth on a track that continued to surprise.
“It was good racing in the main,” the 15-year-old from Puyallup, Wash., said. “We set the car up for dry and on the bottom. But they watered the track up top so there ended up being a big cushion. It was so far up there we were running next to the fence.”
That worked to Starks’ advantage as he worked his way from 14th to fifth before trouble on a restart with four laps to go.
“It was so dry that the leader waited until he was on the frontstretch to start,” Starks said. “Everyone got out of place and I was under the guy in front of me. So I had to check up and fall back in line.”
That messed up his entry into turn one and another driver slid Starks, which hurt his momentum. He fell back to ninth before getting back one position at the end.
“It wasn’t a horrible night, but we’re having mediocre nights and it’s getting annoying,” he said. “I don’t like running in the back. I don’t even like running out of the top five. I just don’t feel comfortable back there … like unsatisfied.”
Starks hopes that he’ll continue to work his way back to the front this weekend, when he races a tripleheader with the ASCS Northwest Region. On Friday, he’ll compete at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., before a two-day show at Grays Harbor Raceway wraps up the weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
“Any one of these weekends coming up is a good weekend for redemption,” he joked. “We’re going to refresh out batteries and get ourselves to neutral. We’re basically going to start from scratch and see if we can go forward again.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 21 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 6 (6); Feature: 8 (14).
SEASON STATS –
18 races, 16 features, 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., and Saturday and Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – all with the ASCS Northwest Region
FAVORITE NUMBER –
13: The position Starks finished in his last ASCS Northwest Region race at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., which was Sept. 5 of last year.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.treystarksracing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TreyStarks55
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing
APPAREL –
Starks has shirts, sweatshirts and beanies for sale. The colors are black and gray for the shirts and hooded sweatshirts. Shirts are $15, sweatshirts are $30 and black beanies are $15. All sizes range from small to XL. For ordering information, visit www.treystarksracing.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Blue Dot Fabrications
Blue Dot Fabrications is owned by Trey’s uncle, Dean Starks, who fabricates various types of vehicles, including vintage cars and road race cars. Blue Dot Fabrications even built quarter midgets when Trey began racing.
“Blue Dot Fabrications is another business that has been around my family my entire life,” Starks said. “My uncle, Dean, has always been around ready to fix anything that gets dinged up at the track.”
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting, Masco Petroleum and SpeedMart for their continued support.