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– ELMA, Wash. (May 31) – Trey Starks let out a giant sigh and relaxed his shoulders, which seemed to let the monkey jump right off.
After starting the season on a tear, the 15-year-old has been mired in a frustrating slump the past couple of months. That hopefully shifted last weekend with a pair of top 10s in ASCS Northwest Region action at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
“Finally,” he exclaimed. “It’s been frustrating. It seems like we backed up to a pace we shouldn’t have backed up to. We should be running up front, where we did this weekend.”
Starks recorded a career-best second-place finish on Saturday on a fast track, where speeds reached approximately 140 miles per hour on the banked, 3/8th-mile dirt oval.
“We were wide open all the way around,” said Starks, who chased veteran Jason Solwold for the win. “I thought I had a shot at him at the end. We had a better overall car, but he was more consistent.”
Starks, who started fourth, passed a car on the opening lap. He then drove into second a few laps later before stalking Solwold down the stretch. A caution with four laps remaining allowed the field to bunch together, but a lapped car between Solwold and Starks gave the veteran a good enough jump on the restart to drive away for the victory.
The momentum continued on Sunday on a drastically different surface.
“It was so hard because they were trying to keep the water out of it,” Starks said. “It was a real good race track though. There was a top and a bottom.”
After finishing third in his heat race, Starks made the redraw to determine the first four rows of the feature. He pulled a six, which started him on the outside of the third row.
Starks battled for a top five all race before settling for sixth place in a tough battle between the top nine drivers.
“That’s the best I’ve ever been on that kind of a dry-slick track,” he said. “The top nine were in one big group, just battling the whole time. It was a really fun race track.”
His previous best ASCS Northwest finish was sixth last July at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Ore.
After four events, the reigning ASCS Northwest Rookie of the Year moved up to sixth in the standings – only five points out of the top five.
Starks is set to race in the 410 class at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., on Saturday.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 28 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 2 (4).
May 29 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 6 (6).
SEASON STATS –
20 races, 18 features, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 7 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.
FAVORITE NUMBER –
2: Starks’ career-best result with the ASCS Northwest, which he recorded on Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
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 – Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting
Based out of Seattle, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting is a powder coating business. It is owned by crew member Dallas Melby’s father, Chris.
“Chris, Dallas and Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting does a great job of making my car look awesome,” Starks said. “From the frame to the wings and everything in between, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting does a clean, professional job.”
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Blue Dot Fabrications, Masco Petroleum and SpeedMart for their continued support.