Inside Line Promotions
โ ALGER, Wash. (Aug. 1) โ Saturday was more than a good test-and-tune session.
For Trey Starks, it was a blast and it has the 15-year-old from Puyallup, Wash., more optimistic than ever. Starks recorded his 15th top 10 of the season by finishing eighth at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.
โIt was so much fun,โ he said. โThe track was greasy on the bottom, slick through the middle and the cushion was right on the fence.
โYou could run the bottom a little bit. And it wasnโt like you completely blew the tires off in the slick. You could still run through it; you were just slower. It took me a couple of laps to be able to put it up on the fence and run it hard. Once I did, we were good.โ
Starks qualified fourth quickest, finished fourth in his heat race and eighth in the feature at the 3/10-mile dirt oval, where he returns this weekend for the prestigious 360 Nationals.
Starks had a top five going in last yearโs $10,000-to-win finale before a racing incident knocked his front end out midway through the feature. After a couple of good runs at Skagit Speedway this year, including last Saturday, Starks is looking forward to this weekendโs challenge.
โThe 360 is a lot different than a 410,โ he said. โItโll be a lot slower, but I think thatโll help me.
โI imagine the track will be the same way this weekend as it was last. We were a little too loose in the feature, but we learned some things I think we can apply.โ
Although he hasnโt competed in a 360 engine at Skagit Speedway this year, Starks has recorded a top 20 in each of his five races in a 410 there. Three of those were during the famed Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, when Starks nearly won a preliminary feature.
His eighth-place finish on Saturday was his best of the season at Skagit Speedway and itโs his seventh top 10 in the last 10 events.
โWeโve had a good summer and everything is going very well right now,โ Starks said. โI hope we can take that momentum into this weekend and pick up our first win.โ
QUICK RESULTS โ
July 30 โ Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. โ Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 8 (6).
SEASON STATS โ
34 races, 32 features, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 15 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT โ
Friday and Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the 360 Nationals
FAVORITE NUMBER โ
5: Races at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., this season โ all in a 410 engine and each time with a top-20 finish.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS โ
Website: www.treystarksracing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TreyStarks55
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing
APPAREL โ
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 โ Blue Dot Fabrications
Blue Dot Fabrications is owned by Treyโs 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.
โBlue Dot Fabrications is another business that has been around my family my entire life,โ Starks said. โMy uncle, Dean, has always been around ready to fix anything that gets dinged up at the track.โ
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting, Masco Petroleum and SpeedMart for their continued support.