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– YAKIMA, Wash. (Sept. 26) – After a pair of top 10s last weekend, Trey Starks secured a podium finish in the ASCS Northwest Region standings.
“That’s a cool deal,” he said after placing third. “Roger Crockett and Henry Van Dam, the guys who finished ahead of me, are the two best in the Northwest besides Jason Solwold.”
Starks, the reigning ASCS Northwest Rookie of the Year, recorded a pair of career-best runner-up performances and three top fives. He added nine top 10s in 16 region events, including a pair in the final doubleheader of the season last Friday and Saturday at the Yakima Dirt Track in Yakima, Wash.
The 15-year-old from Puyallup, Wash., opened the weekend by driving from third to second place in his heat race on Friday. That earned him a position in the redraw, which determines the first four rows of the feature. In typical fashion, Starks drew the No. 6 to start on the outside of the third row.
“The last five times I’ve been in the redraw, I think I’ve pulled a six, eight, six, eight and five,” he said. “My drawing is horrible in the redraws.”
On a track that was different on both ends, Starks picked off a couple of positions to drive from sixth to fourth in the feature
“It was really slick in turns one and two, and it was pretty heavy so you could run anywhere in turns three and four,” he said. “There wasn’t much passing because there wasn’t another groove in turns one and two. So all the passing was in turns three and four.”
Starks’ fourth-place finish was his ninth top five of the season.
In the finale on Saturday, Starks dropped from second to third in his heat race, which started him 12th in the main event. However, Starks charged toward the top five early and eventually reached sixth before sliding out of the groove late in the race. He got one position back in the closing laps to claim seventh place – his 22nd top 10 of the year.
“It was one of the most fun times I’ve had this year,” he said. “I just made a couple of mistakes here and there.
“There was a huge hole going into turn three, so it was kind of tricky. I could run the top pretty well and I was good in traffic. It was a really fun track.”
Starks is taking this weekend off before returning on Oct. 8 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., with the ASCS Southern California Region.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 23 – Yakima Dirt Track in Yakima, Wash. – Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 4 (6).
Sept. 24 – Yakima Dirt Track in Yakima, Wash. – Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: 7 (12).
SEASON STATS –
50 races, 48 features, 1 win, 9 top fives, 22 top 10s, 31 top 15s, 45 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 8 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., with the ASCS Southern California Region
FAVORITE NUMBER –
10: Result the last time Starks raced at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., which was also an ASCS Southern California Region event on April 30.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.treystarksracing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TreyStarks55
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing
ON THE AIR –
Here is a video of Starks’ first career victory – Aug. 20 at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. It starts around the two-minute mark.
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 – SpeedMart
Established in 2004, SpeedMart has developed into a leading supplier of sprint car and racing products in the Northwest. For more information, visit www.speedmartinc.com.
“SpeedMart really benefits us because they are right next to our home,” Starks said. “Even though we are traveling a lot on the West Coast, I know SpeedMart will always have anything we need.”
Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Blue Dot Fabrications, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting and Masco Petroleum for their continued support.