Puyallup, WA — March 4, 2012 — To be successful in racing, it takes a fast car, a capable driver, a strong team and last but certainly not least, some good luck. Trey Starks had a pretty good car this weekend during the Copper Classic at Canyon Raceway Park in Peoria, Ariz., but didn’t have much luck on his side. A miss in the engine plagued the young driver in hot laps on Friday night, along with drawing a high number both nights, which put him at the back of the first heat race, which was run before the track widened out.
The native of Puyallup, Wash. and his team didn’t let that stop them though, as they worked hard all weekend, nearly racing their way into the main event on both nights. Starks, who has an ambitious 60-plus race schedule planned for the 2012, with a host of different series and sanctioning bodies, opened the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series at Canyon Speedway Park in his Shaver-powered Maxim.
“It felt good to be back in the car, but was a little bit of a bummer with some of the bad luck that we had,” said Starks. “We were able to knock some of the rust off and hopefully got some of the bad luck out of the way in those first two races.”
The 15-year old opened the Copper Classic on Friday, March 2, by starting fifth in the first heat race. He finished in that same position in the eight-lap contest, which lined him up third in the first B-Main. He was running in the third spot for the first eight laps of the 12-lapper, before a torrid battle with two-time ASCS Champion Jason Johnson, who snagged the final transfer position for the 25-lap preliminary feature.
“We had a miss in the engine in hot laps, so we changed ignition boxes and went through the whole ignition system,” explained Starks. “That solved it and the engine ran good in the heat race and the rest of the night.”
In the finale of the two-day event on Saturday, March 3, Starks lined up seventh in the first heat and finished in that same position. He started seventh in the first B-Main, with the top-three transferring to the 30-lap main event. The high school freshmen raced his way to fifth, finishing just two spots short of earning a spot in the A-Feature.
“It was very strong competition all weekend,” shared Starks. “Even the B-Mains were stacked each night. Jason Johnson and Danny Lasoski were in my B-Main each night, so it was pretty tough to get those top-three spots. We have a few things we learned that should help us this week with the 410 (engine) in the car.”
Starks returns to action on Thursday, March 8 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the World of Outlaws, followed by a visit to Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif. on Saturday, March 10. Trey, who is the youngest driver to ever qualify for an A-Feature with the World of Outlaws, will compete with the series in eight consecutive events during the month of March.
“I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks racing with the World of Outlaws,” stated Starks. “I like racing with those guys and racing in events where you get to qualify. Having time trials, you are able to make your own luck and choose your destiny. I like racing on the bigger tracks as well.”
Trey Starks and Starks Racing would like to thank their values partners: BR Motorsports, FX Signs, King Racing Products, Masco Petroleum, Northwest Powerdercoating & Sandblasting, Starks Timber Processing and T &C Concepts.
Canyon Speedway Park Results
Date Heat
Start Heat Finish Feature Start Feature Finish
March 2 5th 5th 3rd (B) 5th (B)
March 3 7th 7th 5th (B) 7th (B)
Up next
March 8: World of Outlaws- The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.
March 10: World of Outlaws- Perris Auto Speedway, Perris, Calif.
Keep Up-to-Date
For the latest news and information on Trey Starks and Starks Racing, visit http://www.Treystarks.com. Also keep up with Trey on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing, and follow Trey on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/TreyStarks55.