From Starks Racing PR
Puyallup, Wash.—March 12, 2012 — When a student wants to learn from experts in a field they go to a college or university that specializes in what they are interested in. When a sprint car driver wants to learn from the best, they go and race with the World of Outlaws. Trey Starks, who recently turned 16-years old continued his sprint car education this past week, competing in a pair of events with the World of Outlaws, as the series began an eight-race West Coast swing that will cover the month of March.
Starks first start with the World of Outlaws in 2012 came on Thursday, March 8 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by his debut at Perris Auto Speedway in California for the Napa Know How SoCal Showdown on Saturday, March 10. When it was all said and done, the high school freshmen raced his way into the A-Feature in each of the two events.
“It’s always good to make the feature with the competition that is out there racing with the World of Outlaws,” said Starks. “You prefer to make it through the heats into the feature, and I had to battle through the B-Main each night, which can be stressful. We made it into both main events and got 30 laps in each night, and I’m happy with that.”
At Las Vegas, Starks was 18th in time trials, which lined him up sixth in the third eight-lap heat race, where he would finish seventh. In the B-Main, he started second and finished third, to earn a spot in the 30-lap main event. By finishing in the Top-Four in the B-Main, he got his qualifying time back and was able to line up 17th in the feature, rather than have to tag the rear of the field. The main event was slowed nine times for cautions and red flags. When the checkered flag flew, Starks finished on the lead lap in 17th.
“It was a long night at Las Vegas,” he noted. “You have to try and stay focused on the one goal when you have all those cautions. It’s better to be at the front at the end than in the middle, and that’s something we have to work on a little bit. That was a night where you really learn about patience.”
In his debut at Perris Auto Speedway, Starks timed in 23rd. He started eighth in the second heat race at the high-banked half-mile and moved up a spot to finish seventh. The B-Main found him starting sixth. He would gain a couple of positions to finish fourth, to again get his time back for the feature event lineup. In the 30-lap main event, the native of Puyallup, Wash. started 21st and finished on the lead lap in 19th, to earn his second Top-20 finish in as many races with the World of Outlaws.
“I really liked Perris,” said Starks. “It was a fun track. We were quickest in our hot laps group and unfortunately didn’t qualify all that well. The track got abrasive during the feature and took some rubber there at the end, so it was hard to pass.”
Starks, who has raced four times this season, twice with the World of Outlaws and twice with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, will return to action with the World of Outlaws on Friday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. The two-day event at Tulare, mark the third and fourth races of the eight-race West Coast swing for the World of Outlaws.
“We’ve tried a few things so far this season and some have worked and some haven not,” shared the young driver. “We’ll just keep at it and keep working hard. We’ve been learning how to run on the slicker tracks a little better, and I think that will help us throughout the season.”
Trey Starks and Starks Racing would like to thank their valued partners: BR Motorsports, FX Signs, King Racing Products, Masco Petroleum, Northwest Powerdercoating & Sandblasting, Starks Timber Processing and T &C Concepts.
Las Vegas & Perris Results
Date Time
Trials Heat
Start Heat Finish B-Main
Start B-Main
Finish Feature Start Feature
Finish
March 8 18th 6th 7th 2nd 3rd 17th 17th
March 10 23rd 8th 7th 6th 4th 21st 19th
Up next
March 16: World of Outlaws- Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, Calif.
March 17: World of Outlaws- Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, Calif.