PETERSEN MEDIA
The time off didn’t seem to phase Zach Zimmerly; more than a year and a half out of a racecar didn’t slow him down, as he scored a 10th place finish Saturday night in a substitute role for Willie Croft at the Petaluma Speedway.
“It felt great getting back in a car,” Zimmerly said. “I had some nerves running through me, but as soon as I strapped in, they all went away and I was able to focus on racing.”
With 35 cars checked it, ‘Super Z’ timed the Holey Smokes BBQ/Christian Stover Foundation/ButlerBuilt backed entry in 20th fastest, making the heat race inversion.
Starting on the front row of his heat, Zimmerly grabbed the point early and never looked back as he took the checkered in his Brown and Miller/Sander Engineering/FK Rod Ends backed No.29 and transferred directly to the feature event.
Starting in the 16th spot on the A, Zimmerly would have his work cut out of him as he was near the back of the star studded feature event. Keeping his nose clean, Zimmerly started the feature out by hitting his marks and getting the feel for the car as he slowly made forward progress.
As laps wore on, Zimmerly’s comfort level continued to grow as he began putting the Willie Croft Racing machine where the others weren’t and began picking up spots.
When the checkered flag waved, Zimmerly was in the 10th spot, and happy with his performance.
“It was a good night tonight,” he said. “Willie and his guys are awesome, and I can’t thank them enough for letting me drive for them, and working hard for me tonight. We got off to a slow start, but I got more comfortable each time on the track, and wound up with a 10th place finish.”
Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, The Christian Stover
Foundation, ButlerBuilt , Brown and Miller, Sander Engineering, FK Rod Ends, Hinchman Indy, Schoenfeld, K&N, Smith Precision Products, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Shark Racing Engines, A.R.T., M.R.O. Industrial Supply, Redline Oil, Kaeding Performance, PaPa’s Beef Jerky, Dan Olson Products, Vortex Wings, AIC Powdercoating, Les Schwab, and GUTS for their support in 2012.
ON TAP: Zimmerly will continue to fill in for the banged up Croft, as the Twenty Nine team will be at the Placerville Speedway on Saturday night.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. Also, if you are a professional or own a business, connect with Zach on Bizbuilt by clicking over to www.bizbuilt.com/ZZR.