From Starks Racing PR
Puyallup, Wash. — Oct. 11, 2012 — If asked what his favorite tracks are, Trey Starks will quickly list Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., as one. And why not? He led a number of laps there last fall during the Cotton Classic, nearly winning that event, and followed that up by picking up a win at the track earlier this season, which marked his first sprint car win outside of his home state of Washington. The 16-year-old will head back to the track in the Golden State this weekend to compete in the Cotton Classic with the King of the West Sprint Car Series.
The 2012 Cotton Classic is set for Saturday, Oct. 13, at the semi-banked three-eighths-mile located at the Kings County Fairgrounds. The event will begin with time trials, followed by heat races, a dash and main events.
“We always seem to run pretty well at Hanford and have a good amount of laps and experience there,” said Starks. “The Cotton Classic always gets a strong field of cars and is a pretty big and historic event for the California drivers. I’m kind of looking at this race as one to redeem myself after coming so close last year.”
Starks was victorious at Kings Speedway on April 7 in a Rebel Cup Sprint event, with a 360-cubic inch engine under the hood. He lined up fifth for the main event that night, which was originally scheduled for 30-laps, but was shortened to 20-laps due to time constraints. The caution flag flew a couple of times before a single lap was in the books. Once the green flag would fly, Starks would battle veteran Tommy Tarlton for the top spot, using the bottom of the 3/8-mile to take the lead, and would not look back en route to earning the win.
Starks competed in the Cotton Classic last season with the King of the West Sprint Car Series, leading 17 laps, before finishing second in the 30-lap main event to Tarlton. The native of Puyallup, Wash., won a heat race earlier in the night and also won the dash to earn the pole position for the main event.
“Qualifying will definitely be important this weekend, as it was last year during the Cotton Classic,” noted Starks. “We’ve struggled a bit with time trials in the second half of the year, so we are kind of going back to basics to start the night off at Hanford this weekend. We’re wiping the slate clean and looking to get back to qualifying how we know we can.”
The third-generation driver made his first start of the season at Kings Speedway on March 31, finishing third in that event. He was scheduled to compete with the World of Outlaws at the track earlier in March, but that event fell to rain just before the main event was about to roll off and was not rescheduled. Starks has made four starts with the World of Outlaws in California, this year at four different tracks. He finished 13th with the series at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare and was 14th in the Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. He also raced in a two-night program at Tulare with the King of the West Sprint Car Series, finishing seventh in the finale of that event.
“Hanford is a pretty unique track and you really can’t compare it to anywhere else,” explained the 16-year-old. “It’s a big three-eighths (mile) and doesn’t have any walls and is D-shaped, so you kind of race it like a quarter-mile a little bit, but keep up your speed. It’s an interesting track and we’ll see what we can do.”
The high-school junior has raced in a combination of 360- and 410-sprint car races this year with a number of different series. He has recorded two wins, along with 12 podium finishes. He made his first career start at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio and the legendary Knoxville Raceway in Iowa this season, winning heat races at each of those venues with the World of Outlaws. He returned to Knoxville in August to compete first in the 360 Knoxville Nationals and then the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals. He looks to use all of that experience this weekend as he battles the best 410-sprint car racers in California.
“We definitely have to make sure we have everything together and are on top of our game, because the competition is going to be tough,” shared Starks. “You have to leave everything on the track, you can’t hold back, especially in qualifying. You kind of have to make your own luck and getting in the dash is pretty important. If you drive hard every lap, you should be able to start up front.”
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.
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