PETERSEN MEDIA
A week after rear-end issues hampered him at the Cotton Classic, a late race broken axle ended Willie Croft’s Trophy Cup just laps away from the finish.
By way of his Friday night effort of timing in 25th quick, a second place heat race finish and a 17th place finish in the opening night feature, Croft and his Holey Smokes BBQ/Christian Stover Foundation/ButlerBuilt backed entry entered the final night of the Trophy Cup sitting 15th in the point standings.
With a final heat race on Saturday the only opportunity left to earn points, Croft got off to a slow start and slipped back to the eighth spot as him and Steven Tiner battled.
Croft would finish seventh in the race, and heading into the feature he would be lining up in the fourth row as he sat 18th in the point standings.
The green flag saw Croft surge forward as he got comfortable in the fifth spot, as he raced with Shane Golobic and Gregg Decaires. With a wide array of cautions and red flags plaguing the early portion of the feature event, Croft fell victim to restarts as he slipped back through the field.
As the race clicked off laps, Croft did what he could to stay out of the fray, as he held strong running in the 10th spot, as the 50-lap race drew closer to a close.
Running the top of the speedway, as many used the wall as a cushion, Croft looked to score a top-ten finish in a very grueling feature event, until trouble arose on the 42nd lap.
Coming out of the second turn, Croft felt something go wrong on his Brown and Miller/Sander Engineering/FK Rod Ends machine, and he brought his machine to a stop just before the turn three entrance.
The result was a broken axle, and Croft was towed off the speedway, and his Trophy Cup was over a mere eight laps before completion.
“It was an up and down weekend for us for sure,” Croft said. “It was my first weekend with out new Shark 360ci engine, and it ran great, we just chased our car all weekend, and weren’t able to utilize the new power to make speed. I think we learned some things that should help us out next weekend in Calistoga.”
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: Willie Croft will now be back in action this weekend at the Calistoga Speedway for the 75th Anniversary race for the historic track.
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.