PETERSEN MEDIA
Though he ran a very limited schedule in 2012, Zach Zimmerly shook off the rust nicely and gave many something to look forward to for 2013 as he charged from 23rd to tenth at the Calistoga Speedway on Saturday night.
Celebrating the historic speedway’s 75th Anniversary, Zimmerly went toe to toe with 37 of the regions top drivers on what ended up being a very somber evening.
The got off to a rough start for Zimmerly and his Willie Croft Racing team as he had engine issues during hot laps, that forced his team to scramble to diagnose an issue for the night ahead.
Finding a broken rocker arm, Zimmerly and his Holey Smokes BBQ/The Christian Stover Foundation/ButlerBuilt were able to remedy the situation, though it forced him to miss is scheduled qualifying time, and he took one lap at the end of the session.
Timing in 27th fastest, Zimmerly lined his machine up in the fourth row of the third heat, with only four cars transferring to the feature. Scoring a sixth place finish in his heat, he was forced to take a trip to the night’s B main.
Starting ninth in the B, Zimmerly scored an eighth place finish to take the final transfer spot into the feature event, where he would ultimately line up in the 12th row for the 30-lap affair.
Though the night got off to a slow start in the feature, including a very tragic lap four accident, that took the life of Tyler Wolf, Zimmerly remained poised as he walked the fine line around the ½ mile speedway.
Running around the cushion, Zimmerly slowly worked his way through a very tough field of cars, and scored a 10th place finish as the checkered flag flew on the 2012 season.
“First off, my thoughts and prayers are with the Wolf family,” he said. “To be on the track and lose a fellow races is raw feeling, and it’s surreal. Race wise, we had a great car, and I can’t thank Willie enough for letting me drive his car, and working hard to get us back on track.”
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 now continues to piece together a schedule for 2013, so please be on the lookout for an announcement in the upcoming months.
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.