From Peterson Media
Victory lane was a familiar scene on Saturday night for sprint car enthusiasts, a throw back if you will, as in the infamous Tri-C Machine No. 3c rolled to a stop on the Placerville Speedway front stretch, after a 17 year hiatus, this time with Willie Croft behind the wheel.
“Words cannot even describe the feeling I have right now,” Croft said. “To be in this car is one thing, and now to put Clyde Lamar, his family, and this team in victory lane, is special, really special.”
The last two weeks proceeding up to Saturday night, the Tri-C Machine/JRI Shocks/NAAKE entry has been knocking on the door, as a pair of third place finishes preceded the victory.
With 25 cars on hand at the tight bullring, Croft laid down the sixth fastest lap in qualifications for the second week in a row.
“The track was not as nearly as fast as it was last weekend, so looking at it after qualifications, I knew it would be really racy,” he said.
With heat races typically tough at Placerville, Croft started sixth in his, and was able to score a fifth place finish, putting his Holey Smokes BBQ/Christian Stover Foundation/ButlerBuilt in the feature event, and in great position for the inversion draw, as he would start off row one.
Sharing the front row with Andy Gregg, Willie would grab the early lead with Andy Gregg in tow.
The lead would be short lived, as Gregg would grab the point in three and four, as Croft sat in the second spot.
Wanting nothing to do with second, Croft took advantage of a bobble by Gregg, and reclaimed the point on lap three, and got stronger each lap.
Taking advantage of some moisture on the bottom in one and two, Croft pounded the cushion in turns three and four, as he kept his machine out front through thick lapped traffic.
Late in the race, Shane Golobic showed Croft a nose, but once Croft had a glimmer of open track, he took off and picked up his first win of the year, and celebrated in front of a very appreciative crowd.
“It is so awesome for this to come together in a handful of races,” he said. “The last three weeks we have clicked, and we have been so fast. Lee Lindgren and all of my guys have busted their tails, and to see everyone’s faces down here on the front stretch says everything.”
The Tri-C Motorsports team would like to thank Tri-C Machine, JRI Shocks, NAAKE Suspension, Holey Smokes BBQ, The Christian Stover Foundation, ButlerBuilt, Arai, Brown and Miller, Sander Engineering, FK Rod Ends, Hinchman Indy, Schoenfeld, K&N, Smith Precision Products, A.R.T., Kaeding Performance, Dan Olson Products, Vortex Wings, AIC Powdercoating, and GUTS for their support in 2013.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-11, Wins-1, Top 5’s-3, Top 10’s-5.
ON TAP: Croft at the Tri-C team will now put their attention on the King of the West title as the series kicks off on Saturday night at the Antioch Speedway.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @wcroft29.