PETERSEN MEDIA
With a 360ci engine bolted into his Van Dyke Motorsports No. 5h machine, Justyn Cox headed to the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway in Fernley, NV to take on the King of the West Series, and it ended up being a wild weekend for the youngster.
The action of Cox kicked off on Friday after hot laps, as a secondary fuel line developed a leak, and when Cox got off the throttle, his machine was engulfed in flames, fortunately he was able to escape with minor burns on his ankles.
“It was my first fire in a racecar, and it was a pretty scary situation,” he said. “Fortunately, MotoWear puts out an awesome product and I was relatively uninjured except for some minor burns on my ankles.”
Electing to stay in the cockpit for the rest of the night, Cox proceeded to time in 10th quickest, putting him on the front row of his heat race.
Getting the jump in his heat, Cox picked up the win, and transferred his Lucas Oil/K&N Product’s/JRI Shocks entry in the night’s dash.
Starting fourth in the dash, Cox was a little snug, and slipped back to the fifth spot, where he would finish, on the first lap, and got in line, and maintained.
The start of the feature was not what Cox had hoped for.
In the sixth spot with just a few laps complete, Cox checked up with a spinning car in front of him, and contact behind him sent his machine upside down, and he was done for the night.
“I’m not even sure what happened,” he said. “We were in the sixth spot just making laps, and holding our own, then cars got out shape in front of us, and I got in the break and then got hit and went for a ride.”
Making repairs, the team was back in action on Saturday night, and Cox was able to lay down a solid lap in time trials, as he was ninth quick, on the very slick track.
Starting on the front row of his heat, Cox didn’t get the jump he was looking for, and slipped back to the third spot, where he would finish putting him in the feature, but not the dash.
With the way the track was, Cox and his team elected to save their tires and fuel after two weekends of crashes, and started the feature and pulled in.
“With a couple crashes the last couple of weeks, and the way the track was taking rubber, we elected to just take the green and pull in and re group.”
Justyn and his Van Dyke Motorsports team would like to thank Lucas Oil, K&N Products, JRI Shocks, Rodgers Racing Engines, K1 Safety Gear, JRD Endeavors, Sacramento Theatrical Lighting, and College Cyclery for their support during the 2013 season.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-18, Wins-1, Top 5’s-6, Top 10’s-9
ON TAP: Cox and the Van Dyke Motorsports team will now set their sights on the Marysville Raceway Park Civil War Event this coming Saturday night.
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