PETERSEN MEDIA
With incredibly bad luck hovering over DJ Netto through the 2013 season, he can sit back and smile after a weekend of fifth and eleventh place finishes.
“It has been a crazy year, and to get through a weekend with no major issues is a great feeling,” Netto said. “We were pretty good on Friday until our nose wing collapsed with just a handful of laps to go, and we were moving forward at Placerville on Saturday when we got over the cushion and packed a ton of mud on our front end.”
With 22 cars on hand at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA, Netto timed his Netto Ag/Penny Newman Grain/Bogies Auto Parts machine in fifth fastest, putting him in the second heat.
Lining up third in his heat, Netto would go on to finish in the same position, as he made the inversion for the feature, and started in the fifth spot.
Not getting the start he wanted to when the green waived, Netto slipped back to the ninth spot, before he began clawing his way back towards the top-five.
With laps winding down, Netto began closing in on Steven Tiner, Bud Kaeding, and Andy Forsberg as they all ran wheel to wheel.
Heading down the backstretch, Netto’s nose wing collapsed, and he did what he could to maintain the fifth spot, while dealing with a handful the final few laps.
“We did not get off to a quick start, but when I calmed down, we had a really good car, and were working through the field, then lost a nose wing at the end, and settled for fifth,” Netto said.
Making a return trip to the Placerville Speedway after debuting there earlier this year, Netto was in action against the California Civil War Series.
On what was a very tricky track in time trials, Netto timed in 19th fastest against the 35 cars that were checked in.
“Qualifying at Placerville was nuts,” he said. “The track was super slick, and it had a cushion like nothing I had seen before, so I think we did okay for when we went out.”
A second place finish in his heat race transferred Netto to the feature, but he would roll off in the middle of the back, as he lined up 15th for the 30-lap contest.
In a race that was plagued by cautions, Netto was able to stay strong on the very slick surface, as he worked his way up inside the top-10, around the halfway point of the race.
When avoiding a spun car, Netto went up over the cushion to do so, but when doing so he packed the front of his car with an unusual amount of mud, and his car did not seem to want to turn the last few laps.
Netto would salvage an 11th place finish.
“Placerville was a blast to finally race on,” he said. “We were really good in the feature, but I got over the cushion trying to avoid a wreck, and it was so tall, it packed a crazy amount of mud on the front end, and it was tough to turn the last few laps, but I am pleased with the finish.”
DJ and his Netto Racing team would like to thank Netto Agriculture, Penny Newman Grain, Bogies Auto Parts, and Vande Pol Enterprises for their support in 2013.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-18, Wins-0, Top 5’s-3, Top 10’s-6
ON TAP: DJ and his Netto Motorsports will be back in action this weekend on Friday night at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA before running double duty, winged and non winged, at the Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA on Saturday.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with DJ and his team by following him on twitter @DJNetto88.