PETERSEN MEDIA
Heading down to the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA, Willie Croft and his Tri-C Motorsports team took part in the Johnny Key Classic with a handsome $10k on the line for the winner, and though he raced his way into the feature, he had a main event that he would rather forget about.
“We had a good car in time trials, and in our B, and even at the start of the feature, but as the feature wore on we got worse, and worse,” Croft said. “My guys worked their tales off, and through the kitchen sink at it during the break, it just did not make it any better.”
With 34 un qualified cars checked into the pit area, Croft’s night started off well as he timed his Tri-C Machine/JRI Shocks/NAAKE backed entry in second quickest to Rico Abreu, putting him in the second row of his ‘B’ Main.
Jumping into the second spot, Croft chased after leader, Mason Moore, but did not press Moore too hard, as he was safely locked into the 50-lap feature in his position, and he went on to finish in the second spot, and transfer.
Lining up eighth in the feature, Croft got off to a nice start as he found himself in the sixth spot early, but it was short lived.
Though the track was in great racing shape, as it continued to slick off, Croft’s machine didn’t seem to react well to the surface, and the Sacramento, CA pilot began losing spots.
During the halfway point, his team went to work on his car hoping to get him dialed in, but the changes did not seem to help as they would have hoped, and Croft slipped back to a 17th place finish.
“It was frustrating for sure,” he said. “We were really good all night, until the feature, and we just missed it. We have a strong team, and I know we will rebound with some big races coming up.”
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-40, Wins-5, Top 5’s-18, Top 10’s-24.
ON TAP: Willie and his Tri-C Motorsports team will be in action this Saturday night at the Placerville Speedway.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @wcroft29.