PETERSEN MEDIA
Though he led the first handful of laps at the Johnny Key Classic on Saturday night, Kyle Hirst was disappointed as he slipped back to a sixth place finish during the 50-lap feature event.
“My guys threw a bunch of stuff at our car, and it just did not work,” he said. “It was just one of those nights, but I do have to thank everyone for working so hard all night, and hopefully we can grab a win against the World of Outlaws in California.”
Locking into the Key via his win at the Ocean Speedway earlier in the year, Hirst found himself in the second row of the Dash, and he was able to score a second place finish to start alongside DJ Netto on the front row for the 50-lap feature.
When the race went green after a red on the initial start, Hirst got the jump, and began working the bottom of the speedway, as he held a healthy lead over DJ Netto.
On the seventh lap, the red flag flew for Craig Smith, and bunched the field back up, and put Netto back on Hirst’s rear bumper.
Continuing to lead, Netto made a strong move on him on the 11th lap, and he slipped back to the second spot.
Running in the second spot, the field got into lapped traffic on lap 16, and on the 20th lap, KH lost the second position to Tommy Tarlton, as he then had his hands full with Bud Kaeding.
On the 24th lap, the red again flew for Brad Furr, and at this time it was decided to make this the scheduled open red at the halfway point.
Looking to get Hirst better, his Roth Motorsports team made some changes, but they didn’t seem to help the Sacramento driver when the second segment began.
Losing spots to his teammate, Tim Kaeding, and Rico Abreu, Hirst settled into the sixth spot by the 34th lap, where he continued to run, and wound up finishing.
“It was just an off night,” he said. “We were okay early in the race, but as it continued to slick off, I was just spinning my tires down the straight’s, and losing spots. My boys did what they could, it just was not our night.”
Kyle and his Roth Motorsports team would like to thank Roth Enterprises, HR Livestock Transportation, 3H Cattle, Mobil1, FK Rod Ends, Weld Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Kent Performance, Kaeding Performance, and Astro Titanium for their support in 2013.
2013 ROTH MOTORSPORTS BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-38, Wins-4, Top 5’s-18, Top-10’s-27
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-56, Wins-6, Top 5’s-24, Top 10’s-39
ON TAP: Hirst and the Roth Enterprise team will be back in action on Wednesday September 4th in Chico, CA to kick off the Gold Cup Race of Champions!
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected to Kyle by following him on Twitter, @kylehirstracing, or by visiting www.rothmotorsports83.com.