Inside Line Promotions
PEORIA, Ariz. (Nov. 21, 2013) – Tyler Thomas progressed throughout his debut at the famed Western World Championships last weekend.
Thomas scored a seventh-place result during Saturday’s finale at the 46th edition of the premier Honda USAC National Dirt Midget Series event at Canyon Speedway Park.
“I’m very pleased with the end result on Saturday,” he said. “The qualifying is the biggest thing I struggle with. I know once we get past the qualifying we can race really good. If you don’t qualify well it sets you back for the whole night.”
Thomas opened the three-day event on Thursday by timing in 15th quickest. He then finished where he started – third – in his heat race, which locked him into the main event. However, after starting on the inside of the eighth row and charging into the top 10, Thomas was swept up in a crash near the midpoint of the feature.
“In the feature we got caught up in a wreck running around 10th,” he said. “We just knocked the left rear tire down and didn’t have enough time to replace it.”
Thomas was unable to rejoin the race.
“We struggled in qualifying on Friday also,” he said. “In the heat race we were really fast though.”
After qualifying 17th quickest on Friday, Thomas started on the outside of the front row of his heat race and won to advance to the main event.
“In the A Feature the track started out on the bottom and there were a few guys up top,” he said. “We made a few shock adjustments throughout the race and I committed to the bottom. I started making a lot of ground toward the end. I kinda ran out of laps.”
Thomas was running 15th halfway through the main event before finding a groove in the closing laps to capture an 11th-place result.
“My dad gave me a great car to drive and it was working really good,” he said. “I felt like we had a top-five car. I just ran out of time adjusting on the shocks to find that sweet spot for the way the track was.”
Thomas was 13th in overall points heading into Saturday’s finale. With the top eight being locked into the feature, Thomas started on the outside of the front row of a heat race, which transferred the top-three finishers to the main event.
“From the start the car was on a rail again,” he said. “I pulled away by a half straightaway and won the heat race. That put us starting 10th in the A Feature. The track was mainly on the bottom. It took me about five or 10 laps to find that sweet spot once again. Once I did I drove all the way up to fifth.”
Thomas advanced into the top five near the midpoint of the feature and he went after more.
“I lost two spots at the very end trying to get to fourth place,” he said after finishing seventh. “The car was working good. I just got a little impatient toward the end and it cost me a couple of spots.”
Thomas will return to action next Thursday for the 73rd annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif.
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 14 – Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: DNF (15).
Nov. 15 – Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 11 (17).
Nov. 16 – Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 7 (10).
UP NEXT –
Thursday, Nov. 28, at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif., for the 73rd annual Turkey Night Grand Prix with the Honda USAC National Dirt Midget Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.
Twitter: https://Twitter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – BT Machine Inc.
Located in Tulsa, Okla., BT Machine Inc. has been dedicated to the machining and fabrication of precision components since 1992. For more information, visit http://www.BTMachineInc.com.
“BT Machine is my family’s business and without the support from my parents and the business I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dream of racing,” Thomas said.
Thomas would also like to thank Quick Racing Products, Haynes Equipment, Bell Helmets, Alpinestars, Factor 1 Racing, Triple X Race Co., Keizer Aluminum Wheels and Esslinger Engineering for their continued support.