PETERSEN MEDIA
Putting a rough start to his 2014 season behind him, Willie Croft headed to the Placerville Speedway on Saturday night and scored a fifth place finish.
“We had a rough couple of nights to start the year, and to finally have a night where we avoided issues was nice,” he said. “We were able to try some things, some worked out, and some didn’t, but I think we learned.”
With 30-cars on hand for the tracks season opening event, Croft timed his Holey Smokes BBQ/Christian Stover Foundation/ButlerBuilt entry in fourth fastest, putting him in the second row of the 4th heat race.
Gaining a position at the start of the race, Croft would finish in the third spot, and moved on to the feature event, where he lined up fifth for the 25-lap feature event.
When the race got underway, Croft held his own, as the top-five raced close during much of the night.
Mixing it up with Steven Tiner, Andy Forsberg, and Andy Gregg, Croft searched around the speedway to try and get some separation, but he remained in a tight battle.
As the race continued to click off, traffic became thick, and Croft was careful in slower traffic, as he chased after Gregg and Tiner.
Continuing to hold his own, Croft would end his night with a fifth place finish.
“It was an okay night,” he said. “I think we are slowly getting there, and hopefully we can come out strong on Saturday night with the King of the West Series during our opening event with them.”
Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, The Christian Stover
Foundation, ButlerBuilt , Brown and Miller, FK Rod Ends, Hinchman Indy, Schoenfeld, K&N, Smith Precision Products, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Shark Racing Engines, A.R.T., M.R.O. Industrial Supply, Redline Oil, Kaeding Performance, PaPa’s Beef Jerky, Dan Olson Products, Vortex Wings, AIC Powdercoating, and GUTS for their support in 2014.
2014 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-3, Wins-0, Top 5’s-1, Top 10’s-1.
ON TAP: Croft will return to action on Saturday night at the Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA for the opening event with the King of the West Series.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @wcroft29.