PETERSEN MEDIA: Fresh off of an impressive couple of nights at Calistoga Speedway, Austin Liggett rejoined USAC/CRA Sprint Week in Merced Speedway on Friday night and picked up his eighth win of the season.
“The track was awesome all night, and my dad had us so good from the start of the night to the end of the night,” Liggett said. “It feels great to get a win after being so close at the ‘Louie’.”
With 20 cars checked in at Merced Speedway for the series’ first ever visit, Liggett used his experience from a couple of Midget starts there earlier in the year to his advantage as he timed the Excel Environmental Services/Liggett Trucking/Tool Technology machine in second fastest in time trials.
Lining up sixth in his heat race, Liggett continued to flex his muscles as the Tracy, CA driver forged his way to finish second as he established himself as a heavy favorite heading into the feature.
Taking the green flag from the fifth starting position, Liggett quickly worked his way into second and flanked Jake Swanson. Taking advantage of a clean track on a restart, Liggett would make a big move to overtake the top spot and from this point he would check out.
Pulling away, Liggett would get through traffic with ease as he would slice and dice his way through the back of the field lapping up to 10th place. In doing this he gave himself quite a buffer as he would have a straightaway advantage over his closest competitor.
Not to be denied on this night, Liggett would go on to win emphatically, as it marked his eighth triumph of the season.
“We had so many options on the track, and it really made for a fun race,” Liggett said. “Again, big thanks to my Dad, my Mom, Landon, and Britton for working so well and giving us a winning car.”
Austin Liggett Racing would like to thank Excel Environmental Services, Liggett Trucking, Tool Technology, Hurst Fabrications, Maxwell Industries, Shine Photography, and Morris Motorsports for their support.
2019 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-26, Wins-8, Top 5’s-17, Top 10’s-21
ON TAP: Liggett is hoping to make Saturday’s Midget race in Ventura, CA.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Austin Liggett on Twitter by following along @AustinLiggett