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– COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 7, 2021) – Tyler Thompson captured his first feature triumph of the season last Saturday during the season opener at Cottage Grove Speedway.
Thompson was efficient every time he hit the track and he won everything but the trophy dash – a race that has no impact on the night’s racing program. It was an especially special performance given the heavy heart Thompson and his team raced with at the dirt oval.
“We made some memorial laps in honor of Eric Rounsaville, a family member and a long-time part of the racing community,” he said. “Eric recently passed away unexpectedly. He was a big supporter of our team and will be missed.”
Thompson set quick time to start the night before he advanced from sixth to fifth place in the trophy dash. A run from fourth to score the win in a heat race gave Thompson an opportunity to draw the feature inversion.
“We started the night on a different set of shocks,” he said. “We ran in Chico earlier in the year. We learned some stuff and changed up our shock program a little. We qualified well. Then we changed gears for the heat race and it got us a little more speed. We worked on the leader for a couple of laps and got around him on the last lap.
“Whoever is quick time after the heat races rolls the feature inversion dice. We rolled the zero so we started on the pole.”
Thompson capitalized on the pole position by leading the distance of the main event.
“They reworked the track right before the feature,” he said. “I was worried the bottom was going to come in. I ran down there the first corner and got to the top. I ran it as hard as I could every single lap. There was a caution on Lap 19 that bunched us up, but we had a couple of lapped cars between us and second place. I didn’t get a very good restart. It looked like the bottom was better, which I think it was if you could hit it right. I just missed it and it cost me a lot of speed. Once we got to the top we got back going. I knew the pace I was setting was pretty good and we pulled away.”
Thompson will take this weekend off before he plans on returning to Cottage Grove Speedway on April 17.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 3 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 1; Dash: 5 (6); Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 1 (1).
UP NEXT –
April 17 at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
MEDIA LINKS –
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tylerthompsonracing/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TylerThompsonRacing/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – J&K Auto Repair
J&K Auto Repair, which was established in Springfield, Ore., in 1986, specializes in automotive repair and maintenance. For more information, visit http://www.JandKAutoRepair.com .
“J&K Auto Repair has really helped us grow and has become more like family to us,” Thompson said. “We’re extremely grateful for their support and we look forward to continued success together.”
Thompson would also like to thank BC Motorsports, Dorman Construction Inc., 3C Custom Commercial Concrete, Ed Glazier with Auto Chlor Systems, Button Plumbing LLC, Bunce Equipment, IBEW Local 280, Northwest Solvents and Supply, Double R Powder Coating, James Gang Pizza and Rocket Designs for their continued support.