PETERSEN MEDIA
Though the double header weekend got off to a rough start on Friday night, it nearly ended it perfect fashion for Austin Liggett as he picked up the win in Midget action on Saturday night at Placerville Speedway, and was in position to contend for the Sprint Car win on a late restart.
“Friday night was about as brutal of a night as you could have,” Austin Liggett said. “We blew up our Midget motor, and we got taken out while running third in the Sprint Car. On top that it was in 110-degree heat, and it made for a really tough night.”
On very little sleep, Liggett and his team were busy on Saturday morning installing a backup bullet in the Excel Environmental Services/Liggett Trucking/Tool Technology Midget before making the tow up to Placerville Speedway.
With help from Matt Wood Racing, the finishes touches were competed in the pit area, and Liggett was ready for the night ahead amidst another night of brutal temperatures.
Timing in seventh fastest in Midget time trials, Liggett and team would make some adjustments with the backup engine being a tick off from their primary piece. Finishing fourth in heat race action, the Tracy, CA driver would find himself on the front row of the 30-lap feature event.
On a very hooked up and fast surface when the race went green, Liggett would flex his muscle as he worked around the ¼ mile bullring. Turning in lighting fast laps as the track quickly started to slick off and widen out, Liggett would soon find himself in traffic as Shane Golobic slowly erased the gap.
Getting through traffic with no hiccups at all, Liggett would go on to pick up his third win of the season in dominating fashion.
Sprint Car action saw Liggett get off to a better start as he would time in fifth fastest on this night. The start of his heat race would be a wild one, as cars would tangle in front of him and leave him with nowhere to go.
Enduring damage to his front end, Liggett would be forced to retire from the heat as he made repairs for the feature event.
Lining up ninth on the starting grid, the track would continue to widen out as the laps clicked off and the cushion built up on both ends of the speedway.
Slowly working his way forward, Liggett would find himself well inside the Top-5 in the race’s closing laps as he would battle for a spot on the podium.
The last lap would feature some fireworks that saw the two leaders get themselves into trouble, which would set up a green-white-checkered finish where Liggett would restart in second.
Looking to make a move on the restart, Liggett would charge into turns one and two up on the cushion but he would trip the cushion on exit and it would see him get his machine sideways and bring out the yellow.
Though he was able to restart, Liggett would pick up a couple positions on the next green-white-checkered and garner a 10th place finish.
“I really want to send a huge thank you to my entire team for working so hard in what was an incredibly exhausting weekend,” Liggett added. “With the weather and running two cars on back to back nights really is insane. If it wasn’t for y parents, Matt, Landon, Angela, Alie, and Bret, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it.”
Austin Liggett Racing would like to thank Excel Environmental Services, Liggett Trucking, Tool Technology, Hurst Fabrications, Maxwell Industries, Shine Photography, ZMAX Racing Oil, and Transport Products Unlimited for their support.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races-17, Wins-3, Top 5’s-10, Top 10’s-12
ON TAP: Liggett will return to action on July 24th at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA for another night of USAC West Coast 360 and USAC Western States Midget action.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Austin Liggett on Twitter by following along @AustinLiggett