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ELMA, Wash. (Sept. 6, 2022) – The busiest weekend of the season yielded great results for Trey Starks, who captured his 12 th triumph of the season and a track title as well as a trio of top 10s during World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action last weekend.
Starks competed for five straight days, kicking off last Thursday with the three-race Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Elma, Wash.
He qualified 15th quickest, advanced from fourth to third in a heat race and gained two spots to finish ninth in the feature on Thursday.
“We had decent speed and raced really good through the heat race after being a little off in qualifying,” he said. “We were able to move our way forward and pick up a couple in the feature. It was a good opening night to build on for the rest of the weekend.”
It was a step better on Friday when Starks timed in fourth quickest overall, placed third in a heat race and maneuvered from 12th to eighth in the A Main. That was tied for his best-ever outing during a World of Outlaws event at Skagit Speedway.
“We qualified really well, but didn’t run well in the heat race and backed it up a couple of spots to take us out of the dash,” he said. “We raced really hard in the feature and picked up a handful of spots. When you’re moving forward at the end of the night, that’s what counts. We just needed to have the car a little better for the heat race.”
The event concluded on Saturday when Starks qualified 18th quickest, finished fifth in a heat race and picked up three positions in the main event to end 15th.
“It was our worst qualifying effort,” he said. “We were struggling the whole World of Outlaws swing to get the car good early in the night. We passed a couple of cars in the feature, but just couldn’t quite get going. At the end I got to a couple of cars I just couldn’t get by. We just didn’t set ourselves up very well.”
On a positive note, by showing up on Saturday Starks secured the 410ci winged sprint car track championship at Skagit Speedway – the first of his career.
Grays Harbor Raceway hosted a 360ci winged sprint car show on Sunday and Starks swept the competition, setting quick time during qualifying, winning a heat race from fourth and capturing the feature victory from the pole position. His 12th victory of the season is the most in a single season.
“The field was solid as far as the qualify of cars so it was good to see a decent field,” he said. “I really like racing in Elma so it was good to see some 360s come out. That was the highlight of the weekend. It started out with a good qualifying effort and we had a really good heat race. We were just really fast all night. We weren’t quite where we wanted to be in the feature. We misjudged the track pretty good. It rained early in the day so the track stayed pretty fast until the feature. It slicked off more than we expected in the main. We missed it on the setup, but luckily I was able to get my wing back and stay out in clean air.”
The weekend wrapped up on Monday with a World of Outlaws show at Grays Harbor Raceway. Starks timed in 14th quickest and ended sixth in a heat race before charging from 17th to ninth in the main event. The result tied a career-best World of Outlaws performance at the track for Starks.
“I hate to keep using the phrase, but we learned a lot about the car,” he said. “Elma is a little bit bigger and has more room than Skagit. It was easier to get a clear picture that our balance with the 410 car isn’t where it needs to be. We were slightly off for where we went out in qualifying. We aren’t way off, but the car wasn’t rolling around the track like we wanted it to. That showed even more in the heat race. We did a pretty big overhaul going into the feature. Going 17th to ninth was really good. It was a race that got off to a slow start, but I was able to maneuver the bottom of the track and pick off cars when I could.
“I want to thank the Wheatley Family for letting me use an engine. It was great to put together some solid runs all weekend with their help.”
Starks plans to take this weekend off before returning to action at Skagit Speedway on Sept. 17.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 1 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 9 (11).
Sept. 2 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (1); Feature: 8 (12).
Sept. 3 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 15 (18).
Sept. 4 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 1 (1).
Sept. 5 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 6 (5); Feature: 9 (17).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 12 wins, 14 top fives, 19 top 10s, 22 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Sept. 17 at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TreyStarksRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Starks55Trey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing?fref=ts