PETERSEN MEDIA: As the Sprint Car season in California drew to a close over the weekend, Blake Carrick would end it on a high note as he finished third at Antioch Speedway on Saturday night, one night after an 18th place fun at Merced Speedway.
“It was fun to get to a couple of tracks that we really didn’t get a chance to run at all year,” Blake Carrick said. “Friday night we couldn’t get out of our heat and it kind of buried us in the feature, and Saturday night things went pretty well and we landed on the podium with a third place finish.
Running a draw show at Antioch Speedway, Carrick would line up in the fourth starting position of his heat race aboard the CVC/Cemex/Interstate Oil backed No. 38b machine.
Picking up a couple of hard-fought spots in the heat, Carrick’s second place finish would line him up in the second row of the feature event.
Spending much of the feature event battling with the likes of Tim Kaeding and Garet Williamson. Keeping his machine well inside the Top-5, Carrick would ultimately get by Kaeding to secure the final spot on the podium by way of a third-place finish.
Also, in action on Friday night at Merced Speedway for another ‘Open Show’ as the division ran alongside the USAC National Midgets, Carrick would show some speedway at the central California bullring as he timed in fastest in his qualifying group.
Lining up in the second row of his heat race, Carrick would need to finish inside the Top-Four to transfer to the feature event and qualify himself for the redraw based on his time trial effort. In a stout heat race, Carrick would slip back to a fifth-place finish and be forced into the semi.
Picking up a fifth-place finish in the semi, Carrick would successfully transfer into the feature event, though would have his work cut out for himself as he would take the green flag from the 21st starting position.
While the track was in great shape for the 30-lap feature, it would be tough to get going forward from deep in the field on the ¼ mile bullring. Doing all he could from the tail end of the field, Carrick would grab a couple positions as he finished 18th in the feature.
“We had good speed early in the night Friday, but we unfortunately just couldn’t get into the A from our heat, and it killed us,” Carrick said. “I was happy to run third on Saturday, and hopefully we can have a good weekend in AZ.”
Blake Carrick would like to thank CVC, Cemex, Interstate Oil, Conti, Harris and Sloan, Emerald, Timberworks Construction, Kaeding Performance, and Arai for their continued support.
ON TAP: Blake Carrick is set for the Copper Classic at Arizona Speedway on Friday and Saturday night.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-41, Wins-3, Top 5’s-18, Top 10’s-26
STAY CONNECTED: Stay up to speed with Blake Carrick by following him on Twitter @Blake_Carrick21 or @CarrickMotorsp1.
