PETERSEN MEDIA: Making the trip South to Merced, CA on Saturday night for round two of Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Blake Carrick battled his way through the ‘B’ and successfully transferred into the feature event amidst a robust 52-car field.
“The track was really slick and starting to take rubber in time trials, and we didn’t get a good lap in,” Blake Carrick said. “We picked up a couple of spots in our heat, but with the track the way it was, once we got going passing was pretty tough.”
Timing the CVC/Cemex/Interstate Oil backed No. 38B machine in eighth fastest in his qualifying group, Carrick would find himself in the fourth row of his heat race on a track that was already extremely slick and taking rubber is spots.
Getting a good start in his heat, Carrick would pick up a couple of vital positions as he was able to race his way into fifth, which didn’t transfer him into the feature, but it did put him in the ‘B’ opposed to one of the twin ‘C’s’.
Lining up second in the ‘B’, Carrick would need to finish inside the Top-4 to keep his night alive, and he would do just that. Slipping back to fourth as the race came to life, Carrick would run hard as he was under siege for the final transfer position for all 15-laps.
Finishing fourth, Carrick would earn the final spot in the 35-lap feature event where he would take the green flag from the 24th starting position.
Just prior to the feature event taking the green, a complete track re-work took place and made the surface extremely fast for the opening laps.
On the lightning quick surface, the leaders would reach the back of the field in just five laps, and once he lost a lap to the lead pack, Carrick made the decision to pull into the infield and call it a night.
“Once we got lapped there was no point to really stay out there and abuse more tires,” Blake Carrick said. “It was a long night, so I really have to thank the guys for their hard work and staying up on the conditions all night.”
Blake Carrick would like to thank CVC, Cemex, Interstate Oil, Conti, Harris and Sloan, Emerald, Timberworks Construction, Eddie’s Lincoln Automotive, Kaeding Performance, and Arai for their continued support.
ON TAP: Blake Carrick return to action on Friday and Saturday night as he will head to Chico, CA.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-9, Wins-0, Top 5’s-3, Top 10’s-5
STAY CONNECTED: Stay up to speed with Blake Carrick by following him on Twitter @Blake_Carrick21 or @CarrickMotorsp1.
