By: Fast Time Media
7/28/23… Elma, Washington: Saturday & Sunday Night, John Clark & the CCI Racing Team made a rare appearance to the state of Washington as they were in action at Grays Harbor Raceway. John’s weekend would be highlighted by a 12th place finish on Sunday Night.
John kicked the weekend off with heat race action on Saturday Night. With a two heat race format, John rolled off for their first heat race in the 5th spot. John would fall to 8th & finish the heat race there. In the second heat race, they made a gear change & were able to make it out. John once again rolled off from 5th, but this time finished there as well.
“In the first heat race I started 5th, and fell to 8th as we had the wrong gear in the car and just didn’t have the speed. We got the gear changed in time for the second heat where we again started 5th. On the start I fell to 6th but raced hard and got 5th place back finishing 5th.”
They wouldn’t have enough points to lock into the feature & would have to race through the B-main. John rolled off for the B-main from the 3rd starting spot. Starting 3rd, John was able to keep the position & finish there, making the feature event.
“Unfortunately with falling back in the first heat it was not enough points to make the A and I had to run the B. In the B I started 3rd and finished 3rd transferring to the A.”
After transferring from the B-main, John started the feature from the inside of row ten in the 19th spot. It would be a quick feature event, as it went green to checkered non stop. John would move forward one spot & finish in the 18th spot.
“In the A I started 19th and the race went green to checkered and I ended up finishing 18th.”
Sunday Night would be a much better night for John & the CCI Racing Team. Once again with the two heat race format, John started the first heat in 3rd. This time, John grabbed the lead & went on to win the heat race.
In the second heat race, John rolled off from 5th but battled forward to finish 3rd. That pit John 5th in overall points, one spot short of locking into the dash.
John locked into the feature as they would roll off from the 9th starting spot. Once again, the feature event green to checkered non stop. The driver of the CCI Racing #12J spent the feature battling between 9th & 12th, ultimately coming home in the 12th spot.
“In the A-main I started 9th and it was another green to checkered 30 lap main and I battled hard between 9th and 12th changing positions the entire race. I ended the night 12th.“
Overall, it was a good weekend for John at an unfamiliar track in a rare Washington appearance. They made the trip home this past week & will be in action on Saturday Night in Placerville for the 2023 Mark Forni Classic!
“Overall I had a great time and kept getting faster every time we hit the track. It was a good experience racing at a new track. I look forward to heading to Placerville this weekend for the Forni.”
John would like to thank their sponsors; CCI Electrical, VSR: Vanlare Steering Repair, Buster’s Southern BBQ, Jerry’s Valero, The Welding Shop, Johnny Franklins Mufflers, & Redwood Autobody.
2023 season stats; 19 events, 15 features, 0 wins, 0 top-5's, 4 top-10's
Next Race: 7/29, Placerville Speedway