BY: Chris Santos
9/12/22…CHICO CALIFORNIA: THURSDAY NIGHT, JOHN CLARK AND HIS TEAM WOULD MAKE THE TRIP SO SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY IN CHICO CALIFORNIA FOR PRELIMINARY NIGHT 1 OF THE 2022 GOLD CUP RACE OF CHAMPIONS. A STRONG PRELIMINARY NIGHT FIELD WOULD HAVE 29 WINGED 410 SPRINT CARS PACK THE PIT AREA FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF SPRINT CAR RACING.
JOHN WOULD GET HIS NIGHT STARTED OFF IN QUALIFYING WHERE HE WOULD NEED A GOOD LAP TO PUT HIMSELF INTO A GOOD SPOT. UNFORTUNATELY HE WOULD NOT GET THE LAP HE WANTED AS JOHN WOULD END UP 23RD QUICK OUT OF THE 29 WINGED 410 SPRINT CARS. “I STARTED OUT HE NIGHT BY NOT HAVING THE QUALIFYING THAT I WANTED.”
THE HEAT RACE HAD JOHN STARTING ON THE INSIDE OF ROW ONE LEADING THE FIELD TO THE GREEN FLAG. JOHN WOULD FALL BACK IN THE FIELD BUT WAS HOLDING ONTO A TRANSFER SPOT BEFORE SPINNING AND GOING TO THE BACK. HE WOULD RESTART AND BE ABLE TO GET BACK UP TO 6TH WHERE HE WOULD FINISH THE HEAT RACE, AND MISS THE TRANSFER BY ONE.
“IN THE HEAT RACE I STARTED ON THE POLE AND SLOWLY MOVED BACK AND WAS RUNNING IN THE TRANSFER SPOT UNTIL THE CAR CAME AROUND ON ME MAKING ME SPIN. I RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO GET BACK TO 6TH IN THE HEAT BUT THAT PUT ME INTO THE B-MAIN.”
BY FINISHING 6TH IN HIS HEAT, JOHN WOULD MISS THE TRANSFER BY 1 AND FOUND HIMSELF IN THE B-MAIN STARTING 3RD. AFTER STARTING 3RD, JOHN WAS ABLE TO FIND SOME SPEED IN THE B-MAIN. HE WOULD GET HIMSELF UP TO 2ND AND FINISH THE B-MAIN IN THE 2ND SPOT. “IN THE B-MAIN I STARTED 22ND AND FINISHED 2ND.
THE FEATURE WOULD SEE JOHN ROLL OFF FROM OUTSIDE OF ROW 11 IN THE 22ND STARTING POSITION. AFTER STARTING 22ND, JOHN WOULD FALL BACK EARLY, AS HE WOULD STRUGGLE. HOWEVER, JOHN WOULD GET THINGS GOING AND STARTED GETTING IN A RHYTHM. WHEN THE CHECKERED FLAG FELL, JOHN WOULD FINISH IN 18TH GOING PLUS 4 POSITIONS.
“I MADE THE TRANSFER TO THE A-MAIN. IN THE A-MAIN I STARTED 22ND AND STRUGGLED IN THE BEGINNING UNTIL I FOUND MY GROOVE AND MOVED UP TO FINISH 18TH. IT WAS AN OVERALL GOOD NIGHT FOR THE TEAM CONSIDERING IT WAS ONLY THE 4TH TIME RUNNING THE 410 ALL YEAR.”
SATURDAY NIGHT, JOHN WOULD RETURN TO SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY, AND BE IN ACTION LOOKING TO MAKE THE FEATURE OF THE 2022 GOLD CUP RACE OF CHAMPIONS. A VERY STRONG FIELD OF 51 WINGED 410 SPRINT CARS WOULD BE IN ACTION, READY TO ROLL IN ONE OF THE BIGGEST RACES OF THE YEAR AGAINST THE VERY BEST IN THE WORLD.
WITH NO QUALIFYING, JOHN WOULD GET STRAIGHT INTO HIS HEAT RACE WHERE HE WOULD START ON THE INSIDE OF ROW 5 IN THE 9TH STARTING POSITION. AFTER STARTING 9TH, THE TRACK WAS VERY HARD TO PASS ON AND JOHN WOULD FINISH 9TH, WHERE HE STARTED. “IN THE HEAT I WOULD FINISH 9TH AS THERE JUST WASN'T ANY PASSING BUT I WAS ABLE TO STAY UP WITH THE REST OF THE FIELD.”
THE C-MAIN WOULD HAVE JOHN START ON THE INSIDE OF ROW 4 IN THE 7TH POSITION. EARLY ON HE WOULD SHOW GOOD SPEED AND BATTLE FOR 6TH & 7TH. HOWEVER, HE WOULD START TO FADE AND WOULD END UP FINISHING THE C-MAIN IN 9TH. “FINISHING 9TH WOULD PUT ME IN THE C-MAIN WHERE I WOULD START 7TH. I WAS ABLE TO RUN 7TH FOR A WHILE, BUT THE CAR SLOWLY WENT AWAY MAKING ME FALL BACK TO 9TH. OVERALL WE HAD SPEED, BUT THE TRACK WAS FAST AND JUST HARD TO MOVE FORWARD FOR US.”
IT WAS A GOOD WEEKEND FOR JOHN AS HE CONTINUES TO GET SEAT TIME IN THE 410. THINGS DIDN'T GO HOW THEY WANTED BUT HE SHOWED HE HAD THE SPEED TO KEEP UP WITH THE VERY BEST AND ENDED HIS 410 SEASON ON A GOOD NOTE. “THE WEEKEND WAS OVERALL A GOOD EXPERIENCE AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MORE 410 RACING NEXT SEASON.”
JOHN WOULD LIKE TO THANK HIS SPONSORS; CCI ELECTRICAL, VSR: VANLARE STEERING REPAIR, BUSTER’S SOUTHERN BBQ, JERRY’S VALERO, THE WELDING SHOP, JOHNNY FRANKLINS MUFFLERS, AND REDWOOD AUTOBODY.
NEXT RACE: TBA