By: Chris Santos
9/21/22…. Cottage Grove Oregon: Friday Night Tyler Driever would make the trip to Cottage Grove Speedway to end the Western Sprint Tour season. A solid field of 13 Winged 360 Sprint Cars would be in attendance for Night 1 of a double header weekend in Oregon.
Tyler would start his night off in qualifying where he would need a good lap to put himself in a good spot for the rest of the night. He would do just that as he would end up 2nd quick overall in qualifying. “On Friday Night I qualified 2nd quick overall.”
He would then start on the outside of row 3 in his heat race in 6th with a 6 car invert. Starting 6th he would move forward one spot and finish in the 3rd position putting himself in a great spot for the feature event. “In the heat race I started p6 and finished p5.”
When the feature event came around he was scheduled to roll off from the 3rd position inside of row 2. However a loose fuel line would cause him to have to come back in to fix it. Sending him to the back for the start. Tyler would battle his way back through the field to a solid p7 finish.
“Made the redraw and was set to start P3 in the Main. Before the Main started I had to pull off the track because a fuel line was not on tight and fuel was leaking on to my feet. Lost my place and had to start dead last. Wasnt very happy to say the least. Finished P7. Not the night I had hoped for.”
Saturday Night Tyler would return to Cottage Grove Speedway. He would be looking for a much better finish than he got on Friday Night. Another good field of 12 Winged 360 Sprint Cars would be in the pit area ready to roll for the finale of the Western Sprint Tour season.
Tyler would roll out for qualifying as he would try to replicate his Friday Night qualifying efforts. He would do just that as he would end up going 2nd quickest overall again for the second straight night in a row. “On Saturday Night I qualified 2nd overall again.”
His heat race would again see him roll off from the outside of row 3 in 6th courtesy of the invert. This time Tyler would find a little more success as he would be able to find his way from 6th to 3rd where he would finish his heat race. “Heat race I started p6 again again and finished p3.”
Finishing 3rd in the heat race, he would make the redraw where he would pull the 1 and start on the pole. He would be in a position to win however bad luck would strike again as he would struggle all feature. Tyler would fall back to 5th where he would finish & improve from Friday Night at Cottage Grove Speedway.
“Made the redraw. Pulled the 1 pill. I struggled pretty bad in the main event I don’t think I’ve struggled that bad at cottage grove. I fell back to 5th. Better than the previous night but definitely not the night I was hoping for.”
Overall it was a solid weekend for Tyler and his team in what could be their last race of the season. Despite some bad luck & struggling in the Saturday feature, Tyler would bring home a 7th place finish on Friday & a 5th place finish on Saturday.
Tyler would like to thank his sponsors; Maxima Racing Oils, Commercial Tire, Fokus Graphics, Allegiant Powder Coating, Larson-Miller Medical Waste Disposal, King Racing Products, K1 Race Gear, Idaho Famous Potatoes, Shark Racing Engines, and Hepfner Racing Products.
Next Race: TBA