8/31/2010
Derrik Ortega
2006 Tulsa Shootout
My last run at the Tulsa Shootout was a decent one, our ’06 PMP Chassis was well prepared and I was ready for a good run.
The competition at the Tulsa Shootout is definitely one of the toughest crowds I have ever raced against. Walking through the building you see the best mini sprint drivers from coast to coast. The California Hot Shoes, the best from the Sooner area, Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana, the best of the best, and more. Drivers like Darren Stewart, Danny Lasoski, T-Mac Terry McCarl, and Gary Taylor often climb aboard Mini Sprints for this race that is all for prestige.
Late in 2006 we bought 2 sprint cars, but kept our mini sprint until the Tulsa Shootout, to give that race one more try. My first attempt at the shootout was in ’04, in the Restricted A class. I made the main and ran 16th. That was the hope going into ’06, an A main start in Multi.
A decent pill draw and a lot of luck is about all it takes to get into the A-main. I had a good pill draw putting me in the 6th starting spot for the heat race. Only advancing one position put me on the outside looking in for the qualifying events. I ended up starting 7th in one of the twin C-mains. A 5th place finish behind Scott Sawyer was one spot shy of transferring to the B-main.
The car was in one piece, and already sold to the Capello Family in Arizona, so we left the Shootout again disappointed but also excited for the next adventure to begin in March, finally getting behind the wheel of a 360ci sprint car.
