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STARKS KNOCKED AROUND AT THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (April 18) – At least he got through qualifying without any incidents.

That was about the only time Trey Starks was on Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., without contact on Saturday at the King of the West Sprint Car Series event.

It began in hot laps when a driver spun out in front of Starks. As he tried to dart around the spinning driver, Starks’ right rear tire made contact. It damaged the right rear wheel and bent the rear axel, forcing the team to change the rear end.

The crew was able to patch up Starks’ car just as his spot in qualifying was called. The 15-year-old from Puyallup, Wash., then reeled off the ninth-quickest time of the 32 competitors.

It earned him the outside pole in the first heat race, which advanced the top four finishers to the feature.

“I tried to start up top where the moisture was,” he said. “It was just too far around.”

Starks fell back a couple of positions on the first lap. As he was battling back for a transfer spot in Turn 1 on the second lap, Starks was swept up in his second wreck of the night.

“I was trying to slide back up to the cushion and Jonathan Allard tried to put his car up top because he didn’t know I was going to go back up,” Starks said. “I couldn’t see him and Allard hooked my bumper, and we got stuck into the fence. It was one of those racing deals.”

The impact forced Starks to the pits with a fifth-place finish – one spot out of the transfer – and needing to replace the rear end again. That forced Starks to run the B Main, which he started on the pole and won on a slick track to transfer to the feature.

“It was just an ice rink toward the start,” he said after starting 13th. “Just completely slick everywhere.”

Then, near the midpoint of the feature, a driver spun out in front of Starks. As he got on the brakes to check up, his car spun around. It was his first time of being involved in a caution in the feature, but officials pushed Starks to the infield and said it was his second spin.

The officiating error ended with Starks finishing 20th, which was his ninth top 20 in 13 races this season.

Starks is scheduled to be at the ASCS Southern California Region’s inaugural race Saturday at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. He finished 14th with the ASCS National Tour and was slated to start 12th in the World of Outlaws feature before it was postponed because of rain earlier this season at the track.

QUICK RESULTS –

April 16 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 5 (2); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 20 (13).

SEASON STATS –

13 races, 11 features, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 9 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., with the ASCS Southern California Region

FAVORITE NUMBER –

3: The number of races Starks has competed in at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., this season – all finishing in the top 20.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: www.treystarksracing.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TreyStarks55

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TreyStarksRacing

APPAREL –

Starks has shirts, sweatshirts and beanies for sale. The colors are black and gray for the shirts and hooded sweatshirts. Shirts are $15, sweatshirts are $30 and black beanies are $15. All sizes range from small to XL. For ordering information, visit www.treystarksracing.com.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Blue Dot Fabrications

Blue Dot Fabrications is owned by Trey’s uncle, Dean Starks, who fabricates various types of vehicles, including vintage cars and road race cars. Blue Dot Fabrications even built quarter midgets when Trey began racing.

“Blue Dot Fabrications is another business that has been around my family my entire life,” Trey said. “My uncle, Dean, has always been around ready to fix anything that gets dinged up at the track.”

Starks would like to thank his sponsors, including Starks Timber Processing, Northwest Powder Coating & Sandblasting, Masco Petroleum and SpeedMart for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.

To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.

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