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HMS Update - Copper Classic

The first night of the Copper Classic wrapped up last night here in the desert at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona. It was the first night of the 2012 ASCS National Tour this year, bringing some of the best drivers in the country to compete including Johnny Herrera, Tony Bruce Jr., Jason Johnson, Brady Bacon, Wayne Johnson, and other ASCS competitors as well as Tony Stewart, Danny Lasoski, and many others. I started off the night pulling pill 71 which set me to start last in the last heat race (7th in the 5th heat). The track was heavy and fast for hot laps and the early heats, but the top groove started getting a little slick in our heat. After a car dropped out I moved up to the 6th starting place but couldn't go anywhere. The car felt a bit loose and I was still trying to get back in the swing of things after being outside of a sprint car for over 3 months. That put us starting 5th in the B main but after other cars didn't make the call, we were moved into the 3rd starting spot. On the initial start I got tangled up with another car and was lucky not to turn the car over, but ultimately I got turned around and had to go to the tail. On the start I was able to get the power to the ground off turn 2 to pass 2 cars down the back chute on the first lap. I then started making time on the next car and in a few laps I got by him to move 1 spot out of the transfer. With 2 to go I got to within a car length and was able to get by off of turn 2 again. I would end up finishing 3rd and we were moving on to the main event. I would start 22nd, and by now the track had gone pretty slick with a fairly decent bottom groove on both ends. On the initial start, I struggled to go anywhere but started picking off cars one by one as we got rolling. The car was working well and got better as I got heat in the right rear to hook up to the track. I moved into 17th before a caution with 7 laps to go. On the restart I got by Tony Stewart for 16th before a red flag came out and I had to surrender the spot. In the final 7 laps after the red, I made my way to 15th at one point but lost a spot near the end trying to be a bit too aggressive and sliding out of the groove. We would ultimately finish 16th, and I was fairly happy with the effort but, of course, we always look to improve and I think we got a good chance to do so tonight. Catch the Copper Classic live tonight on RacinBoys.com or you can like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for results.

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