TOLEDO, Ohio – Last Sunday’s USAC Silver Crown Series race at Toledo Speedway was amazing.
Driving for Davey Hamilton Racing, I was making my fourth Silver Crown start and I was looking for the type of finish that the team deserved based on all of their hard work and heartbreak over the season.
Things finally worked out and I delivered them the type of finish they deserved.
I was eighth fastest in practice out of 22 and managed to qualify 10th. I didn’t take full advantage of the grip in my new tires during qualifying. I thought there wouldn’t be as big a difference in grip compared to my 16-lap old practice tires. I was wrong, so I could have qualified much better.
Still, qualifying 10th for the 100-lap Rollie Beale Classic was a pretty good start. I moved up a spot because Taylor Ferns had trouble getting her car started, so I actually got to start ninth instead of 10th.
I had a pretty good start, but I lost one position near the beginning of the race to a driver who was trying to charge his way to the front early. I eventually caught and passed that driver back and also passed a few other cars along the way.
I was constantly pressuring those in front of my while also holding off my teammate, Davey Hamilton Jr., who was behind me trying to get past. Eventually I got up to fifth and was trying to make the pass for fourth when Hamilton took advantage and got by me for fifth.
I ran the rest of the race in sixth, which is where I finished. I got close to passing Hamilton on the final lap after the tires on both of our cars had worn out.
Overall it was a really good experience and I learned a lot, both in terms of racing and driving. I’m stocked to finally finish a Silver Crown race after all the misfortune in the previous races where the car was just as competitive. It feels so good to get one under our belts heading into next year.