Though circumstances took him out of great finishes on paper over the weekend, Tanner Carrick adapted well to the Stockton Dirt Track as the Lincoln, CA made his first visit to the 4/10 mile speed plant to close out the season in Northern California.
“Overall I would definitely say it went pretty well for my first visit there and against a really talented field of cars,” Tanner Carrick said. “We had really good speed both Friday and Saturday night but unfortunately some mechanical issues kind of ruined what we had going.”
Friday night was an unsanctioned 360ci race, and it gave the youngster his first look at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds facility. Timing in third quickest in time trials, Carrick would pick up a third place finish in his heat race aboard the CVC/Cemex/Interstate Oil backed No. 83T machine.
Moving into the Dash, Carrick would continue to flex his muscle as the Clark Riolo prepared Spike was quick in the Dash as he would lead laps until a nose wing issue saw him lose the lead on the final lap and he would finish second to veteran ace, Jason Solwold.
Lining up on the front row of the feature event, Carrick would not flinch as he went toe-to-toe with the former World of Outlaws regular, Jason Solwold as the duo battled hard for the lead.
Giving Solwold all he could handle on the tricky surface, Carrick would look to make a run with just 10-laps left in the race, but something under the hood of us machine would go south and he would make the decision to pull off the racing surface.
Back in action on Saturday night with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Carrick would continue to have speed as he timed in fourth quickest in his time trial group before racing his way to a win in his heat race.
Making his way into the all-important Dash, Carrick would slip back to finish seventh as something felt off in his machine.
Hoping to have the issue rectified for the final 30-lap feature of the year in Nor-Cal, Carrick would take the green flag from the fourth row and still not feel comfortable in his machine.
Making a few laps, Carrick would ultimately pull off and be credited with a 21st place finish.
“It gradually felt worse in the feature and I decided to pull off, and it ended up being a broken bolt in the right front arm,” Carrick said. “It was kind of a bummer to have bad luck both nights, but Clark and the guys really brought a great car out and it was fun to drive.”
Tanner Carrick would like to thank CVC, Cemex, Interstate Oil, Conti, Harris and Sloan, Emerald, Timberworks Construction, Arai, and Spike Chassis for their support.
2018 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts: 28, Wins: 1, Top 5’s: 5, Top 10’s: 12
ON TAP: Carrick will now shift gears and make his way to Texas this weekend as he will compete in the season finale with the POWRi Series aboard a Keith Kunz Motorsports midget.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay up to speed with Tanner Carrick by following him on Twitter @Carrick_Tanner or @CarrickMotorsp1, and by clicking over to www.tannercarrick.com.