PETERSEN MEDIA: Despite feeling something heading south at the end of Sunday’s race under the hood of his car, Tanner Carrick was able to hang on to finish 11th, and keep his Sprint Car Challenge Tour Championship hopes alive.
“We could have been a little better in qualifying, but the track was kind of sloppy and made it a little tricky,” Tanner Carrick said. “We were pretty good in the feature, but the last handful of laps I felt like something was heading south in a hurry, so I was happy to finish and hang on to an 11th place finish.”
30 cars checked into Marysville Raceway on Sunday night for the annual Mel and Marlyn Hall Memorial event. In what was the first ever visit to the facility for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Carrick got the night underway by timing the CVC/Cemex/Interstate Oil backed No. 83T entry in fourth fastest in a very tough group three.
Lining up in the second row for heat race action, the Lincoln, CA driver would battle with Shane Golobic before picking up a fourth-place finish and transferring directly into the 35-lap finale on a very hot May afternoon in Marysville, CA.
Taking the green flag from the 15th starting position, Carrick would slowly work his way forward on a surface that remained narrow all night long. Methodically working his way forward, Carrick would crack the Top-10 by the race’s halfway point.
Continuing to work his way forward, Carrick would get into the 9th spot by the 20th lap.
Running in ninth, Carrick’s charge would start to falter as he began to nice something going array in his car’s drivetrain. Doing what he could over the final 10-laps to get to the checkered flag, Carrick would lose a few positions, but was able to salvage the night with an 11th place finish.
“That was one of those nights where I was just happy to get us to the finish line,” Carrick said. “We fell back to third in points, but we still gained on the lead, and we are looking forward to seeing how this plays out.”
Tanner Carrick would like to thank CVC, Cemex, Interstate Oil, Conti, Harris and Sloan, Emerald, Timberworks Construction, Kaeding Performance, and Arai for their continued support.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts: 26, Wins: 2, Top 5’s: 12, Top 10’s: 18
ON TAP: Carrick is slated to return to action at Ocean Speedway on Friday night, and Placerville Speedway on Saturday night.
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.