PETERSEN MEDIA: Sticking close to home and taking part in the 32nd Annual Silver Cup in Chico, CA, Tanner Carrick would continue to have a great start to his 2021 Sprint Car season as he would finish fifth both Friday and Saturday night.
“My redraw skills are rusty,” Tanner Carrick said with a smile. “We had a really fast car again all weekend long, I just was unable do us any favors. Friday night was pretty tough to pass with how fast the track was, and on Saturday I made a costly mistake.”
With 34 cars checked into the pit area in Chico, CA, Carrick timed the CVC/Cemex/Interstate Oil machine with second fastest in time trials before picking up a win in heat race action.
Moving into the redraw, the Lincoln, CA driver pulled five pill, which would line him up in the third row for the feature event during the Silver Cup opener. With the track extremely fast, Carrick would settle into the fifth position where he would run all 25-laps.
Battling with the likes of Andy Forsberg and Willie Croft over the race, Carrick was able keep his machine inside the Top-Five. A late restart saw Carrick make a bid for fourth and even a spot on the podium, but as the field filtered out, Carrick held down the fifth position, where he would ultimately finish.
Saturday night again saw the Lincoln, CA driver get off to a good start as he timed in fifth fastest in qualifying time trials. Lining up on the front row of his heat race, Carrick would again pick up the win which was extremely important as it moved him into the redraw.
Pulling the seven pill on this night, Carrick would find himself back in the fourth row for the 30-lap Silver Cup finale, though the track was a bit more conducive to passing than it was on Friday night.
Getting a good jump, Carrick would quickly work into the Top-Five before taking over the third spot on the race’s third lap.
In third, Carrick would give chase to early leader Joel Myers, Jr, and second running Justin Sanders. Holding down the third position for a majority of the race, Carrick would slip back to fifth with ten-to-go, before making a move to reclaim the third position.
Following a late restart, Carrick would make move up to the second position before a slight bobble on the closing laps saw him cap his weekend off with a fifth-place finish.
“We had a shot at the end of the race on Saturday, I just put myself in the wrong spot a few times,” Carrick said. “Thanks to all of these guys who put fast cars on the track. Looking forward to two nights in Hanford,CA this weekend.”
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: 4, Wins: 0, Top 5’s: 3, Top 10’s: 4
ON TAP: Carrick will be in action at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, CA on Friday and 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.