Inside Line Promotions - LEBANON, Ore. (Aug. 20, 2013) - What started out as a great opportunity to pick up his first ASCS Northwest Region victory of the season ended upside down on Saturday at Willamette Speedway for Henry Van Dam.
With a unique format that included qualifying, Van Dam timed in quickest and started sixth in his heat race following the inversion.
"I qualified with a pretty good time," he said. "It ended up being a new track record. That was good for us because we're not normally a good qualifier."
Van Dam lost a couple of spots early in his heat race, but rebounded to finish fourth. That gave him the sixth-most points and a trip to the feature redraw, which lined up the first four rows of the feature. Van Dam pulled the No. 2 to start on the outside of the front row for the 30-lap feature.
"I got a good start and held the lead until midway through the point where I got caught up in an incident that ended our night," he said. "We stayed up high from the start. I felt like the top had to slow down a bit more before I'd go to another groove. I was minding my own business around the top. I hadn't seen anyone get under me on the bottom."
However, another driver made contact with Van Dam near the flag stand on Lap 15. The impact sent Van Dam flipping down the rest of the straightaway and into turn one.
"I was wide open when I started flipping," he said after being credited with a 15th-place finish. "The car was bent up a little bit, but not terrible. It got the wings, hood, front axle, tail tank, rear end, wheels. But we should have it together to race this weekend."
Van Dam is scheduled to compete with the ASCS Northwest Region at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., on Friday and at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks, Ore., on Saturday.
QUICK RESULTS -
Aug. 17 - Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. - Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 15 (2).
SEASON STATS -
32 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 19 top 10s, 27 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Friday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., and Saturday at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks, Ore., with the ASCS Northwest Region
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com
VIDEO -
Here is a link thanks to ARRacing Videos to Van Dam's victory at Grays Harbor Raceway on June 15: http://youtu.be/sFPjfxd5Vgs
APPAREL -
Van Dam has t-shirts and sweatshirts available at his racing trailer at every race he competes in.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Enumclaw Xpress Lube
Located in Enumclaw, Wash., Enumclaw Xpress Lube offers a full range of vehicle oil and fluid services. It can also service air filter and wiper blades.
"Enumclaw Xpress Lube was my very first sponsor and have been with us ever since," Van Dam said. "They've been there for the good years and the bad years and have provided ample support."
Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, Bob and Joan Shumway, Kellan and Kelsey Hall, Foothills Auto Supply, American Powder Coating, Pete Vos, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, Char's Barber Shop, Wesmar Race Engines, Factory Kahne, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, SpeedMart, Van Dam Farms and Rich Van Dam Dairy for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS -
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors' return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
Article Credit: Shawn Miller