Joel Myers Jr Hard Charges at Gold Cup Finale
PETERSEN MEDIA: Though the opening two nights of the 72nd Gold Cup Race of Champions didn’t go to plan for Joel Myers Jr and his team, the Sebastopol, CA driver let it all hang out during Saturday’s finale as he raced into the feature from the ‘B’ Main and worked his way to an 11th place finish and earned the race’s Hard Charger award.
“Thursday and Friday didn’t go in our favor, but I knew we had a good car and was confident we could end our weekend on a high note,” Myers Jr said. “We ran well in our heat race and that put us in a good spot in the ‘B’, and my guys got the car better and better each time we hit the track.”
Failing to make the show on Thursday and Friday, Myers Jr sat 33rd overall in event points, but felt good about where he would start in his Saturday night heat. Going from seventh to fifth in his heat race, Myers Jr narrowly missed out on the transfer to the ‘A’, but the result placed him sixth on the starting grid for the ‘B’.
Getting a great jump when the ‘B’ came to life, Myers Jr was quickly into third aboard the Graham Rahal Performance/Gary Tennyson Motorsports/All About Fire Protection backed No. 46Jr entry. Keeping third as the ‘B’ came to an end, Myers Jr locked into the 40-lap feature event where he took the green flag from the 23rd starting position.
With the start of the race plagued by stoppages, Myers Jr was able to keep his nose clean and bide his time until getting into an extended green flag run. Getting into 15th on the eighth lap, Myers Jr continued to battle as he was into 11th on the 11th lap, and then found himself in 10th on lap 12.
Settling into the 10th spot for a handful of laps, Myers Jr lost the spot on the 23rd lap and he dropped back into 11th. Continuing to work around the ¼ mile bullring, Myers Jr briefly slipped back to 12th as he tried to crack a spot back in the Top-10, but was able to reclaim the 11th position on the 37th lap where he ultimately finished.
With his run, Myers Jr also earned the night’s Hard Charger award.
“I really want to thank my guys for all of their hard work,” Myers Jr said. “Despite the first two nights not going well they still kept working and it paid off. I also want to thank all of the great people who back this team for all they continue to do for me as well.”
Joel Myers Jr and Hayward Motorsports would like to thank Velocity Engineering, Installtec Inc., RPM Chassis, DirtDudes Excavating, FK Rod Ends, Russ Wentcamp, The GR8 Company, All About Fire Protection, Sam Carbis Solutions Group, Brad Alexander Suspension, Jim O’Neal Ford, Blackburn Construction, Al Parker Engines, Nitro Alley Graphics, and Brown and Miller Racing Solutions.
Joel Myers Jr Racing would like to thank Graham Rahal Performance, Gary Tennyson Motorsports, All About Fire Protection, Hi-Plains Building Division, DirtDudes Excavating, Carbon Safety, System 1 Ignition, Weld, FK Rod Ends, Blud Lubricants, Smith Ti, Culvert Ops, Economy Plumbing, Cartronics, NorCal Powersports, Y2K Gaming, Shark Racing Engines, Lucas Oil, Vaider, Walker Performance Filtration, ShopRico.Com, Tiner Hirst Enterprise, Kaeding Performance, Triple X Race Co., and Ogio, for their continued support.
BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-56, Wins-6, Top-5’s-14, Top-10’s-19
ON TAP: Myers Jr will stick close to home this weekend as he will compete at Calistoga Speedway on Saturday and Sunday night.
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with ‘Jr’ by following him on Twitter @joelmyersjr, Instagram @joelmyersjr_, or by ‘Liking’ him on facebook at www.facebook.com/JoelMyersJr.
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