PETERSEN MEDIA- Overcoming issues early in the Trophy Cup, Colby Copeland and the Antaya Motorsports team fought hard to finish 16th in Saturday night’s feature event.
“In a weekend where inversions were everything, we just seemed to be one spot short for every race,” Colby Copeland said. “The guys worked really hard all weekend long, and it was nice to come from the B and make the Saturday night feature event.”
The three-day event went green on Thursday night, and Copeland would get off to a nice start, as he timed in 16th fastest during his qualifying flight. Finishing sixth in the heat race, the Roseville, CA driver would be forced into a ‘B’ main event.
Lining up 13th in the semi, Copeland would have his work cut of him to get the Antaya Motorsports entry into the feature event. Having a left rear tire go down early in the 20-lap race, Copeland’s feat would get a little more difficult as he was forced to the back of the pack.
Using the high side of the speedway, Copeland would put on a thrilling display of car control as he charged from the tail end of the field to secure the fourth and final transfer position.
Finding himself scratch on the field for the 30-lap feature event, Copeland would continue his hard charging ways by working the slick Thunderbowl Raceway to a 14th place finish.
Back in action on Friday night, Copeland would again qualify in the middle of his time trial group as he wound up 15th fastest on this night. Racing his way to a heat race win, Copeland would transfer directly into the 30-lap feature event.
Sitting 14th in points, Copeland would just miss out on the pole for the feature event and would find himself in the seventh row for the ‘A’ main.
Following some extensive track work prior to the night’s feature event, track conditions would change drastically and the once slick Thunderbowl Raceway was now extremely wet and narrow as cars headed trackside.
With passing at a premium do to track conditions, Copeland was stuck back in the 14th spot for much of the race. Battling with Bradley Terrell and Steven Tiner, Copeland would end his night with a 14th place finish.
When point totals for all 60 entrants were tallied up, Antaya Motorsports and Colby Copeland sat 19th heading into Saturday night’s Trophy Cup finale. Picking up a sixth place finish in his heat race, Copeland would end up falling back two spots to 21st, and instead of sitting on the pole for the feature event, he lined up sixth in the 25-lap ‘B’ main.
On a track that was extremely wide and racy, Copeland wasted no time moving up into the second spot as he chased after Mason Moore. In an action packed final few laps, Copeland would lose a spot to Bradley Terrell but was able to move into the 50-lap Trophy Cup ‘A’ main.
Tagging the rear of the field, Copeland was able to get a few spots in the early goings of the fast paced event. With the track holding up for much of the race, Copeland was able to work his way up to the 17th spot by the 35th lap when the scheduled caution flew.
Able to get a spot on the restart, Copeland would run in the 16th position when rubber began to go down. Able to hold off Mason Moore and Parker Price-Miller, Copeland would bring a busy three days of action to an end with a 16th place finish.
“If points go our way on a couple of occasions I think we have a completely different weekend, but that is what makes Trophy Cup so exciting,” Copeland added. “This team worked extremely hard all weekend long, and I have to thank them, as well as our sponsors, for their continued support.”
Antaya Motorsports would like to thank Good Guys Rod and Custom Association, Fire Protection Management, Inc., TW Performance, Kaeding Performance, Cardinal Paint and Powder, Tool World, and Shiro’s Collision Center for their support in 2016.
ON TAP: Antaya Motorsports will be in action at Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday night. The team will for sure be in action with the King of the West Series, and are hoping to also compete with the Civil War Series.
STAY CONNECTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow us on Twitter @AntayaTeam20 or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AntayaTeam20/. Also follow along with Good Guys Rod and Custom Association on Twitter @GoodGuys and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/goodguysrodandcustom/.
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