PETERSEN MEDIA- Returning to the seat of the Rudeen Racing no. 26 machine for the 22nd Annual Trophy Cup, Croft and his team were able to turn in another strong performance during the prestigious event as he would end up fifth overall in Trophy Cup points.
“I have to thank everyone involved with Rudeen Racing for giving me this opportunity again, and really giving me a strong car all weekend long,” Croft said.
Rain on Thursday pushed both preliminary night events to a Friday Day/Night doubleheader, and Croft would open the 2015 Trophy Cup up by timing the Rudeen Racing No. 26 machine in fifth fastest.
From the third row of heat race action, Croft would work his way forward and finish in the second spot and transfer into the first 30-lap A Main event of the day. Lining up in the fifth row for the first A Main, Croft would find himself battling with the likes of Jason Meyers for much of the race.
Late in the event, Tyler Walker would start battling with the duo and when the checkered flag flew Croft ended the first feature with a 14th place finish.
Following a break after the first show he action was back underway for the second prelim night, and Croft timed 13th fastest of the 33 drivers in his time trial flight putting him in the second row of his heat race.
Finishing fourth in his heat, the Roseville, CA driver would line up in the 10th spot of the B main, needing to finish in the Top-Four to move into the 30-lap A main. The B would be short lived however, as Croft was involved in a tangle in turn one, and his Friday night would come to an end, though he sat 15th in Trophy Cup points.
Saturday, Croft would line up in the third row of the third heat race and race his way to a third place finish and earn all-important Trophy Cup points. When all the heats were finished, Croft would head into the 50-lap feature event sitting 14th in points, and lining up 11th for the feature.
A slick and racy Thunderbowl Raceway saw Croft get off to a very nice start as he raced his way forward amidst some furious wheel-to-wheel action. Battling with Kyle Hirst and Jonathan Allard, Croft sat in the seventh spot when the red waived on the 20th lap.
Working his way up to the fourth spot, Croft would find himself in a torrid battle with Bud Kaeding for the position, as they raced side by side. Exchanging the position several times, Kaeding would get the best of Croft, as Croft closed his night out with a fifth place finish in both the race and in the points.
“There were parts of the weekend that felt a lot like last year, and I was hoping we could duplicate our performance,” Croft said. “We put ourselves in a good position and I just focused on trying to win the race and see how everything fell into place. We had a good run, and I really want to thank Kevin Rudeen, Shane Anderson, and everyone who made this weekend possible.”
Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, ButlerBuilt , Brown and Miller, FK Rod Ends, Hinchman Indy, Schoenfeld, K&N, Smith Precision Products, Kaeding Performance, Dan Olson Products, Vortex Wings, Amerikote, and GUTS for their support in 2015.
2015 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-50, Wins-0, Top 5’s-8, Top 10’s-15.
ON TAP: Croft will return to action on November 7th at the Stockton Dirt Track for the KWS finale.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @WillieCroft29.
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