PETERSEN MEDIA- Jace Vander Weerd had another great night with the USAC West Coast 360 Series as he backed up his win at the Keller Auto Speedway a week ago with his first career win at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA.
“I have wanted to get a win so bad at the Thunderbowl, so to do it finally feels really good” Jace Vander Weerd said.
On a night where the Thunderbowl Raceway was extremely fast, Vander Weerd would time the Vander Weerd Construction/Stonegate Development/Battery Worx No. 88 machine in eighth fastest, before finishing fourth during his heat race.
The fast surface wreaked havoc on some of the night’s top qualifiers, and Vander Weerd would ultimately find himself gridding the field from the second row for the 30-lap A Main.
Moving into the second spot on the first lap, the Visalia, CA driver was able to make a low groove pass to take the lead on the second lap, as he started to pull away from the field. With some stout competition chasing after him, Vander Weerd was able to set sail until some untimely late cautions would bunch the field back up.
Able to keep his lead over DJ Johnson, Bud Kaeding, and brother, Richard, Vander Weerd was very strong on the bottom of the speedway. The race’s final restart would see Johnson hang with Vander Weerd. While Vander Weerd had a commanding lead much of the race, Johnson was able to hang with the Vander Weerd as he fought to keep his car on the bottom of the speedway.
On the race’s final lap, JVW would drift up too high in turns three and four giving Johnson the opening he was looking for, and the duo would drag race to the finish line with Vander Weerd winning by .066 of a second in what was a thrilling finish.
Friday night, Vander Weerd returned to action aboard his winged 360ci sprint car. Timing in 13th fastest of the 22 cars entered into the event, Vander Weerd would pick up a fifth place finish during his heat race.
Gridding the field from the seventh row in the feature event, Vander Weerd would work around the slick track racing with Jacob Wilson and Steven Kent. Not quite having the night he was hoping for, JVW would take the checkered flag with a 14th place finish.
“I was happy to get the car back in the trailer in one piece with the Trophy Cup coming up this week,’ Vander Weerd said. “It has been a great couple of weeks for our team, and I cannot thank my family enough for all of their support. We are all really excited for this week, and I am hoping we can run well.”
Jace and his Vander Weerd Racing team would like to thank Vander Weerd Construction, Stonegate Development, Battery Worx, Mid-Valley Pipe, Basic Industries, Factory Kahne Shocks, Steve Watt Enterprises, FK Rod Ends, PXP Racewear and K&N for their support in 2015.
2015 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-35, Wins-2, Top 5’s-5, Top 10’s-21.
ON TAP: Jace and his team will be at the Thunderbowl Raceway this Thursday-Saturday as they take part in the 22nd Annual Trophy Cup.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Vander Weerd Racing by ‘Liking’ them on facebook at www.facebook.com/VanderWeerdRacing.
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