PETERSEN MEDIA- Having immense success in California over the course of the 2018 season as well as at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA, Kyle Hirst looked to make some noise at the 25th Annual Trophy Cup over this past weekend but it would turn out to be a trying week for Hirst and company.
“It was one of those weeks where things just did not go our way,” Hirst said. “We were looking really good on Friday night and it probably would have put us in a great spot for Saturday but a part failure ended our night seven laps from the checkered and it put us in a bit of a hole.”
Drawing late for time trials during Thursday night’s program, Hirst would get all he could out of the Thunderbowl Raceway surface as he timed the Roth Enterprises/HR Livestock Transportation/Roth Investments machine in ninth fastest in time trials.
A very strong heat race saw the Paradise, CA driver put on a nice charge has he worked his way to second, but with the way the format was set up, a higher point earner would emerge and Hirst would be forced into the ‘B’ where he would line up sixth.
Unable to crack to the Top-Four, Hirst would end his opening night with a fifth place finish in the semi, as he looked to better his point total on Friday night and throw Thursday away.
Going out early in time trials on this night with the previous night’s order inverted, Hirst would time in seventh fastest on this night before racing his way to a fourth place finish in his heat race.
Finishing fourth in the semi, Hirst would punch his ticket into the 30-lap feature event where he would line up on the front row alongside Tanner Thorson.
Running second in the opening stages of the race, Hirst would overtake the top spot when Thorson had issues. Looking strong out front, Hirst’s weekend would take a dramatic turn when he would have issues on a lap 20 restart that saw him come to a stop as his promising night would come to a close.
With a bit of work to do on Saturday night, Hirst would find himself in the second row of his heat race. With the track still a little tacky, passing would be a tall task.
Able to finish third in his heat, Hirst would find himself in the 25-lap ‘B’ main where he would line up in the ninth starting spot needing to finish inside the Top-4 to transfer into the 50-lap feature event.
Following a ‘C’ Main that showcased an extremely slick and racy surface, track prep prior to the ‘B’ would change things drastically and make conditions fast. With his car a little on the tight side based on how quick the track had slicked off all weekend, it would make things tough on Hirst though he would still be in the hunt.
Getting into sixth, Hirst would make a move into the fifth spot. As he moved into fifth contact would break his momentum and he would fall back to sixth.
Chasing after Tony Gualda and Tanner Thorson in the final laps, Hirst would be unable to get up into a transfer position and his Trophy Cup would come to an end.
“It was not the weekend we had hoped for, but it definitely was not from lack of effort,” Kyle Hirst said. “We just kind of qualified in no-mans land both nights and then Friday we had some tough luck that really set us back heading into Saturday. Huge thanks to Dennis and Teresa Roth for giving us the opportunity to compete at Trophy Cup, and now we will see if we can’t go claim a couple of championships in two weeks.”
The Roth Motorsports team would like to thank Roth Enterprises, HR Livestock Transportation, Roth Investments, 3H Cattle, FK Rod Ends, Weld Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Kent Performance, Kaeding Performance, and Astro Titanium for their support in 2018.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races: 56, Wins: 12, Top 5’s: 31, Top 10’s: 35.
ON TAP: Hirst will take this weekend off before he return to action on November 3rd in Stockton, CA for the final event of the season featuring both the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and King of the West Series.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Roth Motorsports by checking out their website, www.rothmotorsports83.com, following them on Twitter @RothMotorsports, or liking them on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Roth-Motorsports-461528867251285/. You can keep up with Kyle Hirst by following him on Twitter @KyleHirstRacing.
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