PETERSEN MEDIA- Willie Croft spent his last week in the pacific Northwest representing California at the annual Dirt Cup in Alger, WA. With the Dirt Cup transitioning to a Lucas Oil ASCS National event this season, Croft was the lone participant from the Golden State, and represented well as he finished third during the feature event on Saturday night.
“We had a great car all week long, and the track was awesome,” Willie Croft said. “I really enjoy getting up to the Skagit Speedway, and I am little disappointed to end up third, but it is a nice result in the scheme of things.”
With the Dirt Cup getting started on Thursday night, Croft would line his Holey Smokes BBQ/Brown and Miller/FK Rod Ends backed No. 29 machine up in the second row of his heat race, and with passing points in play on this night, he charged his way to a second place finish.
Waiting to see how the other six heat races went, Croft would find himself in the nightly redraw as the seven pill lined him up in the fourth row of the 25-lap preliminary night feature.
Battling hard in the feature event, Croft would spend much of his night racing with local, Jared Peterson, and ASCS star Aaron Reutzel, as he jockeyed for position within the Top-10. When the night was over, Croft stood his ground and finished in the seventh spot.
Friday night saw Croft pull a low pill for his heat race, and found himself on the pole of the eight-lap race. Getting the jump in his heat, Croft would go on to pick up the win, and earn a spot in the preliminary night feature event where he lined his Hinchman Indy/Schoenfeld/K&N Products backed entry up in the fifth row.
A racy Skagit Speedway saw the Roseville, CA driver work his way forward as he chased after Travis Rilat. In the sixth position, Croft would make a bid for the top-five late in the race, but with points everything on this night, he would settle for the sixth spot.
With two preliminary nights of action out of the way, Croft found himself sitting third in Dirt Cup points, and locked into the second row of the Saturday night feature event.
Jumping into the second spot as the green flag dropped, Croft would chase after early leader, Jason Solwold. Getting into lapped traffic within the first 10-laps of the race, Croft would see Solwold build a comfortable advantage in traffic, as he felt pressure from Seth Bergman, and Reutzel.
With laps clicking off at a torrid place, Croft would eventually clear lapped traffic on a lap 29 restart and pull up to Solwold, just as the red flag flew with six laps remaining in the race.
Follow a red on the 34th lap, Croft would give Solwold all he could handle during the next four laps, but watched the leader slowly pull away as Reutzel was able to sneak around him for the second spot on the 38th lap. Croft would challenge for the second spot over the final two laps, but would end up with a third place finish.
“I will definitely hold my head high with our finish, but I was hoping we would be in traffic a little longer than we were,” Croft added. “Jason (Solwold) and his guys had a great car, and they were really strong so I have to congratulate the team on their win.”
Heading back to California, Croft and his team opted to stop in Yreka, CA to compete in the first leg of Northwest Speedweek. Having a very strong run going in the feature event, Croft would charge his way from the fifth row and challenge for fourth spot, only to see a part failure end his night.
“It was a long week, and I have to thank my guys for coming up and busting their buts,” Croft said. “I certainly would not be able to do this alone, so I am really appreciative for everyone’s support.”
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-28, Wins-0, Top 5’s-6, Top 10’s-13.
ON TAP: Croft will now take a brief hiatus as he will take two weekends off before returning to action on July 25th at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA for the Peter Murphy Classic.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @wcroft29.
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