I had an awesome double header race weekend at Fox Raceway, racing the SXS Regionals round 3 on Saturday and the DIRT Series round 5 on Sunday. I couldn’t wait to get back in the driver’s seat!
We arrived at the track on Friday night and got our camp and pit set-up. I was pumped to check out the track the next morning because we would be racing on a new SXS track at Fox Raceway! On Saturday morning, I was up early and got ready for practice. I took my XP 1000 out on the new course, and it was a blast! I couldn’t wait for race time. After the SXS Regionals driver’s meeting, I headed to the line because the Open 1000 class was race number one in the line-up for the day. There were 8 cars in my class. As the green flag flew, we took off. I was in 2nd place off the start and hammered down to try to catch 1st. I stayed on the gas, flying down the straight-aways, but the course was tight in a lot of places, and it was tough to make a pass. In the end, I finished moto 1 in 2nd place.
After running through the race line-up, it was my class’s turn to head to the start line for moto 2. The flag flew and we all took off. I was in 2nd place again off the start line, and really gave it everything I had to try to catch 1st place. I drove my car hard and on the last lap, a few mechanical failures took me out of the race. After combining both motos, I placed 4th overall for the day. We were able to get the parts to fix my car on Saturday afternoon, so after some work in the pits, my XP was ready to race again on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, I took my XP out for practice to make sure everything felt good. Then, I headed to the driver’s meeting for the DIRT Series. I would be racing in both the Open 1000 and the Unlimited class, and I was stoked to get back out on the course. The race director decided to run the course the opposite direction on Sunday, and I liked even better than the day before!
The Open 1000 class was race number 6 in the line-up for the day, so when it was my turn, I headed to the start line in my RS1. There were 9 cars lined up and as the flag flew, we took off. I got the hole shot and rounded the first turn heading out on the course! I stayed focused and on the gas for all 6 laps and increased my lead little by little with each lap I ran. In the end, I took the checkers and crossed the finish line in 1st place!
The Unlimited class was race number 9 in the line-up for the day, and my original plan was to run my XP 1000 in that class. Because I had so much fun running my RS1 in the race before, I decided to run it again in the Unlimited class. There were 7 cars in the class, and as the flag flew, we all took off. I got the hole shot again, and ran almost a repeat of the race I had just run. I stayed on the gas, increased my lead with each lap, and crossed the finish line in 1st place! I was pumped!
After going through the race line-up, it was time to head back to the start line for the Open 1000 class, moto 2. This time as we took off, I got a bad start and was stuck in the middle of the pack. I headed out onto the course in the 4th place position. I stayed on the car in front of me and was able to make a pass going into lap 3. I quickly caught 2nd place and tried like crazy to make another pass, but couldn’t get it done in the final laps. I crossed the finish line in 3rd place, and after the results were calculated, I ended up taking home 2nd place overall for the day.
The last race of the day for me was moto 2 in the Unlimited class. It was hot and I was tired, but I was determined to end the weekend on a high note. We lined up and took off! I got the worst start of my whole weekend, and was in the last place position heading into turn one. I focused on the car in front of me and decided that I was going to pick the cars off one-by-one. I stayed on the gas and heading into the second lap, I made a pass moving me up. Then, I focused on the next car. I caught that car and was able to make another pass through a sweeping turn, moving me up in position again. I did the same thing over and over, one-by-one, until I was in the first place spot heading into the last lap. I drove as fast as I could, and then checked flag flew. I had done it! I crossed the finish line in 1st place, taking home the overall 1st place spot for the day in the Unlimited class!
We are getting my cars prepped and ready to go back to the DIRT Series for round 6 in a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to racing at Glen Helen Raceway that weekend!
Thanks so much to all of these amazing companies and people that support my program: Candle Motorsports, Addict Racing Engines, Demon Powersports, Method Race Wheels, GBC Motorsports, Benchmark Performance, Crow Enterprizes, Roll Design, Elka Suspension, Energy Coil Racing, Factory UTV, Ace Motorsports, Baja Designs, Gates G-Force, PRP Seats, Rugged Radios, Maxima Racing Oils, Bikeman Performance, Grounded 4, Tireblocks, Crown Performance Products, Surface Sun Systems, HOK9, Corona Print Shop, Perrault Motorsports, Dirt Rider Designs, UTV Underground, and my parents who make this possible for me! Thanks to Steve for putting on the SXS Regionals and the DIRT Series, and thank you to Lisa at Major Impact Photography & Josh at Try Hard Photo for the awesome pictures! You can check out the Sims188 Racing team on Instagram @csims188 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/csims188/.