WORCS round 3 took us back to Lake Havasu City in Arizona. The track is known for being rough and tough, but I was ready for the challenge! My team and I headed out before the sun came up on Friday morning. We arrived in enough time to unload, check in at registration, and get suited up for unclassified practice. I was able to run 4 practice laps and get a good feel for the track. After practice, I went back to my pit and made a few adjustments to my car to get ready for my race on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, I was up and ready to go to radio for one of the RZR170 racers I coach. He ran an awesome race and crossed the finish line in 2nd place in the SXS Y 250 STK 9-12 class! Then, I went back to my pit to get ready for the driver’s meeting. I went to the driver’s meeting and then radioed for another RZR170 racer in the SXS Y 250 PROD class. He also ran a great race and finished in 2nd place! After that race, I headed back to my pit to get ready for my race that afternoon.
The SXS Pro Stock class was the last race of the day, and when it was time, 13 cars went to the line. I was in the second row to start. The green flag flew and row one took off! There was one minute between starts, and as the flagger pointed down the row, I got ready. The flag flew and my row took off! I was in P3 off of the line and stayed on the gas chasing down the car in front of me. I stayed on it, and tried numerous times to make a pass in the first lap, but the track was tight and there wasn’t much opportunity. After coming through the timing chute and heading out for lap two, I was able to make a pass in a corner and took off to chase down the next car. After completing lap 2, I had moved into P2 on corrected time. I kept going and ran in P2 during laps 3 & 4. During lap 5, I had some trouble and was stuck behind a car that I could not get around. I eventually found a place to pass and stayed on the gas. I worked my way back into P2 during laps 6, 7, and 8. Then, I lost my 4-wheel drive. I was determined and continued to drive as hard and as fast as I could. I lost a position during lap 8 moving me to P3 and then lost another position moving me to P4 during lap 9. I was able to hold P4 for laps 10 & 11, and crossed the finish line in 4th place. I was bummed that I lost a podium spot by just one position, but happy I crossed the finish line.
We’re prepping the car for round 4 in Taft, CA in a few weeks. I can’t wait to get back in the driver’s seat!
Thanks so much to all of these amazing companies and people that support my program: Polaris RZR, GBC Motorsports, Benchmark Performance, Candle Motorsports, Method Race Wheels, Crow Enterprizes, Elka Suspension, Super ATV, Roll Design, Energy Coil Racing, Factory UTV, Baja Designs, PRP Seats, Rugged Radios, Maxima Racing Oils, Tireblocks, JAMAR Performance, Race Team Sites, Crown Performance Products, Got Sand Performance, Oceanside Driveline, HOK9, Vision Canopy, Perrault Motorsports, Dirt Rider Designs, and my parents who make this possible for me! Thanks to WORCS for putting on the series and Harlen Foley for the awesome pictures! You can check out the Sims188 Racing team on Instagram @csims188, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/csims188/, or on my website at www.sims188racing.com.