I thought I’d start by giving a quick update on what I’ve been up to over the summer along with my race report for WORCS round 6…
I am happy to report that back in June I graduated (one year early) from high school with straight A’s. School has always been challenging for me so this was a huge achievement! For graduation, my parents planned a trip to Washington where I got to attend DirtFish Rally School for 3 days! I had a blast and learned a ton! I also got a job working in the off-road industry for ID Designs. I am working 30 hours a week running CNC machines, making parts, and (hopefully) will have the opportunity to learn to weld. I am loving it! This schedule allows me to continue to keep myself in shape with my daily gym regimen and allows me the time to work on my race car and program.
Now, we’re back at it after a few months off! My team and I headed to Utah on Thursday morning and arrived at the track that evening. We got our pit set up and then headed to the hotel for the night. On Friday, I went back to the track early, checked in at registration and got ready for practice. I ran the short moto practices and the full course unclassified. My car was running good, but we made a few adjustments to compensate for the elevation, and after those changes, my car ran great! I was stoked and ready for my race on Sunday.
On Saturday, I headed back to the track early so I could radio for two of the RZR170 racers. I did some final prep work on my car, went to the driver’s meeting, and then I had some fun jumping from the tower and going down the massive slide into the lake at Three Peaks Oasis where the race was held.
On Sunday, we arrived at the track in the morning. I checked my tire pressure and fueled my car. After one last look, I felt really good and ready for the race that afternoon. There were 13 cars in the PRO Stock class, and when it was time, I went to staging and lined up on row 2. The green flag flew and row 1 took off! I focused and got ready for our flag, then one minute later, our flag flew. I hit the gas down the straight away and was in P2 around the first corner. After a few quick turns through the track, I was able to make a pass moving me to P1 on my row. The course was just over 5 miles long and had more turns than any track I have ever raced. I stayed on it, and by lap two, I had moved into P3 overall on time. I was 20 seconds behind P2 and was determined to catch him. I held P3 through lap 3. During lap 4, my car started giving me trouble. It was bogging and losing power. I lost a position and moved to P4. At one point during lap 5, my car would barely move so I pulled over to see if I could figure out what was going on. I quickly realized that the mechanical failure was not fixable on the course, so I got back in my car to finish the race. I was able to (slowly) complete lap 5 and then lap 6, finally taking the checkered flag in 10th place.
I did a lot of prep work on my car and felt really good going into this race. I did what I could to keep going. Unfortunately, luck has not been on my side this season.
We’ve got my car torn apart and I am prepping for WORCS round 7 at Glen Helen Raceway in a few weeks. I am going to keep giving it my all and want to end the season strong!
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.