(Image Credit: Pat Grant)
EL PASO, Texas (October 18, 2016) John Carney II entered the 43rd Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals looking for a rebound; and a rebound is exactly what he got as the driver of the Lubbock Wrecker Service/Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 11x bettered his Friday show to Saturday gold and his first victory against the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“It’s great to finally get the win with a ASCS National Tour. I’ve been close a few times, but it’s just nice to finally have that win,” said Carney who was able to lock into Saturday’s championship feature event via his third place finish on Friday night.
“Friday, we survived the Heat and Qualifier. Not perfectly, but pretty smooth and that put us starting 10th for the feature. I never looked at the lineup ahead of me until I got out there and realized it was a bunch of guys that had won at Devil’s Bowl, so I figured a top five would be pretty spectacular to pull off but I actually got the fifth pretty quick and felt really confident on getting a podium. It pretty much took the rest of the race to get there but I was able to capitalize on the late race restart. With modern day bleeders and track conditions, my car was getting better and I knew everyone else was going to get tight; but that was critical, if not the most important part to getting locked in for Saturday.”
Drawing the pole for Saturday’s feature event, Carney felt confident in the car during the lock-in Hot Laps, making only a few small changes before pushing off. Called back on the initial start due to a crash, Carney initial high side entry switched to the hub. Setting the pace of the race, the focus was driving smarter, not harder.
“Starting on the pole was critical, but even more so was finishing the race so I just felt that since I was leading, and with the nature of the race, plus having someone like Sammy behind me, I knew two things. First, I needed to set the pace of the race, and I knew if I did that, I controlled the outcome more so than him. Second, I didn’t want to run up into lapped traffic and get myself in a bind in dirty air because apparently, his car was good right behind me which is pretty unusual for a Winged Sprint Car. I had a good car, and could have gone faster and maybe convinced some of my critics that my car was quicker than it looked, but there was no reason to put myself in a position to lose either.”
Reaching win No. 12 on the season, John tried to make it to 13 shortly after. Pulling double duty on Saturday in IMCA 305cid competition, Carney piloted the Coyote Candle Co. No. 74b. Battling early for the lead, John’s next win would have to wait.
“I started sixth in 305cid feature and I went to the top on the first lap and got to second. I could see that the leader pulled me just a little a few laps in, so I moved down to latch on the rubber since the track had cleaned off and nearly had him passed, but couldn’t quite turn the car and he slipped back by me. We had a restart, and I took a chance on him being too tight, and tried the top again, but it actually cost me four position, and the next lap when I tried to get back in line, I got crowded and spun backwards.”
Relegated to the tail of the field, Carney was back to seventh before getting his left rear tire cut down on a restart as the field nearly wadded up when a car toward the front didn’t take off. The downed tire sent Carney pit side for the night. Despite the DNF, attrition put Carney finishing 10th.
“I would have liked to get the sweep on Saturday, but I just have to thank everyone who helps these teams and gets us down the road. I work with great people, and can’t thank them enough for giving me such great equipment.”
Next on the lineup, the No. 11x team will venture back into Kansas to take on the NCRA at the Salina Speedway on Saturday, October 22. For continued updates on John Carney II, fans can follow along on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=570728686284547&fref=ts.
Season So Far:
Events: 51; Wins: 12; Top 5: 26; Top 10: 31; Top 15: 37; Top 20: 43
Up Next:
10/22/2016 – Salina Speedway (Salina, Kan.): NCRA
2016 Results:
John Carney Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnCarneyRacing/?fref=ts
Sprint Source: http://www.sprintsource.com/profile/?r=1329&rt=driver
Sponsors:
Lubbock Wrecker Service, Steward Builders, Triple X Chassis, J.C. Farm and Ranch, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Challenger Drilling, Rider Graphics, Safe-T-Stepper, MSD Ignition, Top Row Rowdies, Momentum Suspension Systems, Brahman Operating, SpeedMart, Eagle Motorsports, Al Parker Racing Engines.
