The 2012 season may not
have started out the way Kevin Ward Jr. had wanted it to, but mid season surge,
and a break in the action during the heat of the summer has put him back on the
top of his game going into the final few weeks of the season. A strong top 10 finish at Selinsgrove
Speedway last Saturday in the ultra-competitive 360 Sprint Car open event and
then a second place finish in the Empire Super Sprint event at Utica Rome
Speedway last Sunday has Ward and his team excited about their remaining events
of 2012.
At Selinsgrove, Ward won a
qualifying heat race, and started from the front row in their 360 open to kick
off Labor Day Weekend. A solid top 10
effort was the end result on a tough track, racing against some of the best 360
Sprint Car drivers in the nation.
The following day, Ward was
back in familiar territory, making his fourth and final appearance of the
season at Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York. In the three previous starts this season, his best finish was a
ninth place, but with momentum shifting in his favor, he was confident that the
final run would be much more successful.
The night started out with a win in his qualifying heat race, and after
starting 11th in the A-main he was quickly charging towards the
front of the pack. Sitting in third
place with just a few laps remaining, Ward wanted more, and pulled off an
incredible pass to take the second spot with just four laps remaining.
“I am really happy with
that finish. Things have changed for us
lately and we have been running really well.
It is nice that things are finally starting to go our way”, says Ward
Jr. after the race. “I was just going
to stay in third and ride it out and not taking any chances on ruining a good
run, but my mind told me otherwise and it ended up working out for us”.
This coming weekend, Kevin
Ward Jr. and his Westward Painting team will be on the road to Ohsweken
Speedway for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Friday night will the 8th annual Ohsweken Shootout and
the “Night Before the Nationals”.
Saturday night will be the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 35 lap $12000
to win main event.
Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank all of his sponsors for
their support during the 2012 racing season.
They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams,
Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish
Line Web Design.
