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| September 21, 2012 |
| Driver News: Corey Towles - WKA Manufacturers Cup Series New Castle Report |
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Friday was marred early by very cold temperatures, wind, and persistent rain. With the weekend weather outlook calling for mid 70's and sunny, CTR (Corey Towles Racing), along with virtually everyone else, elected to stay off track for most of the morning. It eventually dried enough that Corey ventured out and posted some decent baseline lap times. The day ended with him ready to run Saturday.
Throughout the day Saturday, he posted increasingly quick times as he and his coach worked through some tweaks in his line. That, coupled with the excellent pit work, enabled Corey to run lap times as quick as the leaders despite him being mid-grid after a challenging qualification. He qualified 13th but was muscled back to 23rd after the first quarter of a lap. By the end of the 8 lap pre-final around the mile-long track, he had recovered to finish at 16th which set him midway back on the grid for the final.
This is the most dangerous and chaotic place to start a race. Corey and five others fell victim to another racer's overly aggressive driving on the FIRST CORNER of the 14 lap final. His axle was bent and the drive line was damaged forcing him off the track before he got to turn two. Despite that, he was the consummate sportsman and handled the disappointment with maturity and dignity.
Sunday dawned with another cold morning. Practice was of limited help as the setup never quite matched the conditions and Corey was then set to run his upcoming qualifier with the previous day's setup. This turned out to be sufficient for him to qualify 16th out of 39. Again, poised for a rough start to the pre-final, he made a great start and managed to work his way to the lead pack of karts. By the time that the 8 lap pre-final was complete, he had set himself up for a starting position outside of row 4.
CTR was very pleased at this front starting position. As was the case the previous day, there was a very chaotic start to the final and Corey ended up being caught up in a melee but, unlike the previous day, he escaped an early departure from the race. He did, however, emerge from the contact with a bent tie-rod. Despite this, he handled the car with great skill and, after dropping as far back as 12th, he pressed back to finish 9th of the 39 starters.
Corey and his team left New Castle very pleased overall with the weekend performance. Now they set their sights on more practice at his home track at 103rd Street in Jacksonville in preparation for the new WKA season opener in December 2012.
Corey's run in New Castle was his first race in TaG Senior and placed him in direct competition with some of the best drivers in the country. Equipped with a Kosmic kart as well as a P1 engine, he drove strong races all weekend. Corey would like to thank P1 for technical support and information throughout the weekend. |
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