(Photo Courtesy of TC Racing) Jacksonville, Oregon- Tanner Holmes got his 2019 Sprint Car season started on Friday, April 26th, and Saturday, the 27th, at Cottage Grove Speedway. The Jacksonville teenager looked to take on the toughest competition that the 360 Sprint scene in the Pacific Northwest has to offer.
In the opening night Holmes laid down the quickest time in qualifying and was third in his respective heat race. At the end of it all Tanner was the high point man and drew first in the redraw for the trophy dash.
Finishing in fourth place it would line up the #18T entry second row outside in the thirty-lap feature. He would move up one position and when the checkered flag dropped ended the evening in third.
“We went out early in qualifying and getting fast time set us up for a really good night,” commented Holmes, “we had a really long green flag run and I was able to get close to some of the leaders in traffic but a late caution gave the two guys in front of me open race track and I couldn’t quite catch them.”
In the second round of action the following night success would come early. In time trials Tanner managed to get second quick and third in the heat again. In the dash he would draw a pill that started him towards the tail and finished sixth, making him start third row outside in the main.
“The track was trickier the second night, but we were still really good early. We put up a great time that allowed a chance to get in the dash again.”
In the feature Holmes carried a lot of speed in the early laps. Unfortunately, a torque tube bolt shook loose and disconnected the rear end from the driveline. It forced an early exit from the race and a premature ending to a stellar weekend.
“I felt so bad we had troubles with such a fast race car. I felt that we had a really good chance of finishing top ten or top five. But I was thankful that I didn’t collect anyone else, I would have felt absolutely terrible.”
Tanner Holmes will head to Southern Oregon Speedway on Saturday, May 4th. It is the first time they will be at the White City venue in 2019 and his last time out, in 2018, he managed to crack off a win in September. For updates check out “TC Racing” on Facebook, www.tannerholmes.com, or his Vlog at “Tanner Holmes” on YouTube.
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