(Image Credit: Ben Thrasher)
Bryan Hulbert – PEORIA, Ariz. (March 2, 2020) Showing tremendous speed during Thursday’s practice at Canyon Speedway Park, small issues hit hard for Blake Hahn’s the rest of the opening weekend with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
“We started off both nights really fast and I was pumped. The car was solid, and we could pretty much drive around anyone, but we just had silly things hit us,” commented Hahn.
Winning his Heat Race on Friday night, Hahn moved forward quickly in his Qualifier until the engine suddenly started losing power. Salvaging an eighth-place finish, the team was relegated to a B-Feature.
“This is part of that dumb luck. It felt like we had an ignition issue, so we traded the Mag and Box and it still wouldn’t run. We did a few more checks and went to restart and I just happened to catch a feel of the main filter that sits next to the seat and the main fuel valve was turned. Once we looked at it, we could see where a rock had hit the handle.”
With the problem rectified, Hahn raced through the B-Feature and climbed to an 11th place finish in the A-Feature.
“I’m not happy with the result, just because I know we had a car capable of winning, but I’m not angry because it could have been a lot worse. With the track narrowing up the way it did, being able to move from 20th to 11th was a pretty good run.”
Starting off Saturday with good speed, Hahn progressed through his Heats and Qualifier to earn the ninth starting spot in the A-Feature, but upon firing the car, Hahn had to pull into the work area as the car would not run. Finding a fuel issue on the No. 52, Hahn gridded the field 23rd and again fought his way to an 11th place finish before the track narrowed to a single groove.
“It was a quick fix, but one that again made for a frustrating night. Even with that, we had great speed and I feel like we worked out the little bugs and issues that hit us so we can be fast in California this weekend.”
Three new tracks for Blake Hahn, first on the weekend triple-header is Merced Speedway on Friday, March 6, followed by Placerville Speedway on Saturday, March 7, and finally Petaluma Speedway on Sunday, March 8.
The 2020 season is Blake Hahn’s 18th year of racing. Starting in Jr. Sprints at the Tulsa Shootout, Hahn has progressed through the ranks with over 90 victories across Micros, Midgets, and Sprint Cars. For continued updates on Blake Hahn Racing, log onto http://www.blakehahnracing.com.
2020 Season to Date:
Events: 8; Wins -0; Top 5 - 2; Top 10 – 3;
Coming Up:
March 6, 2020 – Merced Speedway (Merced, Cali.) with Lucas Oil ASCS
March 7, 2020 – Placerville Speedway (Placerville, Cali.) with Lucas Oil ASCS
March 8, 2020 – Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, Cali.) with Lucas Oil ASCS
How To Follow Blake Hahn Online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blake-Hahn-Racing-139549836107030/?fref=ts
Website: http://www.blakehahnracing.com
Instagram: BHAHN52
The Sponsors:
OILFIRE Rye Whiskey, DriveWFX.com, Lucas Oil Products, CSR Garage, Sage Fruit, Co., Speedway Vending, Semi Crazy Truck Wash, JR1, Triple X Race Co., Engler, Smiley’s Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Southwest, Penske Shocks, Maxwell Industries, Best Graphics, Schoenfeld, Rod End Supply, and EFH.