Desoto SupeSpeedway October, 13th, 2012
Oct. 09, 2012 - #7 Florida United Pro Truck Race on October 13, 2012
It was a windy but warm day when the crew got to the track. After the truck was unloaded and ready to hit the track, the Blackwater crew sat back to see how it was going to do. There were some issues to take care of, which once the guys got them taken care of, Dylan got a little faster each practice session. Chad Pierce the crew chief said, “Dylan seemed comfortable right out of the trailer. We just were not as fast as we wanted to be. The Blackwater crew worked hard on finding speed for Dylan changing the carburetor, engine timing, air pressure with little to show for it.”
At 6:15 pm the trucks took to the track to get lined up for qualifying. Dylan was lined up 5th to take the green. Chad feared we would end up like 16th or worse. He said, “Qualifying was all up to Dylan. We didn’t have the truck we wanted to… no fault of Dylan’s. There is no worse feeling as crew chief, as to know you don’t have a top 10 truck and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Dylan ended up qualifying 11th out of 21 trucks. Chad was thrilled, “that was all Dylan”!
Dylan was anxious to get ready for the green flag. But one of his favorite things to do at the track besides…go fast, is to meet the fans. So the Pro Trucks pulled up on the front straightaway. Dylan signed some hats and gave away some autographed pictures. He even got a few good luck hugs. Okay, now it was time to strap in and get ready. At 8:45pm, Dylan took the green. Chad was not worried about how fast the truck was, just how long it would last. Desoto is always a rough race, he just wanted to see Dylan make it past halfway without tearing up the truck or using it up.
84x jumped to the lead right off the bat. By lap 9, Dylan was running a strong 10th. On the next lap, a truck spun and Dylan went to go high around it. Unfortunately, so did the #26. Dylan got some right front damage out of it but not enough to put him in the pits. By lap 20, after two more cautions, Dylan was running 8th. He battled with #16 a couple laps, but the truck pushed up and was able to get under him. Lap 28 another caution, Dylan restarts 9th. The #13 truck jumps the restart and double file restart again. Within two laps, Dylan is running hard and in 8th. Lap 33, he is tucked up under the #8x rear bumper and has a great restart. Dylan is driving the wheels off his truck. They can’t pull away from him. Then you hear the crew chief say, “Outside Outside Outside Clear…Oh crap are you ok?” not what you want to hear over the radio. Dylan was trying to make a move and his right rear bumper hooked on the left front of another truck. Chad commented, “ they stayed hooked until just before the wall, then they broke loose. Dylan tried to save it but couldn’t.” After making contact with the outside wall, Dylan slid down the track and was tagged in the left rear of the truck and ended our night. Lap 34, the #8 truck jumped the restart with only 15 trucks still on the track. Two laps later another spin caused by the #8 truck. Lap 36, #2x Gerald Campbell takes the green followed by #13. The trucks run hard with only one more caution before the checker flags drops. #13 truck driven by JR Garcia takes the win with #26 Jessica Murphy (who was later DQ for compression) and #2x, #8x and #8 to finish out the top 5.
Chad was impressed with Dylan as he said, ”Unlike most young athletes instead of throwing a temper tantrum after the race, he was all smiles as he got out of the truck, took photos for facebook and helped us get loaded up.” Dylan was disappointed but he acted like a professional. He’s got his mind set on Showtime in 2 weeks. Dylan’s official finish was 15th.
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