Busy Weekend ends with a win for Dylan
Dylan drowns out the voice of uncertainty with the sounds of the roaring horsepower and the cheering fans. Dylan reaches down one last time and yanks down on his safety straps, takes a deep breath and focuses on staying tucked up under the rear bumper of the #59 as the pace truck dives into the infield. The green flag waves and the Pro Trucks are off. Dylan’s #7 Blackwater Ford Raptor is starting 6th (where he qualified out of 16 trucks). He runs side by side, driving hard in the second groove for 4 laps before he falls in behind 6th place. It doesn’t take but another lap for Dylan to pass the #4 truck on the inside to take 6th spot. The field runs single file for awhile now.
Lap 15, Dylan’s truck seems to be getting a little better every lap. He gets a great run off of turn 2 and is able to dive to the inside of #26 going into turn 3. On the straightaway, Dylan has secured 5th place. It is very obvious that Dylan is running his truck just as hard as it will go… as you hear the sound of the Rev Limiter chip go off, lap after lap. This is a sweet sound to the crew chief.
First caution of the night on lap 24, it came out for the #26, who stopped on the back stretch. Dylan will be lining up 4th for the restart. Well the field attempts to go green but before they can make a lap, the caution flag flies again. They restart again, and Dylan’s truck pushes up in turn 1 & 2, and the #84 gets under him. Lap 25, the yellow flag is waving again. Dylan finds his Blackwater Ford back in 6th spot.
The determination and drive in Dylan shows through, as he isn’t in the position long. By the end of that lap he has got into to the inside line in 4th spot. Just 2 laps later he is able to take the #84 on the inside for 3rd. But just a few laps later, lap 29 the caution is out. Dylan just barely misses the wreck coming out of turn 2. He restarts in 3rd and gets a great run into turn 1. The leader pushes up and Dylan gets the lead. But as they say, cautions breed cautions, and another one flies. It is a complete restart. On lap 31, the #16 gets loose coming out of turn 2 and Dylan takes the lead! His truck is on a rail now. Lap after lap, he checks out!
When the next caution comes out, Dylan had 5 truck lengths on the second place truck of #84. At this point there is no stopping him, he carries the momentum with him lap after lap. His lead continues to grow as you hear that chip just chatter away. Dylan, at this point, is running qualifying timed laps. Let’s just say, “his truck is hooked up”! Lap 42, caution flag for the #9 but they don’t get another lap in before another one comes out for #16. Well, you guessed it, another caution before we make a lap, for the #9 and #65 trucks. This flag actually turns into a red flag. It takes awhile for the safety crew to clean up and get the carnage off the track.
Well, it took a couple tries but the truck race goes back green. Dylan takes a strong lead. Once again, he is putting down some quick laps. Chad Pierce, the crew chief, tells him to take it easy and save the tires. But you hear that Rev Limiter chip fire off every lap. The fire that burns within Dylan continues to make him drive even harder. The crowd is on their feet, people are screaming, the crew is jumping around…Dylan Martin HAS WON THE RACE!!!!!
Crew chief, Chad Pierce had this to say about the race, “It was a rough race but Dylan was focused and ready. He showed he was ready to be a champion.”
Let me back up for you a bit, the day started out with Buffalo Wild Wings for the crew. As you know, if the crew is happy then the driver is happy. We are thankful to everyone at Buffalo Wild Wings for believing in Dylan’s journey and for the tasty wings.
The weather was great, no rain in sight. The first race of the night for Dylan was the Heat race in Preston Irons V8 Bomber. After drawing pills, Dylan started on the pole. His car wasn’t able to hold off a hard charging #17. So he finished 3rd in the Heat. Later that night Dylan’s crew got to work on a few changes to the V8. Dylan ran the #6 Pitts Stop Muffler V8 Bomber in the 15 lap feature event. Once again Dylan started on pole, but this time he was able to maintain that position for 7 laps until the #17 and #75 got under him. This was the second time he got a chance to drive this car for Preston. He was able to finish with a 3rd place. Dylan is very thankful for the opportunity that Mr. Irons has given him. It gives him an opportunity to drive a stock car that he definitely has to man handle to get it around the track.
During intermission, Dylan drove his truck to the front straightaway. He got a chance to shake hands, sign autographs, take pictures with the kids and hand out some of his custom coloring books (Sponsored by DavenportFightsBack.com). A cute little girl by the name of Diana and her sister, Jasmine came up to Dylan to get an autograph but she wanted Dylan to sign her shirt. With a huge smile on her face, she told Dylan that it was her birthday. Not skipping a beat, Dylan told her that when he took his truck to victory circle to make sure she came down for the picture. With an even bigger smile, he told her he was going to win this race for her birthday. Guess who was the first person in victory lane…yes you guessed it, little Miss Diana and Jasmine. Dylan never forgets why he is out there racing… not just for the victory or the fame, but for every child’s smile he carries with him.
Dylan will be back at Auburndale Speedway on October 5th in the Pro Truck and V8 Bomber.
Thank you to all our sponsors that help us make a difference!
(Photo/Press Release Credit – Kim Scheffler)
Follow Dylan all year on www.DylanMartinRacing.com or Facebook: Dylan Martin Racing LLC
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