Cappetta Continues to Head in the Right Direction; Solid Top 10 in the Books at Lincoln

Ashley Cappetta put together a solid night at Lincoln for the Steve Smith Tribute Race on Saturday despite battling severe pain in her hand. The Steve Smith race is a special one for Cappetta and the team as Ashley’s dad worked for Smith during his Hall of Fame career.

Cappetta lined up third for her heat race, “the car was ok in the heat race. I could have been tighter to be a little more comfortable.” Despite not being 100% Ashley finished second in the heat, putting her in the redraw, “There wasn’t much passing in the heat race and as soon as everyone got settled after the start it pretty much stayed that way. I did start to feel a little better after I moved the wing back. I probably could have gotten up on the wheel more but by lap 3 my hand started to cramp and I knew I was in a redraw spot and wasn’t going to do anything crazy.”

Unfortunately, Ashley had been experiencing pain in her hand for a few weeks which did not make wheeling a race car an easy task.

The redraw led to a twelfth-place starting spot for the feature, which was the worst starting spot in the redraw but with a new outlook on things Cappetta said, “Pill draws happen for a reason.” Starting a little further back ended up not being a bad thing as it allowed Cappetta to avoid some incidents early in the race.

Around lap five of the 20-lap feature, Cappetta’s hand started to cramp again, “With my hand in the condition it was, I felt like I did the best we could. I moved around on the track until I felt comfortable. The cautions helped with my hand, but I could hear someone behind me.”

Ashley crossed the line seventh, her second seventh-place run of the season, “I’m ok with seventh. Going out there to do my best and moving forward is obviously a positive.” Overall Cappetta and the team are heading in the right direction, “I feel like we’re getting close, we’re about 80% there with just a few things to work on to get 100% comfortable.”

Positive Outlook

A lot can change in a year, and that is definitely the case for Ashley Cappetta and the Cappetta Racing Team, “We’re already three races in and rolling off better than our entire season last year. It’s a lot easier going to the track now after constantly struggling all last season. We definitely have more of a positive outlook.”

Another aspect that has changed this season is Cappetta’s approach to pill draw, “This season I’m not letting the pill draw deter me like I did last year. The first race of the year helped with that. Coaching softball has helped with that too, I’ve been preaching to the girls about making your own luck and to look at things more positively.”

Up Next

Lincoln Speedway, Elijah Hawkins Memorial, Saturday, June 8 at 7 PM

Season Stats

3 races, 0 wins, 0 top 5’s, 2 top 10, 1 top 15’s