Archive for category: prsprint3

After a strong start to the season, Ashley Cappetta faced a rough night at the track this past weekend. Despite her early momentum, the challenges of the night proved formidable, testing her resilience and determination, “Unfortunately with the way the track was with all of the rain it received it was tough to pass.” The night started with a high pill draw lining Ashley up seventh for her heat race, “Had to make something happen on the start and I just couldn’t get anything to work. The car felt good but I didn’t want to put myself and any of my competitors in a bad spot.” Cappetta finished her heat race where she started, seventh, which had her lined up sixth for the B-main.

“In the B-main it was tough to get going but after the caution, we were better.” Ashley was up to fourth and was going for fourth when she misjudged the guardrail and ended up on her side, “I’m shocked it happened, I lacked judgment and after I hit the guardrail I gathered it back up and then spun and the car stood up and tumbled over.” Cappetta was able to restart as it did not appear that the car suffered much damage, but Ashley said the car did not feel right for the rest of the race. Cappetta would finish the night with a sixth place finish in the B-main, “All in all it was a frustrating night, especially after testing on Wednesday went well.” After a tough night Cappetta and the team are looking forward to their next race, “One positive is that we have the speed we were looking for, it just wasn’t our night. It was the first feature we haven’t qualified for this year which is still ahead of where we were compared to last season.” Another positive from the night, “In 12 years of racing I haven’t made too many mistakes and it makes you feel good knowing nights like this don’t happen often.”

Ashley and the Cappetta Racing Team will be back in action Saturday at Lincoln Speedway for the Kramer Klash.

Saturday night’s Elijah Hawkins Memorial at Lincoln Speedway was not the best night of the season for Cappetta and the team, but Ashley looks at the night as a learning experience and an opportunity to regroup and make adjustments for the next race.

“The pill draw wasn’t terrible but it was enough to put me in the back of the heat race.” Track conditions did not help Cappetta’s efforts to move forward in her heat, “The track was really dry by the time we went out. Turns 1 and 2 were really slick and you had to hit the bottom of the corner just right.” Cappetta lined up sixth for the heat race and finished fourth, one spot shy of the redraw, “I made a two-car pass in the first turn and then settled in. I was hoping to make the invert but with the way the track was it was hard to get up to where we needed to be.” 

Ashley lined up 15th for the start of the feature, “On the initial start I got up to 13th after passing two cars in the first turn.” Unfortunately for Cappetta, the initial start was called back and the complete restart did not go as well, “On the second start I got shuffled back and got stuck behind someone. I had a lot of wheel spin off the turns and the car wasn’t good enough to move ahead.” Anytime Cappetta would get up to pass someone they would pass her back coming off turn 4. Cappetta continued to have pain in her hand and it amped up during the feature, “Overall it really wasn’t a good night, but the team will make some adjustments for the next race and regroup and work to do better.” Ashley crossed the line 16th to close out the 20-lap feature. 

After starting off the season strong Cappetta and the team will look to rebound and pick up where they left off at Lincoln on June 22. 

Up Next

Lincoln Speedway, Saturday, June 22 at 7PM

Season Stats

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

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