Feathers Starts Strong, Engine Woes Lead to 10th Place Finish at Potomac Speedway

Feathers made the two-and-a-half-hour haul from Winchester, Virginia to Potomac Speedway in Southern Maryland Saturday with his McFarland Custom Painting & Wall Coverings, George’s Used Cars, Martin’s Pumping, North River Farm, Feathers & Son’s Roofing, Leggett Engine Research, Coffelt Graphics, Shane McDowell Racing, Fox Racing Shox No.27.  

It didn’t take him long to pick up where he left off the week before at Hagerstown.  He was quick out of the box, logging the 4th fastest qualifying lap in the 26-car field.  

A solid second-place run in his heat race put Feathers in the redraw for the 49-lap A-main.  He pulled the five pill to take the inside row three starting spot.

In the early going, Feathers simply tried to ‘hold serve’, keeping his nose clean, saving his tires, and staying away from some of the aggressive moves around him.  Mid-race he found himself in 7th but confident with the car he had under him for the last half.

Five laps in the track started to take rubber, reducing it to one good lane.  Feathers was a little underpowered, leaving him at a disadvantage getting up off the corners, but he continued to turn in a workmanlike effort to put himself in what he believed would be a good position late in the race.

His approach was paying off.  Others began experiencing late-race tire issues while Feathers had plenty left.  On a late restart, he moved his way into 3rd and battled for the runner-up spot.

The best-laid plans don’t always work out though.

With six laps remaining, a rocker arm broke in Feather’s engine, ending his night and landing him 10th in the final rundown.

“We had a decent car and thanks to patience we were in position to capitalize tonight if we had not broken a rocker arm.”, a disappointed Feathers said.  

“I love to race and rubbin’ is racing but man, I swear nobody had a brake pedal out there tonight.  It was crazy.  No give and take at all.  I was trying to use my head and survive and it would have worked out if we didn’t have the engine issue.”