Newlin Racing Scores Top 5 at Williams Grove

Team Showing Consistency and Gaining Confidence

Mechanicsburg, PA – August 15, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

If you only glanced at the feature results the last two weeks, you might think the team has been struggling. However, let’s look a little closer because that is certainly not the case.

A couple weeks ago, Zach went from 17th to 7th in the first 22 laps of the feature at William Grove before a part failure relegated him to a 17th place finish. The following week, he drove from 16th to 10th in the 20 lap feature at Lincoln before a penalty resulting from contact with the restart cone dropped him 2 spots for a 12th place finish. 16 cars passed in 42 laps raced but nothing to show for it. The common denominators on both nights: unlucky pill draws (to start the night or in the redraw) but a very balanced, maneuverable and competitive Smith Concrete & Construction / J.W. Smith Auto Body / T&M Homebuilders, Inc. / Heather Sims, Realtor / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service #11z.

Friday night August 14th at Williams Grove, 27 358 sprint cars signed in and were divided into three 8-lap qualifying heats by pill draw. Newlin’s draw placed the 11z in the 6th starting spot in the second heat. Six cars would qualify from each heat, with the top 4 going to the redraw.

At the start of heat 2, Zach made a power move to the high side in turn one to move quickly into 4th as the field exited turn two down the backstretch. Newlin held that position for just over a lap before the 00 of Chris Frank challenged and reclaimed the position. Frank and Newlin conducted a heated, side-by-side battle for the 4th and final redraw spot over the final 6 circuits, with the 11z pulling ahead off turn 2 each time around, while the 00 reclaimed an edge exiting turn 4 each lap. Ultimately Newlin was able to power the 11z into 4th on the final lap and hold on to the position as he raced under the checkered flag.

After fighting his way into the mix of the redraw, hopes were high for a starting spot in the front few rows but once again the pill draw was not friendly and the team picked the 11th starting spot for the feature event. It would be yet another hill to climb.

In the early laps of the feature event, Zach advanced one spot to 10th before the caution lights flashed on for a 4-car incident in turn two with three laps in the books. The incident involved cars running in the top 10, so Newlin lined up 9th for the restart. Another caution flag waved for a top 10 car before another lap could be completed. Newlin would line up 8th for the second restart attempt.

A long green flag run ensued and the 11z showed it’s strength. Running mostly the low side and middle of a very racy surface, with an occasional use of the high line when needed, Zach advanced to 6th over the next dozen laps before the third caution appeared on lap 17. On the final restart, he claimed 5th and looked for more in the closing laps. Newlin settled for 5th, finally completing a night without any major setbacks.

It was a night that finally reflected the overall effort, consistency and momentum the team has showed. The Newlin Racing pit was a happy place after the event. “Comfort and confidence were huge things tonight!“, Zach shared. “Just a little bit of fine tuning yet and I think we will be better.“, he concluded. The team has definitely learned how to harness their equipment and found the balance in the car Zach was looking for. As a result, he is gaining a lot of confidence behind the wheel.

A confident Newlin could spell trouble for the rest of the 358 ranks down the home stretch of the 2020 season.

SPECIAL THANKS:

We want to express our sincere appreciation to our sponsors and marketing partners!

Smith Concrete and Construction
J.W. Smith Auto Body
T&M Homebuilders, Inc.
Heather Sims, Realtor
Walker Performance Filtration
Newlin Bar Service
Advanced Septic Services
Hershman Racing Fuels
Morgan Paving
Kirby Kitner Excavating
BAPS Auto Paints & Supply
Beyea Headers
Engler Machine & Tool
AL Driveline
Safety-Kleen
River Bend Hop Farm & Brewery
BR Motorsports Ignitioneering
Strange Oval
Tamayo Contracting
American Legion Post 177 Newport
The Podium Awards
Fastner Specialties Motorsports

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(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

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