Zach Newlin and BK Motorsports Working on the Right Recipe

Losing a car is certainly not a setback any team wants to go through, but it is especially hard on a brand new team trying to establish itself, learn and build a notebook.

It took a lot of hard work on a short holiday week, but BK Motorsports and Zach Newlin rebounded from a hard crash on June 29th to be ready for action again at Port Royal Speedway just six days later.

June 4:  Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA

      (17 cars, Heat 7th, A-main 11th)

Zach Newlin lined up outside row number two for the first of two 8-lap heats Saturday afternoon at ‘The Speed Palace’.  The Millerstown, PA native lost a couple spots on the opening lap and wasn’t able to recapture them.  With all cars transferring to the A-main, there was no reason to overdrive the new car.  It was a good opportunity for Newlin to shake it down and figure out what adjustments they could make for the A-main.  He crossed the line in 7th.

During the opening laps of the 25-lap main event, Newlin moved forward from his 12th starting spot into 11th and began looking for a way to crack the top ten.  As some teams surged toward the front and others faded through the field, Newlin held serve around 12th.

Newlin was moving around, trying the high side, the middle and the low line, searching for a combination that made the car happy.  Drivers feel how the car responds and the crew sees the attitude of the car from their vantage point.  All of that information lands in the team’s notebook, helping them make informed and improved decisions at the next race.

Newlin moved up a spot to 11th as the race entered the final 10 laps, but he wasn’t able to break into the top ten before the checkered flag fell.  The goal for the night was to take what the car would give, get seat time, and continue building a notebook, so the 11th place finish was certainly a positive result.

A team cannot improve sitting at the shop, so with all the boxes checked on Saturday night, Newlin and the BK Motorsports team headed for Path Valley Speedway on Sunday with the Grove Financial & Associates / Dillman Hauling / Centre Roofing & Contracting / Mattas Motorsports / Victory Auto / Ron’s RV Sales / The Roast Post / FIT Transportation / Kirby Kitner Excavating / Christine Booher, Realtor / T&M Homebuilders / Strange Oval / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service No.77.

June 5:  Path Valley Speedway / Spring Run, PA

      (19 cars, Qualifying 9th, Heat 4th, A-main 15th)

Sunday’s return of the 410 sprint cars to Path Valley Speedway brought 19 teams to compete, including the BK Motorsports No.77 piloted by Zach Newlin.

Newlin registered the 9th quickest qualifying lap, matching Mark Smith’s 8th best lap of 10.792 seconds, but losing the tiebreaker to Smith.

Newlin was on the inside of the second row for the green flag of the third and final heat race of the day.  He went on to finish 4th in his first career 410 sprint car race on a quarter-mile track.

Zach Daddy took the green flag for the 40-lap feature from the 12th position.  In a relatively uneventful, workmanlike A-main, Newlin logged a 15th place finish. 

“I feel like I wasn’t aggressive enough, but right now we’re trying to make laps and learn.  We need to race to improve.  If we tear up equipment, we can’t do that.  We’re not going to race defensively but we are going to race smart.”, Newlin explained.

“We’ve definitely got some things to figure out with this car, but my comfort level is getting better.  This car has some differences from the last one I raced, so we’re all adjusting together.  It was good to get a couple nights where we could make a lot of laps and learn how it responds to adjustments.  It’ll take some time, but the ingredients are there and we will figure out the right recipe.”

Up Next

Friday night June 10th, Zach Newlin will be in the seat of the Mansberger Motorsports No.21m for the 358 sprint car Summer Series race at Williams Grove Speedway.  

The following night, Newlin will be back at Port Royal Speedway in the BK Motorsports No.77 410 sprint car on Camera and Autograph Night.  The pits will be open to all ticketholders for one hour prior to the evening’s action.  Stop by for a photo with Zach, say hello, and get an autograph!  

Season Stats

8 races, 0 wins, 0 top 5’s, 1 top 10’s, 4 top 15’s, 5 top 20’s