Part Failure Ends Solid Night Prematurely for Newlin

Team’s Recovery from Early Evening Struggles Spoiled Late

Mechanicsburg, PA – July 31, 2020By Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management

A roller-coaster.

That must be what Zach Newlin and team felt like they had ridden last night at Williams Grove, because it was certainly an evening full of ups and downs.

The past week had finally been a normal week at the shop. No motor issues to worry about. Nothing broken to repair. The week allowed the team to catch up on the little things they needed to do to the car. When they pulled into Williams Grove Speedway Friday night and unloaded the Smith Concrete & Construction / J.W. Smith Auto Body / T&M Homebuilders, Inc. / Heather Sims, Realtor / Walker Performance Filtration / Newlin Bar Service #11z, all they wanted to do was put a solid night in their notebook.

Zach lined up 6th in the second of three heats for the 27 registered 358 sprint cars. Six cars would qualify from each heat, with the top 4 going to the redraw. The initial start of the heat race saw Newlin get a tremendous run down the backstretch and move into 5th heading into turn 3 but the momentum was lost when he had to get out of the throttle to avoid another car that had jumped the cushion. As a result, he crossed the line to complete lap 1 in 7th place. On lap 5, Newlin used the low side in turn 1 to advance into 6th. Despite a heated battle on the final lap, he held on to 6th to qualify. Missing the redraw meant Zach would line up 17th in the feature event later in the evening.

The handling was off in the heat race, so the team spent every minute of their available time prior to the A-main discussing adjustment options to improve the car, keep up with the racing surface and regain the balance the car had in earlier outings.

The 11z of Newlin lined up inside row 9 for the 25 lap feature event. The event saw 4 attempts (3 cautions and 1 red flag) before a lap was completed. Zach took the green on that 4th attempt from inside row 8 due to the pole-sitter being involved in one of the incidents, which moved his row up. When the first green flag lap was completed, he had already advanced to the 12th position.

Newlin remained in 12th for a lap 10 restart after a caution. Completing another lap would take multiple attempts that involved some attrition in the top 10, resulting in the 11z restarting in 10th position on the next attempt. The race remained green until a lap 22 caution with Newlin in 9th. The incident involved a top 5 car, which put Zach in 8th for the subsequent restart. Yet again there was an immediate caution when the 2nd place competitor coasted to a stop. That would move Newlin to 7th place for the eventual third attempt at a lap 22 restart.

Unfortunately, as that final caution waived, a torque tube issue had developed in the 11z. At this point the field had reached their lap limit and the red lights flickered on for a fuel stop. While the team refueled the car, crew members attempted to make temporary repairs to enable Zach to complete the final 3 circuits and salvage a top 10. It wasn’t meant to be though as the 11z coasted to a stop shortly after pushing off for the restart. What looked to be a 17th to 7th run for a top 10, ironically turned into a 17th place finish.

It certainly was an evening of ups and downs but in the end they did accomplish the primary goal of making a lot of laps and building their notebook, capturing good information about how the car is reacting to setup choices.

Given the work that lie ahead, the team opted to not compete at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, August 1st and instead will target Saturday, August 8th at Lincoln as their next race.

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

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Fans can follow Newlin Racing during the 2020 season at:
(Facebook) www.facebook.com/NewlinRacing
(Twitter) @NewlinRacing

PUBLIC RELATIONS:

Follow or contact Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Management at:
(Twitter) @Addicted2DirtPR #TeamA2D
(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/Addicted2DirtPR
(Website) Addicted2DirtPR.com
(Email) [email protected]