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Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing continued to make strides in the 410 Sprint Car ranks as the Newville, PA native brought home a career-best 16th-place finish on Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway.

Jackson and Hess initially planned to compete in three consecutive nights of racing in the 410 Sprint Car ranks, but rain again reared its ugly head and canceled planned action at Williams Grove on Friday and Lincoln Speedway on Saturday.

“We briefly considered running Port Royal on Saturday, but it just didn’t look like it would be a great time weather-wise and with the wind,” said Jackson. “In terms of BAPS, they watered the track and it was pretty top dominant. I was probably running a half lane lower than the guys in front of us and that’s a prime example of the learning curve and just where I need to grow.” 

A total of 43 410 Sprint Cars attended BAPS on Sunday and Jackson kicked off the night by qualifying second quickest in his group during time trials. He then finished where he started – third – to lock himself into the A-main with the 12th starting position.

“We knew we had to be fast out the gate and we got a pretty good start to the heat race and was running second,” he said. “Ultimately, we slipped back to third and were able to get in the show which is obviously the goal each week.”

With a plan to continue to learn and make laps in mind, Jackson stayed steady inside of the top 15 for most of the 25-lap event. He narrowly missed out on his first career top-15 finish in the division after finishing 16th. However, with the high number of cars on hand, the team was happy to get in the show and bring the car home in one piece.

“Outside of a sanctioned event, I can’t really think of too many instances this early in the year to have 43 cars at the track,” said Jackson. “I didn’t expect that and I knew we had an uphill climb just to get in the show as a result. So ultimately to get in the show and run 16th is a pretty cool deal for us as a team and it’s something we can be proud of.”

Jackson will return to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA on Friday to compete in 410 Sprint Car action before making his third start of the season at the Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA on Saturday. 

“Mother Nature doesn’t look like it will do us any favors this weekend, but I’m excited to get back to the track and start contending for top 15 finishes and not just making shows,” said Jackson. “Lincoln is a track that I’ve kind of struggled at, but ultimately I think we’re learning there and hopefully we get in two A-main starts this weekend and some positive results.”

WEEKEND RESULTS

 April 14 – BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, PA – Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 16 (12). 

 SEASON STATS

 7 races, 0 wins, 1 top 5, 1 top 10’s, 1 top 15’s, 3 top 20’s

 UP NEXT

 Friday, April 19th, at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Saturday, April 20th, at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa.

Tony Jackson competed Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway in the Scott Hess Racing 410 Sprint Car and the Newville, Pa native brought home a 22nd-place finish. The 410 start was the third of his season and his first in the division at the York Haven, PA facility.

“With 34 cars in attendance, we had a goal to just make the show,” said Jackson. “Once we got it in the show, the goal was to then complete 30 laps and ultimately, we fell short of that. But the truth is we’ve made two features in three shows, so we’re off to a good start.”

Jackson kicked off the night in qualifying by laying down a fastest lap of 15.225 seconds, which was good enough for fourth quickest in his group. As a result, he started on the pole for a heat race. He ran second for five laps before falling to fourth and locked himself into the night’s A-main event.

“I didn’t get a good jump and Cory Eliason got by me, but we ultimately were able to pass him which was cool,” said Jackson. “For about five laps I was feeling like a rockstar, but I didn’t adjust accordingly and I kind of went into preservation mode to ensure we got in the show.”

Jackson lined up 16th for the 30-lap A-main and he settled into the 17th position for the first half of the race. However, two cars got together, and one turned around in front of him. This left him nowhere to go and ended his night early. He was credited with finishing 22nd.

“BAPS is the track I’m most familiar with, so it was nice to make some competitive laps there in the 410 and keep this racing journey moving forward,” he said. “We had some speed early in the night and we did some good things that we can build on, so overall we’ll chalk this one up as a learning experience.

Next up for Jackson will be a trip to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa on Friday to compete in 410 Sprint Car action before running both winged and wingless in the sportsman on Saturday at BAPS.

With mother nature providing tough track conditions during his first start at Williams Grove earlier this season, Jackson feels like this weekend will give him a better feel of the historic facility and what it takes to be competitive there.

“The goal will be to get ourselves in the show and make as many laps as possible. I talked to Lance Dewease during my first start, and he reminded me that we were facing an uphill climb trying to learn in Central PA on a track as complex as Williams Grove when the weather did us no favors. Hopefully, we can get a nice surface this Friday and decent weather, so we can really get an idea of our package there and just learn as much as possible,” said Jackson.

“When it comes to the Sportsman, this is an opportunity to race in front of a lot of our sponsors and hopefully we can come home with two victories. If anything, maybe we can gain some confidence behind the wheel that will lend itself to the 410 side of things,” he added.

WEEKEND RESULTS

March 24 – BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, PA – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 4 (1); Feature: 22 (16). 

SEASON STATS

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

UP NEXT

Friday, March 29th, 410 Sprint Car at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, March 30th, both Winged and Wingless Sportsman at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa.