Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing Score Top-20 Finish in Weldon Sterner Memorial at Lincoln Speedway

Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing competed last Saturday as part of the Weldon Sterner Memorial at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA, and brought home an 18th-place finish.

The top 20 finish was the fourth of the season as part of Jackson’s rookie campaign in the 410 Sprint Car ranks and continued a trend of qualifying for A-main events and learning.

“The main goal each weekend is to make the field and we were able to check that box,” said Jackson. “We’ve had some bad luck at Lincoln this year and this was really our first shot to run a full night there, so ultimately I’m happy with the run we had.”

A total of 32 410 Sprint Cars attended Lincoln on Saturday for the $20,000-to-win event and Jackson kicked off the night by qualifying fourth quickest in his group during time trials. He then finished fifth in a heat race to grab a transfer spot for the A-main.

With a goal to move forward in the feature event, Jackson lined up for the 40-lap race from the 20th starting position. He was able to advance as high as 16th on the grid, but on a tricky track, he struggled to make much ground and ultimately fell to 18th.

While he would have liked to have finished better, it was the opportunity to learn from the leaders and try new things in lapped traffic that had Jackson most excited.

“Once I got lapped by Macri, I just kind of settled in behind him and honestly that was quite the learning experience just seeing where he was running and what he was doing,” he said. “I saw he was running the top and I jumped up there a time or two and it just felt good to kind of branch out and show what I’m capable of.”

This upcoming weekend will be a busy one for Jackson and Scott Hess Racing as they’re set to compete in three different events. They’ll tackle 410 Sprint Car action on Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA, and Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, PA.

“The 410 Sprint Car shows are utilizing the same formats we’ve been seeing all year, so we have a good idea of what to expect going into them,” said Jackson. “We’ll stick to the plan of getting in the feature for both shows and hopefully we can compete for some top 15’s.”

In between the two 410 starts, Jackson will compete in the winged Super Sportsman competition at BAPS on Saturday as part of the Larry Jackson Tribute race. While the race honors his father and he enters as the defending champion of the event, Jackson knows it will be tough to come out and repeat against a stellar field of competitors.

“We obviously know what it takes to win in the sportsman division, and it is nice to gain a little confidence by picking up a win in my dad’s race, but this is our first winged Sportsman event of the year,” said Jackson. “There’s going to be a full field of guys who have been working hard and running fast each weekend in the Sportsman division and we’re kind of coming in as an outsider. I’d love to get a win, but we’ll just do our best and enjoy the night surrounded by a lot of family and friends.”

WEEKEND RESULTS
April 20 – Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA – Heat race: 5 (3); Feature: 18 (20).

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

UP NEXT
Friday, April 26th, at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA., Saturday, April 27th, at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, PA., Sunday, April 28th at BAPS Motor Speedway.