Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (Sept. 22, 2020) – John Carney II earned his first two top-10 finishes during World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competition last weekend.
The SawBlade.com Xiphos saw blade and CSR Garage sponsored driver guided Scott Brown’s sprint car to a 10th-place run on Friday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – his first career top 10 with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ – before posting a career-best eighth-place finish on Saturday during the Texas Outlaw Nationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
“It was really a great weekend,” Carney II said. “Those guys are the best sprint car drivers in the world. Any time you make a mistake you really expose yourself to losing spots. You have to be perfect with those guys all night to run in the top five or win.”
Carney II qualified sixth quickest on Friday to open the program at Lawton Speedway.
“We timed in great, but we dropped the ball in the heat race a little bit,” he said. “We rolled out with a tire on the left rear that wasn’t the right deal. That was probably why we lost one spot and the other spot was because of my driving error.”
Carney II placed fourth to lock into the 12th starting position for the main event.
“We raced our way up to seventh,” he said. “The car was a little too tight and I was overusing the brakes. With seven or eight laps to go the brakes faded and I lost three spots.”
The 10th-place result gave the team even more confidence heading into Saturday’s event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Carney II timed in 13th quickest in qualifying and ended fifth in a heat race to line up 13th in the main event.
“We got a little behind in qualifying and that was not ideal,” he said. “That started us in the middle of the pack in the feature. That place is so weird about air and your car acting unusual. To be able to pass any cars is a positive. The first half of that race there wasn’t much passing. When the track started getting more technical and slicked up I started moving around. I was really able to make up ground on the restarts. The laps I have at Devil’s Bowl helped me.”
Carney II used a late charge to secure the eighth-place finish. He was tied for the most positions gained in the A Main.
“The main thing is we ran right outside the top 10 at Dodge City two weekends ago,” he said. “Last weekend we ran just inside the top 10. We’ve learned things each time we hit the track. We put together more consistent laps and the car was drivable. The engine is great. I’m catching up to speed. It’s not just one thing that has to go right. There’s 50 things that have to go right and they’re starting to gel right now.”
Carney II plans on taking this weekend off before racing with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour on Oct. 2-3 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the Short Track Nationals.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 18 – Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 4 (2); Feature: 10 (12).
Sept. 19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 8 (13).
SEASON STATS –
35 races, 5 wins, 9 top fives, 17 top 10s, 27 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 2-3 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
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