Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Oct. 6, 2020) – John Carney II capped the 33rd annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires on Saturday by earning the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars at I-30 Speedway.
The SawBlade.com Xiphos saw blade and Danny Sander Construction backed competitor hustled from a B Main to post an eighth-place finish in the feature, marking his 18th top 10 of the season.
The two-day Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour show, which welcomed more than 75 drivers, began on Friday with Carney II advancing from fourth to third place in a heat race and from seventh to sixth place in a qualifier. That lined him up on the outside of the second row in a B Main.
“We were just a little off, a little too tight, the first night,” he said. “The main thing is we were still probably good enough to get in the feature on Friday. Typical of that race and that track, there’s always a little beating and banging going on. We got shuffled around and bumped the wrong way in the qualifier and that cost us a few spots. We had to run the B Main and that wasn’t a good deal.”
Carney II rebounded from his fourth-place finish when he returned to the track on Saturday. He maneuvered from sixth to third place in a heat race. A fifth-place run in a qualifier relegated him to the fourth starting position in a B Main for the second straight night. This time Carney II picked up two positions to garner a transfer into the main event.
“We didn’t really change anything for Saturday because the track was drier,” he said. “It fit right in with our program. We were good the whole night, every time we hit the track.”
Passing continued in the feature as Carney II powered from 15th to eighth on the rubber-down track.
“The feature was really good,” he said. “We changed a few things because we knew it was going to take rubber. It only had rubber in turns three and four and down the front straightaway. Our car was really good around the bottom. People would slip up and we’d get by them. It would have been nice to have a few cautions because usually when the track takes rubber people push out on restarts so I think we could have got a few more spots.
“Considering how many cars were there, good cars, finishing eighth out of 70-plus cars is a good weekend and we didn’t really tear up anything.”
Carney II will take this weekend off before returning to action on Oct. 16-17 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, during the 47th annual Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 2 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (4); Qualifier: 6 (7); B Main: 4 (4).
Oct. 3 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (6); Qualifier: 5 (4); B Main: 2 (4); Feature: 8 (15).
SEASON STATS –
37 races, 5 wins, 9 top fives, 18 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 31 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 16-17 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for the 47th annual Winter Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
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