(Image: Ben Thrasher)
26 Promotions – Peoria, AZ – (March 8, 2018) – Colton Hardy started off the Sprint Car portion of his 2018 schedule with two nights of USAC 360 competition in Las Vegas before returning home to open the ASCS Southwest Region season on Saturday night in Peoria, Ariz.
“Night one in Las Vegas was only my fifth start in a non-wing car, so I haven’t had much seat time in the two years I’ve been running a Sprint Car,” explained Hardy. “With the driving style being different and never being on a track that size in a non-wing car, night one was a huge learning curve and a night to get comfortable in the car. I was terrible in hot laps and a little better in qualifying, we ran sixth in the heat and felt a little better, but still not where we wanted to be. We just survived in the main and ended up eleventh.”
Hardy’s growth in the non-wing car continued with a top ten run to close out the final night in Las Vegas.
“We found a couple of bugs in the car and got those figured out for night two. We started off way better, and I was really comfortable,” he said. “We were really good in hot laps but then sucked it up in qualifying. We started sixth in the heat and couldn’t make up any spots, but we were really good in the feature. We started seventeenth, and it felt like if I got up on the wheel a little earlier in the race, we could have battled for a top five. I’m happy with how we performed and got better throughout the night; I can’t wait for future non-wing races.”
Hardy was later awarded a tenth and seventh-place finish after the winner of both nights of action in Las Vegas was disqualified.
Following the Vegas races, the Bandit Racing team headed back to Arizona to get the car setup and ready for the ASCS Southwest Season opener at Canyon Speedway Park, where Hardy would also be running the family-owned Micro Sprint.
“We decided to take our Micro out there and try our luck for $500 to win,” Hardy explained. “The night started off really well, we went from eighth to second in the heat and redrew a six for the feature. We got up to fourth really quick, and I felt like I got chopped while passing for third, but without seeing any video, it’s hard to say who’s at fault. We went to the back and came back to finish third. We definitely had the car to beat; just unfortunate circumstances kept us from doing it.”
Hardy also had the dominant car in ASCS Southwest action. Hardy won his heat from the outside of the front row, making him the high point driver going into the feature redraw where he pulled a four.
“We were tight all night, but Nate, AJ, Aaron, and Randy worked all night getting the car better every time it hit the track,” he said. “Under the parade lap the car on the outside of the second row had an issue, so we moved up a row. We got the jump on the start and led every lap; the car still wasn’t where it needed to be in the feature but was extremely quick.”
Hardy ends the week with a victory in the ASCS Southwest Region, two top ten finishes in USAC 360 competition and a podium finish in the Micro.
“I can’t thank everyone enough who helps on these cars, they spend countless hours doing it,” said Hardy. “I have to thank Ted and Aaron for driving up to Northern California to pick up the motor so that we could race. The whole week was a team effort, and I’m excited to see how this year goes.”
Hardy returns to ASCS Southwest Region action on March 24th at Arizona Speedway.
Colton Hardy would like to thank Diamond Mechanical, A & C Remodeling, Engler Machine and Tools, CSI Shocks by Factor One, Schoenfeld Headers, Marks Bolts, Nuts & Surplus, M & J Trophies and Apparel, Bandit Racing, Borello Race Engines, and Highline Clothing Co. for their support of the Sprint Car.
He would also like to thank A & C Remodeling, Engler Machine and Tools, CSI Shocks by Factor One, Schoenfeld Headers, Marks Bolts, Nuts and Surplus, M & J Trophies and Apparel, Bandit Racing, Diamond Mechanical, Hyper Racing, NPS Race Engines, and Highline Clothing Co. for their support of the Micro Sprint.
USAC 360 Night One Results
Qualifying: 15th, 18.333
Heat: 5th -> 6th
Feature: 18th -> 10th
USAC 360 Night Two Results
Qualifying: 17th, 20.374
Heat: 6th -> 6th
Feature: 17th -> 7th
Micro Results
Heat: 8th -> 2nd
Feature: 6th -> 3rd
ASCS Southwest Region Results
Heat: 2nd -> 1st
Feature: 2nd -> 1st
Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colton.hardy41
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colton_hardy41
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colton_hardy41/
Website: http://www.coltonhardy.com/
Article Credit: 26 Promotions