Story By: EMILY WINSLOW / ASHLEY CAPPETTA RACING – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – Ashley Cappetta and team faced a tough night at Lincoln that included two features. Ashley and the team are looking to regroup and return to the track stronger in July.
Ashley Cappetta and the Gettysburg Trading Post, Mike’s Towing and Recovery, Yesteryear Antique Center, Stoner’s Auction, O’Brien’s Fuel and Service, Iron Horse Trains, Republican Club of Hanover No. 89 were back in action on Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway for the Steve Smith Tribute Race make-up feature and the Elijah Hawkins Memorial.
Cappetta lined up thirteenth for the start of the Steve Smith Tribute make-up feature, which was her best starting spot of the season. With the recent dry spell, Cappetta went into the night thinking the track would suit her driving style, a dry slick track is when she thrives. The track ended up not being in her wheelhouse, “I wasn’t comfortable at all. If there hadn’t been a caution I probably could have held on to 12th, but I got tight in turns 3 and 4 after the caution and got pushed up to the fence. That allowed cars to get under me and I ended up 15th.” With her hopes set on a top 10, the make-up feature results already had Cappetta and the team behind the eight ball to start off the night.
For the first time of the season, Cappetta had a decent pill draw to start off a show. A crew member drew the 32 pill which was a positive on a night of not so positive results. Ashley started the heat fourth and had a good initial start, “I lost a handle in turns 3 and 4 but had good entry into turn 1.” Cappetta spun out in her heat race and would cross the line sixth, one spot shy of a transfer spot.
The team changed gears for the B-main, “I still was not comfortable with the car but we ended up third.” The reason for the gear changes was wheel spin, “I had a lot of wheel spin through turns 3 and 4 and to the flag stand.” Cappetta’s third place finish in the B-main lined her up 23rd for the Elijah Hawkins Memorial feature. The team changed the gears again for the feature, “The gear change for the feature slowed the car down too much. We just weren’t any good.” Cappetta finished the feature where she started, 23rd.
“It’s not easy to throw a night like this in the trash. We want to know what it was that went wrong.” The team opted to use the old tire compound as Saturday was the final night, they could run them at Lincoln this season and that decision could have been a factor in how their night went. Another culprit could have been a shock, so the team planned to test the shocks back at the shop. A torsion bar could also have played a part in how tough it was to handle the car. In the end the team found that a torsion bar had gone bad after looking over the car at the shop on Monday.
With some extended time off before the next race on Cappetta’s schedule, the team may head to BAPS to test the car before the next race. Ashley and the team will look to continue their march forward when they return to the track, “I felt like the weeks leading up to Saturday we had been moving in the right direction.”