Story By: EMILY WINSLOW / ASHLEY CAPPETTA RACING – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – Ashley and the Cappetta Racing Team had a decent night at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday which allowed them to continue to add to their extensive notebook on the new tires.
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 at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday for the Kick-off to the Classic.
Cappetta’s pill draw lined her up fifth for her heat race. And what a heat race it was. Contact was made as Cappetta and her competitors raced hard for position. Ashley lost momentum in the fight for position and the track changed halfway through the 10 lap heat, “The last half of the heat race, we didn’t have the car set up for the conditions and the car started to fade.” With 24 cars on hand everyone qualified for the feature so Cappetta would have a chance to turn the night around in the feature after a frustrating heat race.
“I got a good start in the feature and passed two cars in the first lap,” but then the caution came out. “I think if we would have stayed green, I would have done better, I had good momentum. After the caution I couldn’t get rolling like I was before the yellow.” The team did change the set up from the week prior and the car felt more drivable, “I was still getting a little bit of wheel spin off of turn 4.” With the week off the team will look into combatting the wheel spin issue.
With two races left on the season Cappetta and the team would love a win but right now they are focused on finding a set up that makes Ashley feel the most comfortable so they can come out of the gate strong to kick-off next season, “A top five or a win would be great, but right now comfort is my number one priority.” Cappetta has had conversations with many other teams and the new tire has evolved throughout the year, “We would like to not fight the tires all year again next year.”
The first race on tap is the Montieth Classic, “Montieth was a favorite of mine and I miss seeing him race.” And then the Weldon Sterner Memorial will close out the season, “As much as this race means to me, for me to end up in victory lane with Pat, that would mean a lot to share that moment again.”