Story By: A2DPR / TREVER FEATHERS RACING – PORT ROYAL, PA – Since debuting his Team Zero Bloomquist by Shane McDowell ride in early July, Trever Feathers had accumulated an average finish of 4.8 at Port Royal Speedway over a span of five main events.
That’s quite an improvement over his average finish of 14th in his first six races of the season at ‘The Speed Palace’, which were in a different chassis brand.
Feathers had nabbed one victory back in early August and as he headed to Port Royal for the final super late model race of the season on September 2nd, his sights were set solely on getting another one.
Threatening weather combined with a rare Friday night race at Port Royal Speedway as part of the Night Before the 50 program left the Central Pennsylvania oval with a lower than usual car count in the super late model pit area. That said, the phrase quality over quantity came to mind as the field contained the usual tough competitors such as Eckert, Yoder, Rine, and Stuhler.
The weather also played a role in the format for the night. Teams were presented with an option to time trial and race a feature, skipping the usual heat races. The plan would give teams a much better chance of completing their feature and earning a paycheck, rather than drag the program out and risk getting rained out. The plan was adopted and set into motion.
Feathers got his night off on the right foot by ripping around the big fairgrounds half-mile in 19.024 seconds, good enough for 3rd quickest in his McFarland Custom Painting & Wall Coverings, Larry Royston’s Septic Services, Martins Pumping Service, Feathers & Sons Roofing, North River Farm, Leggett Engine Research, Hot Rod Septic Treatment, Team Zero Race Cars, Shane McDowell Racing, Coffelt Graphics, Larry Royston Properties, Larry Royston Equipment, Fox Racing Shox, Bo Feathers Racing, Clem’s Garage, No.20.
The format called for a 6-car inversion for the feature, so Feathers took his spot outside row two for the 25-lap main event. From the drop of the green, he assumed the runner-up spot behind leader Drake Troutman. That pursuit continued to the halfway point of the race, with Feathers alongside Troutman’s No.7 several times but unable to lead at the line.
The caution appeared for a lapped car that spun in turn four right in front of the side by side Troutman/Feathers battle. Both drivers were able to avoid the spinning car but then under caution, Troutman’s No.7 rolled to a stop on the high side of turn three with a mechanical issue.
With a few light, intermittent sprinkles floating down from the sky, the race resumed. Feathers was in command and he would not be challenged. He drove away from the field to a dominating win by 4.123 seconds over Dylan Yoder who was followed across the line by Rick Eckert, Jeff Rine and Hayes Mattern.
“This car has been unbelievable. The information we are getting from Shane McDowell and Bryan Conrad, Chris Ferguson’s dad, has been huge. It’s so much fun to drive.“, Feathers said.
“I wanted to slide him (Drake Troutman) into three but he was carrying so much speed I figured that wouldn’t work, so I just kept the pressure on him hoping he would slip up. I hate that for him that he broke. He’s a really good kid. It’s fun racing with him. It’s hard to believe he’s only 18 years old. He races us clean and we race him with respect too.” Feathers shared when asked about his door to door racing with the young Troutman.
Feathers, a third generation racer, was joined in victory lane by his father and grandfather, Bo and Wayne Feathers. Both have solid racing resumes of their own.
“Thank you to Shane and Sarah McDowell, Bryan Conrad, my uncle Jimmy, my granddad, Larry and Lisa Royston, my mom and dad, all my guys who work so hard all week long. I also want to thank Rick Leggett and John Coffelt for making us look good.“
“Last but not least, I want to give a huge thank you to Barnes Custom Painting in the Winchester, VA area. They helped us immensely with our tire bill this week and we greatly appreciate that. It takes everyone who helps us for us to do what we do. We don’t take any of our partners for granted.“
The win moved Feathers into 2nd in the Championship Point Standings to finish the season behind the 2023 Champion, Eckert.
“It was a big night for us…to end the season that way with a win and move into second in the final points. Both pay pretty well, so that definitely helps us out financially. We appreciate what Port Royal (Speedway) does for teams.“, Feathers commented.
Tuesday night, September 12th, Feathers will appear live on The NEW Turn 5 Turn Around‘s Facebook show at 6:30pm EST when the show visit the Feathers Racing’s shop as part of their series of race shop visits. You will hear about the team’s recent speed, upcoming plans and more!
When the weekend comes, as he did a few times in recent years, Feathers will strap into Brad Omps Limited Late Model this weekend at Winchester Speedway in Virginia on Friday night. The pair might travel to Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland on Saturday night for the Small Car Nationals but a firm decision has not been made yet.