Story By: A2DPR / ZACH NEWLIN RACING – MECHANICSBURG, PA – Zach Newlin and the Mansberger Motorsports team have been working hard to solve some balance issues with the No.21m over the past month. The team was running consistently inside the top ten and picked up one victory this summer, but has since been battling to get back to that level of consistency.
Friday night, the team rolled into Williams Grove Speedway for the final 358 sprint car race of the 2023 season at the legendary Pennsylvania oval.
Newlin came out of the box, ready to be a factor Friday night. Heat lineups were set using a handicapping format, which put the Millerstown, PA driver 5th to take the green.
As he is known to fans, Zach Daddy moved forward immediately and was holding down the runner-spot by lap three. With the feature set to be lined up ‘heads up’ based on heat race finishes, Newlin went after leader Logan Rumsey but fell 0.850 seconds short at the finish line.
Newlin started outside row three for the 20-lap main event and settled into the 6th spot in the early going.
As the race neared the midpoint, Newlin slipped to 8th but remained in a battle to climb further into the top ten. Unfortunately, as he entered turn one on lap ten, contact with a competitor going for the same piece of real estate turned Newlin’s No.21m around.
With no damage, Newlin restarted at the rear of the field and made the most of the remaining ten laps, charging his way back to a 12th place finish, nearly completing a full recovery from the incident.
“We had a good night going. Hate that happened in the middle of the race. I was committed to my line. Just a racing deal.“, Newlin said.
“We have been battling a tight condition and tonight we were too free. We’ll keep working on it and find the balance we need.“
Newlin and the Mansberger Motorsports team, who compiled five top-ten finishes and one win along the way, finished 6th in the Williams Grove Speedway 358 sprint car championship standings for the 2023 season.
“I really want to thank Dan (Mansberger) for the opportunity to drive his car. We got him back to victory lane this year and had a pretty good season. Hoping we can come back next year with him and have an even better year.“, Newlin commented.
Newlin’s 358 sprint car season may be over, but he still expects to squeeze in a couple more 410 sprint car races in his family’s familiar No.11z before the end of the year.