Story By: JUSTIN SNYDER / A2DPR / SCOTT HESS RACING – YORK HAVEN, PA – Tony Jackson competed Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway in the Scott Hess Racing 410 Sprint Car and the Newville, Pa native brought home a 22nd-place finish. The 410 start was the third of his season and his first in the division at the York Haven, PA facility.
“With 34 cars in attendance, we had a goal to just make the show,” said Jackson. “Once we got it in the show, the goal was to then complete 30 laps and ultimately, we fell short of that. But the truth is we’ve made two features in three shows, so we’re off to a good start.”
Jackson kicked off the night in qualifying by laying down a fastest lap of 15.225 seconds, which was good enough for fourth quickest in his group. As a result, he started on the pole for a heat race. He ran second for five laps before falling to fourth and locked himself into the night’s A-main event.
“I didn’t get a good jump and Cory Eliason got by me, but we ultimately were able to pass him which was cool,” said Jackson. “For about five laps I was feeling like a rockstar, but I didn’t adjust accordingly and I kind of went into preservation mode to ensure we got in the show.”
Jackson lined up 16th for the 30-lap A-main and he settled into the 17th position for the first half of the race. However, two cars got together, and one turned around in front of him. This left him nowhere to go and ended his night early. He was credited with finishing 22nd.
“BAPS is the track I’m most familiar with, so it was nice to make some competitive laps there in the 410 and keep this racing journey moving forward,” he said. “We had some speed early in the night and we did some good things that we can build on, so overall we’ll chalk this one up as a learning experience.
Next up for Jackson will be a trip to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa on Friday to compete in 410 Sprint Car action before running both winged and wingless in the sportsman on Saturday at BAPS.
With mother nature providing tough track conditions during his first start at Williams Grove earlier this season, Jackson feels like this weekend will give him a better feel of the historic facility and what it takes to be competitive there.
“The goal will be to get ourselves in the show and make as many laps as possible. I talked to Lance Dewease during my first start, and he reminded me that we were facing an uphill climb trying to learn in Central PA on a track as complex as Williams Grove when the weather did us no favors. Hopefully, we can get a nice surface this Friday and decent weather, so we can really get an idea of our package there and just learn as much as possible,” said Jackson.
“When it comes to the Sportsman, this is an opportunity to race in front of a lot of our sponsors and hopefully we can come home with two victories. If anything, maybe we can gain some confidence behind the wheel that will lend itself to the 410 side of things,” he added.
UP NEXT
Friday, March 29th, 410 Sprint Car at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., Saturday, March 30th, both Winged and Wingless Sportsman at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa.