Story By: A2DPR / ZACH NEWLIN RACING – MECHANICSBURG, PA – Zach Newlin has been waiting patiently to kick off his 2024 sprint car season. On a chilly and very windy Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway, his season finally got rolling, and he made it worth the wait.
A BATTLE FROM BEGINNING TO END
Newlin’s evening got off on the right foot with a pill draw that put him on the pole for the 3rd heat. The top six from each of the three heats would transfer, with the top four from each going to the redraw.
The start of the heat race appeared to be a bit uneven but race officials let it stand. Newlin slipped back two spots on the opening lap. He held on to that spot to the end to put the Mansberger Motorsports team into the redraw.
The redraw put Newlin outside row three for the start of the 20-lap A-main. On the drop of the green, the Millerstown (PA) native charged to the outside off of turn four and carried the momentum into 3rd place by the end of the opening lap.
On lap six 2nd place Justin Foster suffered mechanical issues and dropped out of contention, handing the runner-up spot to Newlin.
Newlin hounded leader Matt Findley for the next five laps before powering by, once again using the high side of the speedway off turn four. Findley fought back, sliding back into the top spot one lap later.
With five laps remaining, Dylan Norris entered the fray making it a three-car battle for the top spot. Newlin was briefly shuffled back to 3rd but when the checkered flag fell he was the runner-up behind Norris in the highly competitive and entertaining season-opening feature for the 358 sprint cars.
“For our first night out this year, we weren’t terrible. A couple of small mistakes cost me.”, Newlin commented after the good showing. “Once we get the car dialed in a little, we should only get better.”
UP NEXT
The next race for Newlin hasn’t been nailed down just yet. He hopes to make his season 410 debut in his family-owned 11z in April. Follow Zach Newlin Racing on Facebook or Zach Daddy Racing on X (formerly Twitter) for the latest schedule updates when the decisions are made!