We had an awesome night at Perris Auto Speedway Saturday with the USAC CRA Sprint Car Series in the Jim Blakesley Racing 12B. I was really looking forward to returning to a track I know pretty well with the latest set-ups we have been trying and it didn't disappoint. Right from the get go in hot laps the car felt like a different machine and I could tell it was on point. Turning my first ever 17 second lap at Perris Auto Speedway felt awesome and I was ready for qualifying. The first lap felt really good and clocked in a 17.5, and I knew where I could improve in turns one and two. Hit my marks and all felt well till I bobbled on the exit of turn 4 lost the drive and blew my lap. It is total satisfaction knowing what I did wrong and what not to do next time as well as recording a lap in the 17 sec bracket. Qualifying 18th with a 17.5 may not sound fast compared to the top times but to think going just a few tenths faster I could have been 11th on the grid is amazing. It's a tight fast field.
For the heat race I started on pole and did my best to hold off the fast Chris Gansen but he beat me into turn one and I could only follow and learn as Austin Liggett got by me as well. Entering turn 3 Max Adams got below me but I was able to fight him off on the top and finish lap one in 3rd. It was great to be racing with top guys in our sport.
The picture here shows my dad Rodney Rayborne and Tim McGrath and missing is Tobey Sampson and my grandpa Brooks Rayborne. These 4 guys do so much week in and week out to help me get the chance to live my dream. For the main we discussed options and went with a setup similar to what we ran in AZ. The car was fast and worked great. We had a moment when I was t-boned by another driver after a yellow but managed to gather it up and keep going. Towards the end I was in a fun battle with Matt McCarthy and it was so much fun.
When the checkered flag flew we managed a 17th place and we will take it.
We are improving every race. I am learning so much more thanks to so many drivers offering up advice. The car just keeps getting more and more to my liking and makes it easier for me to drive harder. We will get it prepped and ready for AZ in two weekends and continue the chase for 2018 Rookie of the Year title.
Thank you to all those who help with advice on driving, set-up, parts, and just helping out.
Thank you to all my sponsors:
Jim Blakesley Racing, A&J Racing Quarter Midgets, DJ Safety, Justice Brothers, Okie Race Cars, Jake Swanson Shock Technology, ROW Signs & Graphics